Yet another version of String Beans as adapted from memories of growing up in the Caribbean. Pali (my nickname for Zyair Rook) and I were busy cleaning the weeds in the garden when we noticed that the beans we planted mid-spring had a bunch of beans ready for harvest. We harvested and cooked!
You’ll Need…
1 lb string beans 2 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 lb salted cod (prepared) 1 medium tomato (diced) 1 medium onion (sliced) 2 scallions (chopped) 1/2 bell pepper (sliced) 4 sprigs thyme 2 tablespoon water 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 4-6 cloves garlic (diced)
Note! If doing this recipe gluten free please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary requirements. I used Salted Cod, but you can use your fav dry/salted fish. There were no spicy peppers (like Scotch bonnet) used in the recipe as explained in the video below.
Wash the string beans, then remove the ends and discard. Chop or break into 1 to 2 inch pieces and set aside. For the Salted Cod, I placed it in a bowl then added boiling water onto it. When it was cool to touch I squeezed out the water, rinsed with cool water.. squeezed out that water and shredded it into bits. Note that I used boned (boneless) salted Cod, but I still kept an eye out for any bones.
Heat the olive oil in a wide pan on a medium flame, then add the prepared salted Cod, followed by the onion, garlic and black pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 4 minutes. Add the bell pepper (optional), thyme, scallions and should you decide to add any spicy pepper, do so now. Cook a further 3 minutes.
Turn the heat back up to medium and add the prepared String Beans (French beans will work too) and stir well.
Add the water and bring to a boil with the lid on.
Toss in the tomato, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes with the lid on.
It’s now time to personalize things a bit. Check for salt and add if necessary, I didn’t add any as explained in the video, and should there still be liquid at the bottom of the pot, remove the lid (as I did) and cook a further 5 minutes with the lid off.
Personally I like the beans with a slight bit of body. We had it with Sada Roti in case you’re curious. But it’s just as delicious as a topping for steaming rice.
Green beans of all kinds are a favorite of mine, so finding ways to add extra flavor and texture to them is something I’m constantly experimenting with. Like the Stew Chicken With String Beans I shared with you a while back, this stewed beef with string beans is almost identical. However by using beef instead of chicken, you’ll notice a subtle difference in the overall taste of the completed dish.
This dish was usually made by our mom when she had some leftover Caribbean style stewed meats from the night before (beef, pork or chicken) and even as a child, it was a hit with me. As a matter of fact.. it was a hit with all of her four children. Our dad was never and still isn’t a picky eater, so he’ll do damage to anything placed in front of him (with the exception of pork).
You’ll Need…
1 lb beef – cubed into 1 inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 cloves of garlic – thinly sliced or crushed
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion – chopped
1 medium tomato – chopped
1 tablespoon green seasoning
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
1 scallion
1 lime or lemon or 3 tablespoons of vinegar
1.5 lbs string beans (trimmed)
Trim the beef into 1 inch cubes, then wash with cool water and juice of the lime, lemon or vinegar, Drain dry and set aside as we prep the ingredients we’ll be using to marinate it with. Chop the tomato, onion, scallion and garlic. Remember to wear gloves when chopping the scotch bonnet pepper, don’t include any seeds as that’s where the raw heat is and do wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such hot peppers.
In a large blow, place the washed beef pieces and season with the salt, black pepper, grate in the ginger, green seasoning, worcestershire sauce, ketchup and all the ingredients we chopped. Give it a good stir and allow that to marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes.. 2 hours would be best though. (all you should have left is the veg oil, brown sugar, beans and water from the ingredient list).
Remove from the fridge and allow it to come back to room temp (about 10 minutes) and get ready to ‘stew’. If you’ve never seen this done you may find it a bit strange, since we’re making a sort of caramel and you’ll think it will be sweet. NOPE! Heat the oil in a large heavy pot (one with a lid) , then stir in the brown sugar. It’s important that you have a long handle (dry) spoon and have the seasoned beef close at hand. This step can be a bit tricky, so be prepared. The long handle spoon is to prevent getting hit with splatters of that hot oil/caramel as you add the seasoned pieces of beef to the pot. Your heat should be med/high and you’ll start to see it smoke and the sugar will start to melt. Keep stirring until you see it go frothy and start to change colour. When it reaches a dark brown colour, it’s time to add the seasoned beef to the pot. Add small batches at a time and keep stirring. Try to avoid the sugar/caramel going black or you’ll end up with bitter tasting beef. Watch the video below to see exactly how I did it.
