Thanks to Grace Foods and Caribbean Food Week, I now have an absolutely awesome collection of Caribbean foodstuffs to try. I’m a massive fan of spicy foods so I was very excited to try a few of these out – they look completely delicious.
So far the main thing I’ve even trying is the crazy versatile Jerk Fry Mix.
You can use it to coat your chicken for a deep-fry, but you can also shallow fry if you like. Or if like me you’re a bit of a health nut, you can actually oven cook your coated chicken too! Just mix with a little water and paste in for flavour without the oil. Of course if you want all the oil I’m not stopping you (and may well try it myself on a cheat day!)
The hot pepper sauce is amazing! I love pepper sauce but this is really tasty as well – not just hot for the sake of it. It’s got a lovely bell-pepper-ish taste and is fairly light, seems like it would be a nice dipping sauce (and a less ‘sugary’ alternative to the current fad-favourite of Chinese sweet chilli?)
The hot sauce is HOT. I ran out of chilli powder and used it in my vegetarian chilli the other day and goodness me, use it sparingly. Will use some to coat some chicken wings and not tell my partner first, Bwahaha.
Nutri shakes are more for my partner but I have to admit the chocolate one is tempting. Reminds me of my childhood corner shop, these were a permanent fixture (and sold very quickly!)
Chilli BBQ sauce. Can I have this on everything??
And of course – Coconut water. Okay, I was sceptical. But it’s not bad! The smell is worth it I think, very sweet and tastes OK. I still prefer to use this for cooking rice., it makes a lighter flavour than coconut milk but still gives the right effect.
So here is my sort-of-Jamaican Chicken with sort-of-rice-and-peas. I made enough for me and my partner, adjust amounts accordingly.
To cook the chicken I just stick two chicken breasts in a sandwich bag, add some of the marinade and a little water, shake it up and let it sit in the fridge (nice and lazy).
For the rice you need:
1 Onion, chopped
Garlic powder to taste
140g rice
1 can kidney beans
200ml water
1 can coconut water
Salt and pepper
Rinse your rice, throw everything in a saucepan, bring to the boil then cover and simmer in the water/coconut water mix until water is absorbed.
Took 30 minutes on my hob but I have a terrible oven. Enjoy!
HGTT 