Spicy Beans and Rice

One or two servings recipe, this is my lunch portion, I don’t want any leftovers, this is really only good for one adult male.

If you’re using this recipe, you cannot sue me if it’s too hot, if you don’t want it spicy, don’t use my recipe or cut the spice down. Do not eat whole cayenne peppers.

1/4 cup beans (50/50 red/black)

1/4 cup rice (long grain brown + red + black)

2 TBSP butter

1/2 TSP freeze-dried ginger (possible powder would work)

1/2 TSP garlic powder

1/8 TSP salt

1.5 cups or more Water + enough to soak beans

2-3 whole red dried cayenne peppers, or crushed red pepper, or powdered cayenne

Diced Veggies (Optional, I tend to use Jalapeno, Bell Pepper, and Red Onion)

Soak beans overnight, use about an inch of extra water above the beans.

Drain / Rinse the beans

Combine beans + 1 cup (or slightly over if no lid) water, Cayenne, 1 TBSP Butter, Garlic, Ginger

Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium or simmer, cook 45-60 minutes. Checking, stirring every 10-15 minutes, you just need to make sure all the water doesn’t boil away

(If you quick soak the beans this takes more time, the lower the temp you use it’s more time, beans should be almost soft when most of the water is gone)

Increase heat to boiling, add 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup rice, 1 TBSP butter

Cook 15-25 minutes, until most of the water is gone

Add 1/8th teaspoon salt to taste, I love salt, but it’s not that critical with these spices. A mistake would be adding the salt before the beans cook, the salt will toughen the skin on the beans and they won’t cook. I’ve forgotten the salt, it was fine.

When the liquid is getting low, Add veggies. (I like crisp, crunchy veggies, so I add these last, put them in earlier to cook them longer)

I turn the heat off and let the whole thing thicken up and cool, 10-15 minutes. You can add a tiny bit of thickener such as corn starch, but I’ve never once needed to.

That’s pretty much it. I’ve included more details, but that’s it, you don’t really need these details.

You may not want it as spicy as this recipe, I use way too much spice on everything, but I like a strong flavor.

The veggies I use are veggies I stock; other fresh veggies would likely be fine. My doctor is really big on veggies every meal, and I think they make it more nutritious.

I do a mix of red + black beans, I just like the color combo better than just one kind, just me. Three different kinds of rice. I find long grain brown rice boring; I mix in red, black or red and black. I think the red + black are more nutritious, but also more expensive.

1/4th cup is 4 Tablespoons, so you can make up whatever combos you want with a Tablespoon measure.

I increase the 1 cup water by 1/8th to 1/4th cup, I don’t use a lid, so I assume more water is just boiling away versus a lid.

These spices are definitely not the only spices, but these are things I stock. And cayenne if you add too much the whole thing will be too hot, and it seems to me the hot part of cayenne will permeate the entire batch and it can be too hot. I’m sure you can use whole garlic that is chopped up instead of powder.

You could likely use ginger powder instead of freeze dried, but I’d expect you’d need less.

I use Red Thai Chili peppers and Sichuan peppers for the cayenne, but those are ingredients in my kung pao, so I buy them by the pound. Most people will use crushed red pepper or red pepper flakes. Not a lot, a little goes a long way.

I use butter. You could easily use olive oil or really any other cooking fat. I hear it’s good with bacon fat, but I don’t eat much bacon. I believe it needs fat, but I’m not certain if it *really* needs fat to cook up right. The amount of fat is totally up to you.

These spices are just one recipe. Grocery stores sell Cajun spice mixes that are all great, but some have a lot of salt. If you add one with salt, do it at the end or after the beans are cooked. If the Cajun spice has salt, you can definitely use too much and end up with salty food.

I still use the cayenne peppers if I use a Cajun spice.

If you want to multiply this up to a larger servings size, increase the beans + rice + water at the same ratios, so 2x it or 4x it, but do it equally. If you multiply it up, I would assume it would require less spice than 2x or 4x.