If you’re wondering.. yes, the marinade all went into the pot. The goal here is to create a lovely flavor base and rich colour. Give it a good stir once you have all the pieces of beef in the pot, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a rolling boil (it will spring it’s own natural juices). Cover the pot and let that go for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take off the lid and crank up the heat to burn off all that liquid. In the same bowl you marinated the beef, add the 2 cups of water and swish it around to pick up any remaining marinade.
With all the liquid gone from the pot, add the water from the bowl to the pot and bring to a boil. In case you’re wondering why we burnt off the liquid only to add more, here’s why… t his step infuses the meat with the rich flavor and created a lovely depth of colour which we needed as a base for this stewed beef with string beans. As it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, place the lid on the pot and allow that to cook for about 50-60 minutes. The idea is to have this beef very tender.
As this simmers away, it time to trim and wash the string beans. If you don’t have string beans, you can certainly use bodi (yard beans) or any type of green beans you may have. Trim off the ends and discard, then break (or cut) into 1 to 1.5 inch pieces. Give it a wash and allow to drain.
After 50 minutes (remember to stir every 5-7 minutes) you should have tender beef pieces and your kitchen should have a wicked Caribbean scent. There should still be a little liquid in the pot, so start adding the trimmed beans in and give it a good stir. Take the heat up to med and bring to a boil. With the little liquid we have, it will be almost like steaming the beans in the stewed beef.
Here’s where you’ll personalize this dish. I allowed the pot to go for about 12 minutes after adding the beans as I like the beans to maintain a bit of that lovely green colour and have a little ‘bite’ to them. If you like your beans cooked soft, you’ll have to cook it a bit longer. Taste for salt at this point and adjust accordingly. Turn up the heat to burn off any liquid.
This dish is loaded with flavors and uniquely Caribbean! As a side dish it can serve about 5 people and goes well with rice or roti… but Tehya and I usually eat it like a stir fry when we can’t wait for the rice to be done cooking. It’s also great on sandwiches!
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Stewed chicken with string beans was usually a “Monday” dish in our home back in the day. Leftover stewed meats (usually chicken) from Sunday’s huge lunch was used to enhance the flavor of boring string beans… probably the only way our mom would get us to eat beans. She would usually cook down the beans first and add the pieces of left over stewed chicken near the end, to finish the dish off. However, we’ll do things a bit different… we’ll stew the chicken first for that rich flavor and color, then add the trimmed string beans to the pot and allow it to enjoy married life (smile).
I’m not a fan of chicken breast (white meat) as it’s so easy to go dry. But I assure you the pieces of chicken will be juicy, tender and infused with the lovely goodness of ginger, the herbs we used and the overall stewing process.
You’ll Need…
2 Chicken Breast (about 1 1/2 – 2 lbs)
2 lb string beans (see note below)
3/4 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoon veg oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon grated ginger (see note)
1/4 hot pepper (habanero or scotch bonnet)
1 medium onion
1 tomato
3 sprigs thyme
2 scallions
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
juice of 1 lime or lemon (can vinegar as well)
2 leaves shado beni (or 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups water
Notes: Feel free to add additional herbs in seasoning the chicken (Spanish thyme, parsley and/or oregano). I used string beans, but you can also use french beans, bodi (yard beans) or any of your favorite green beans. I grated the ginger into the marinating of the chicken, but if you wish you can use a slice and remove it at the end of cooking if you’re worried about biting into the ginger. Remember when using hot peppers to keep away from the seeds and surrounding white membrane if you’re concerned about the heat.
I got boned chicken breast (on sale), so I had to debone and cut into 1 inch chunks. I then washed the pieces of chicken with the lime juice and rinsed with cool water.Then chop the onion, garlic, tomato, hot pepper, scallions, thyme and shado beni.
Add all the ingredients into the bowl with cubed chicken pieces except the brown sugar, water, string beans and vegetable oil. Give it a good stir and allow the chicken to marinate for at least 15 minutes.
I had already prepped my beans, but this would be a good time to do so while the seasoned chicken marinates. Trim off the ends of each bean, then cut into 1-2 inch pieces length-wise. I then like to cut each piece down the middle as I find it cooks faster and really absorbs the flavors of the stewed chicken. It will take some time and best done using a small pairing knife (better control). Please refer to the video below to see how I trimmed each bean.
Let’s get ready to put this tasty dish together. If this is your first time ‘stewing’ meats as it’s done in Caribbean (almost like caramelizing) you can refer to the video below or follow along.. I’ll try my best to describe this step. Since we’ll be working with melted sugar at a high temperature be sure to use a dry cooking spoon with a long handle. It’s also recommended that you have the seasoned chicken close.
