Stew peas is a
Jamaican stew prepared using coconut milk, beans and
salted meat
Salt-cured meat or salted meat is meat or fish preserved or cured with salt. Salting, either with dry salt or brine, was a common method of preserving meat until the middle of the 20th century, becoming less popular after the advent of refri ...
. It is a common dish in Jamaica.
Overview
Stew peas is a
Jamaican stew dish prepared using
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 ...
, gungo peas (
pigeon pea
The pigeon pea (''Cajanus cajan'') is a perennial legume from the family Fabaceae native to the Old World. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world, being commonly consumed in South Asia, Southeas ...
s) or red peas (
kidney bean
The kidney bean is a variety of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''). It resembles a human kidney and thus is named after such. Red kidney beans should not be confused with other red beans, such as adzuki beans.
Classification
There are ...
s), uncured meats and
salted meats such as pork and beef as primary ingredients.
Additional ingredients can include onion, garlic,
escallion
''Allium fistulosum'', the Welsh onion, also commonly called bunching onion, long green onion, Japanese bunching onion, and spring onion, is a species of perennial plant, often considered to be a kind of scallion.
The species is very similar ...
s,
pig tail, herbs and spices.
In addition to being a main ingredient, the beans also serve to
thicken the stew.
Pinto beans are more commonly used in the dish in Spanish-speaking areas of the Caribbean.
Canned beans can also be used to prepare stew peas, and the dish can be prepared using a pressure cooker.
It is sometimes prepared without the use of meat.
In Jamaica, stew peas is often prepared using flour
dumpling
Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, ...
s known as "spinners" in Jamaica.
Stew peas is commonly served atop rice or with a side dish of
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly '' Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and ''Porteresia'', both wild and domestica ...
.
Rice is typically not included in the stew itself when it is cooked, and the stew serves to moisten and complement the separately-prepared rice.
Stew peas contains a considerable amount of protein.
Stew peas is available in many areas of the Caribbean, is very popular in Jamaica, and has been described as a
national dish
A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons:
* It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be ...
of Jamaica.
The dish is prepared in various unique ways by Jamaicans, and has been described as a staple dish in Jamaican homes and restaurants.
In September 1992, the Jamaican newspaper ''
The Gleaner
''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to '' ...
'' declared stew peas with rice as "the best dish made in Jamaica" in its Home, Living and Food Guide.
History
Stew peas has been a dish in Jamaica since at least the 1940s, and recipes for it began to appear in cookbooks in the 1970s.
See also
*
List of bean soups
This is a list of notable bean soups, characterized by soups that use beans as a primary ingredient.
Bean soups
* 15 Bean Soup – a packaged dry bean soup mix produced by the N.K. Hurst Co. in the United States
* Amish preaching soup – in ...
*
List of Jamaican dishes and foods
*
List of dishes made using coconut milk
*
Oil down
Oil down is a salted meat and vegetable stew that is the national dish of Grenada.
Description
Oil down is a stew of breadfruit, salted meat, chicken, dumplings, callaloo, and other vegetables stewed in coconut milk, herbs, and spices. The ...
– a
Grenadian stew prepared using coconut milk and salted meat
*
Rice and peas
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 1 ...
– a common dish in the Caribbean
*
Run down – a Jamaican stew prepared using reduced coconut milk and meats
References
External links
Jamaican Stew Peas and Rice Recipe Cook Like a Jamaican.
{{Soups
Jamaican stews
Bean soups
Foods containing coconut
Meat dishes
Australian soups