Dominican Republic- Traditional colorful Rice

To you from Amy: It is from www.dominicancooking.com with my own adaptations.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of rice
• 2 cups of boiled green pigeon peas or 3 cans
  
• 2 cups of coconut milk
• 4 cups water
• 5 tablespoons of oil
• 4 teaspoons of tomato paste
• 1/4 cup of chopped green bell peppers
• 1 chopped jalepeno
  
• 1 pinch of oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon mashed garlic
• 1/8 cup of capers
• 1/4 cup of chopped celery
• 1 teaspoon of finely chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon of finely chopped coriander/cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon of thyme leaves
• 1 cube of chicken bouillon
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of pitted green olives cut into halves
• 1/2 tsp celery salt
  

Preparation:

1. Heat 3 spoons of oil in an iron pot and add the herbs, olives, peppers, celery, garlic, spices and the salt. Stir while adding the tomato paste. Add the peas, also while stirring, then add the chicken stock. Once well heated, add the remaining water and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add the rice uncooked rice and stir regularly to avoid excessive sticking.
2. When all the water has evaporated cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer on very low heat. Wait 15 minutes, uncover, stir, and add the remaining oil. Cover again and wait another 5 minutes. The rice should be firm but tender inside. If necessary, cover and leave another 5 minutes on very low heat. Don't stir too much, or it will become all mushy. Season to taste.

Thai Sweet Sticky Rice with Mangos - Serves 8-10

adapted from the best, most complete and delicious Asian cookbook I've ever seen or used: The Complete Asian Cooking Companion: the Indispensible Reference Guide to Asian Ingredients, Equipment, Recipes, Tips, and Techniques by Vicky Liley

4 C sticky (glutinous) rice-- I like to use the small grain sweet rice available at Asian markets
2 C coconut cream (not milk)
1 C granulated white sugar plus 2 T extra
1/2 t salt plus pinch extra
1/2 C coconut milk
2-3 fresh mangoes (I like more since they are so awesome), peeled, cut from pit, and thinly sliced
1 T sesame seeds, optionally lightly toasted to enhance flavor (careful not to burn if toasting)

1. Put rice in a large, deep bowl and add water to cover by 2 inches. Soak over night (or for a minimum of 3 hours).
2. Drain. Pour rice into a conical bamboo steamer or steamer basket lined with cheesecloth (optional--I don't think it always makes things easier. I prefer not to use it, actually, but they recommend it, so I'll put it here). Set basket over a steamer pot filled with boiling water. Basket should fit snugly deep inside the pot, but not touch the water. Cover rice, then steam until grains are tender, about 20 minutes.
Halfway through the cooking, toss the rice so it is upended (not as easy as it sounds). It should already be forming into a cohesive ball at this point.
3. In a large bowl, stir coconut cream, sugar, and 1/2 t salt. Add hot rice, stirring until grains are well coated. Let cool to room temperature (do not refrigerate. the rice will harden). The rice will absorb all the coconut liquid. stir occasionally. Alternatively, you can eat the hot rice as soon as it is mixed in the liquid before it "sets" and absorbs completely. This is my husband's favorite way to eat it.
4. Meanwhile in a small bowl, combine coconut milk, extra sugar and a pinch of salt.
5. When ready to serve, divide sticky rice among individual serving bowls. Lay mango slices on top of sticky rice. Pour coconut milk mixture over mangoes and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

note: if fresh mango is unavailable, use canned mango, drained, or slices of banana.

Pineapple Fried Rice

As usual I had so much fun with you all! The food was amazing, I loved it all! Here is my recipe I found online.

You may have noticed my recipe made more than 4 servings, it was because I used 4 cups of uncooked rice, when cooked and and used all of it....way too much rice! But you will did a great job of eating it, we only had a few leftovers!

First the ingredients:

1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/3 cup peanut oil
1 lb. black tiger shrimp(peeled and deveined) ( just used normal shrimp-whatever was on sale)
1/3 cup diced carrot
1/3 cup diced onion ( I used a yellow onion)
1 egg (beaten) ( I used 2 eggs because I had so much rice)
4 cups cooked jasmine rice ( you noticed I had a lot more than that!)
1 tablespoon butter (I used 2 T)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/3 cup sweet peas
1/3 cup raisin
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 fresh pineapple (cut in half,remove fruit, cut into chunks) ( FYI I read online how to make a pineapple boat)
1/3 cup roasted cashews ( didn't use because Scottie is allergic)

Directions:

1. In a wok at medium-high heat, add the garlic and oil and stir until golden brown. Add the shrimp and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Follow with carrot and onion, stirring for 2 minutes
2. Add the beaten egg and stir constantly for 30 seconds. Add rice, butter, salt, sugar, white pepper, sweet pea, raisin, soy sauce and fresh pineapple and stir until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, approximately 3 minutes.
3. Remove from heat, place in hollowed-out pineapple halves and top with cashews before serving.
Yield: 4 servings

Recipe taken from "Crying Tiger: Thai Recipes from the Heart" by Supatra Johnson.