Heat a fairly large/deep pot on a med/high heat and add the oil. Now add the brown sugar and keep stirring. The sugar will start to melt and go a sort of caramel color.. that’s what we want. Allow it to start going frothy and it will get a rich dark color. Keep stirring as you want the entire batch of sugar to work evenly. As it get’s a rich dark color and frothy.. the pot will start to smoke so have a window open or the exhaust fan above your stove on. I’ve had the smoke detector go off a few times. With care, start adding the chicken. It’s ok if the pieces of onion, tomato etc goes into the pot. Sooner or later they will reside there. Give it a good stir to coat the chicken in the lovely brown color.
* Be careful not to let the sugar go black or your dish will have a sort of bitter taste.
Turn down the heat to low, cover the pot and allow to cook for about 6 minutes with the lid on. After six minutes you should have some natural juices at the bottom of the pan. With the lid off, turn up the heat (remember to stir) and burn off that liquid. We’re building a rich flavor base and we enhancing the overall color of the dish.
With all the liquid gone, start adding the trimmed (don’t forget to wash your beans before trimming) beans to the pot and give it a good stir (heat still on high). Pour the water into the same bowl you marinated the chicken in to pick up any remaining marinade, then pour that water (the cup and a half) into the pot. Give that a good stir and bring to a boil.
When it comes to a boil reduce to a simmer, cover the pot and allow to cook for about 15 minutes. I like my beans to still have a slight crunch, so 15 minutes works great for me (stir occasionally). After 15 minutes (your kitchen will have a wonderful scent at this point), remove the lid and if you have liquid at the bottom of the pan (you will), turn up the heat and burn it off. You’re Done!
I love this with plain boiled rice (brown), but it’s just as tasty with roti and it makes a killer sandwich (trust meh). Yes the vibrant green color will be lost, but if you want to brighten it up a bit for presentation, you can add some chopped tomato near the end to just heat through.
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Seim (see Hyacinth Bean if you don’t know what they are) was yet another dish my mom would cook occasionally, which she couldn’t even force us to eat as kids. She would add coconut milk, left over pieces of stewed meats and even pieces of salted cod to try and get us to eat it… no luck! As a grown man I still don’t have much of an appetite for it and it’s mainly due to the distinctive flavor it possesses. Though it’s cooked in the same manner as bodi, something which I really like, I just can’t fully appreciate that unique sort of flavor seim has. A flavor which is very difficult to describe… can a vegetable/bean be ‘gamey’?
This curry seim recipe is a wonderful vegetarian dish but you can also add pieces of meats as mentioned above, if you’d like to enhance the overall flavor.
You’ll Need…
1 pound seim (cleaned and trimmed)
1 tablespoon madras curry powder (Caribbean blend)
3/4 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup water
1/2 small onion
3 chilies (I had some bird pepper in the fridge)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon veg oil
dash black pepper
2 medium potatoes cubed (I like Yukon gold’s creaminess)
*3 tablespoons water for cooking the curry.
First up, we need to wash, clean and trim the seim (see video at the bottom of the post). Using a sharp pairing knife, strip the edges off the seim, then cut into 2 pieces. The edges will not cook down and will be stringy and tough, so we must remove them. Depending on the size of your seim, cut into 2 or 4 pieces and remember to keep the peas (seeds) as well. Prepare the potato, onion, garlic and pepper so we’re good to go when we get started.
In a fairly deep saucepan, heat the vegetable oil on medium heat, then toss in the madras curry powder, stir and allow to cook for a couple minutes. Then add the sliced onion, garlic and hot pepper so they release their oils and flavor the dish. Give that another minute, then add 3 tablespoons of water and allow to cook for about 3-5 minutes on a low heat. After which you can turn up the heat and allow the curry mixture to cook down completely.(you can also make a slurry with the curry powder, garlic, onion, pepper and water and add to the heated oil as well)
When the liquid dries down and the curry paste we just made starts to get darker and stick to the bottom of the pan, add the trimmed seim, potato chunks, salt, black pepper and give it a good stir.
Next up is to add the coconut milk and water. Bring that up to a boil by raising the heat. Now reduce that to a very gentle simmer, cover the pot and allow to cook for about 30 minutes.
Remember to stir occasionally while it cooks. After 30 minutes the seim should be tender and the potato should start to melt away to form a thick sort of gravy. If there’s a lot of liquid left in the pan, raise the heat so that can burn-off. I recall my mom making this very dry (no gravy), but I do like some gravy to eat with my roti or rice.
I just so happened to have some buss up shut roti in he freezer which I reheated, along with some mango kuchela to round off my meal. This recipe should be enough for four people as a side dish in case you’re wondering.
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