So there was a Jamaican restaurant we used to go to that was so good, but it is no longer open. So to satisfy my jerk cravings I decided to take matters into my own hands. Luckily there is an African/Carribean market a few blocks away from my house. It is a tiny market, but they had everything on my list that I was hoping to find.
They had numerous jerk seasonings to choose from. I went with this one:
It was good, but very spicy. We used it to marinate chicken that we grilled. We also bought a dry jerk seasoning that we used on some steak.
At the market I was also able to get kidney beans, coconut milk, plantains, and ginger beer. For the plantains I just sliced and fried in some vegetable oil. They came out ok, but next time I would want to try a different recipe I saw where you bake the plantains with rum and sugar for a dessert.
Here is the recipe I used for the rice and beans:
Ingredients
1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 cup long-grain white rice (such as jasmine)
1 (15-ounce) can dark kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Preparation
Combine the first 7 ingredients (through garlic) in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Stir in rice; reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook 20 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove pan from heat; remove the thyme sprigs and garlic, and discard. Gently stir in the beans. Cover and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Overall a successful experiment! It didn't taste the same as the food I remember from the Jamaican restaurant, but it was still delicious.
