Rice and peas (or peas and rice) is a traditional food within the West Indian Caribbean islands. The 'peas' are traditionally pigeon peas, but more often substituted with kidney beans, and the dish is frequently served with curry goat. In 1961, Frederic G. Cassidy made note that the dish had been referred to as Jamaica's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

Anglo-Caribbean

Rice and peas is the mainstay of the cuisines of

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the arc ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate ...

and many other English-speaking Caribbean islands. In

, it is known as peas n' rice, from which the Bahamian folk song " Mamma don't want no Peas n' Rice and Coconut Oil" is named. The dish is made with rice and any available

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock fo ...

, such as kidney beans, pigeon peas (known as gungo peas), or

cowpea The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus '' Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few i ...

s, the combination of grain and a legume forming a

complete protein A complete protein or whole protein is a food source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of each of the nine essential amino acids necessary in the human diet. Amino acid profile The following table lists the optimal profile of ...

; compare rice and beans. Gungo peas are particularly associated with Christmas. The peas are boiled with pimenta seeds and garlic until tender. Scotch bonnet pepper,

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigenous ...

, scallions and/or round onions, grated

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...

and

coconut milk Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food i ...

are then added along with the rice and left to simmer until cooked. Variations of the recipe include the use of

salt pork Salt pork is salt-cured pork. It is usually prepared from pork belly, or, more rarely, fatback. Salt pork typically resembles uncut side bacon, but is fattier, being made from the lowest part of the belly, and saltier, as the cure is stronger ...

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quant ...

instead of salt. Chicken is also used in the Guyanese variations of this dish and is known as cookup rice. This flavors the dish well and reduces the need for additional protein. Rice and peas, the classic Sunday lunch dish, is usually served with a stewed meat, such as chicken, beef, lamb or pork, or fish or seafood such as shrimp, crab or king fish.

References

Caribbean cuisine Jamaican cuisine Trinidad and Tobago cuisine Barbadian cuisine Bahamian cuisine Guyanese cuisine Legume dishes Food combinations Lunch dishes National dishes {{caribbean-cuisine-stub

Anglo-Caribbean

See also

References