Results 1 to 15 of 15
  1. #1
    Northern Hermit
    friscofrankie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    Chiangmai, Thailand
    Posts
    7,526

    Black Bean & Rice, Comfort food Frankie Style

    I first tasted this treat at a Cuban restaurant in The City, it was next door to a used book store I found while wonderin' around. The taste of them beans lingered with me for years. Long after I had forgotten the name of the restaurant, bookstore or even what street they were on, I decided to recreate the taste. They've been a bi-weekly staple of my diet for about 15 years now One of my favorite foods, I guess you could say.

    They've got that South of the border flavor of cumin, chilies, good mexican oregano and that salty/smoky down home flavor of good southern Navy beans and Ham hocks my dad used to make.

    My search for well cured & smoked ham shanks here met with nothing but frustration and disappointment. That is, until I found these German smoked pork chop things called Kasseler (sp?) Not quite Ham shanks but they do OK.

    First thing you gotta do is get some black beans:


    Big Question I guess is; "To Soak On Not Soak"
    Answer Saok if you remember or have the time other wise drop em in already boiling water, cover shut it off for an hour or so change the water and cook 'em up. Or rinse and cook if really want to. I've had beans prepared each way and cookig times vary But times tend to vary anyway. I made this batch one time that never got beyond hard as hell and I cooked 'em for two fuckin days!

    These are the black beans you'll find in Lotus or any Thai super market for 15 - 20 baht per 500 gr bag. They usually cook up nice, stay firm over a few days reheating.

    Rinse the beans in cool water pick out any stones or unrecognizable bits put them in a big pot and cover with about tweo inches water, put a lid on 'em and come back tomorrow.

    They should be nice and swollen and near the top of the waterline, plus or minus. Drain the purplish looking water out and add enough water to cover the beans; again to that two or three inch margin. Put on a high flame and gt 'em boiling, once they are gurglin and rolling bring that down to a fast simmer:


    Now. Salt. Lot of folks add salt to the water they wanna boil things in. With these beans the skins already a bit tough and adding salt righ off the bat tends to toughen 'em up even more, extending your cooking time. Anyway we're gonna add some salt cured pork and a few other things and it's always best to leave the salt & pepper till last. Just water, beans, heat & time is all you really need.

    Let that go for about half hour - hour check it every 10-20 minutes or so make sure there's plenty of water.

    After the beans have been cooking for a while you can assemble the few other things you're gonna need, not much really:


    Just some chopped chillies, as many as you can stand The flavor of the green chillies really shines through with this meal, the beans should be spicy To your tastes. Ff your not a big fan of heat try a Jalapeno or two they've much less heatbut plenty of flavor. If you want to try Anchos ok, just don;t fuckin tell me about it. Bell peppers? Fuck that. I think there's about ten of fifteen fresh prik kii nuu under there.

    In the Bowl there is Cumin, Oregano and some ground dry chili. The dried red chili has a different flavor a bit more heat, optional if you're some kinda sissy. Plenty of cumin, I buy whole seed and grind a bit every week or so. The oregano here is not so good as the fresh mexican I'd get back home but there's a passable cheap brand sold in cello bags in most supermarkets here, Rub it between your hands as you drop it in the pot.

    Two of those Kasseler chops at about 100 - 120 gr ea. (get the ones with the bone in, they are fairly lean but look for some of the fattier ones if you can even find 'em Nox if you can fid decent cured & smoke ham shanks Get one have your butcher saw in about 1" (2.5 - 3cm) slices. you can throw it whole as well but better sliced let the water extract all the flavor it can from the bone, the marrow, etc. up top there is one large yellow onion coarsely chopped.

    Once the beans are taking on water well and they are no longer crunchy But still too tough to eat drop them chops/shanks add the spices stir it all under. Now let that cook checking water level every 20 - 30 minutes. The cookng time should be about another hour or two.

    I don;t measure ingredients, I don;t count minutes. Check the beans. Take one between your teeth, munch it. Ready to eat? Their done then. If not? They're not.

    I have had different times with beans depends on age, sub-specie, sun spots, fuck, I don't know. I just know this is not something you set a timer for.

    Check the state of the meat while it cooks as well; poke it, prod it 'til starts fallin apart easy like.
    When the beans are just about ready to eat (These beans should be al dente when you eat 'em) drop in that onion, let 'em cook another 10 - 20 minutes.


    There should be plenty of soup with these beans, if you've been keepin the water Like I'm tellin ya then there will be. Test it for flavor. You can adjust with some pork or chicken Rot dii (or bullion/powdered ham stock is ideal) if you think it needs it. Adding a light touch of salt will bring a lot of flavor through and I have found that with the two chops like this the flavor really doesn't need much supplementation. Always when cooking though don;t fuckin' listen to the recipe; listen to your taste buds. TASTE IT!

    If your smart, the ol' lady's been cookin' rice so fill yer bowl with a couple healthy scoops of nice jasmine rice and ladle them beans and plenty of soup over. Chop some fresh cilantro (corriander leaf, Pak chee) and toss a generous handful on top. Man! That's eatin:


    Dig in mix 'em up and enjoy

    Little cheese wouldn't hurt. Some folks use sour cream but that fresh cheese with the same consistency (queso something, having a brain fart here.) is what you really want. personally, I like 'em just like this.
    When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty -- T. Jefferson


  2. #2
    Thailand Expat terry57's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Last Online
    07-12-2022 @ 03:12 PM
    Posts
    26,746
    ^

    good photos and great lookin food frank.

    ill give it a crack.

  3. #3
    Thailand Expat
    Marmite the Dog's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Last Online
    08-09-2014 @ 10:43 AM
    Location
    Simian Islands
    Posts
    34,827
    Quote Originally Posted by friscofrankie
    Chop some fresh cilantro (corriander leaf, Pak chee) and toss a generous handful on top.
    Looks great apart from that cilantro shite.

  4. #4
    Thailand Expat
    a. boozer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Last Online
    02-01-2024 @ 10:37 AM
    Location
    Ban Chang, Rayong
    Posts
    1,628
    My mouth is watering!

  5. #5
    Member
    bkkpirate's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Last Online
    02-05-2017 @ 02:26 PM
    Location
    Duck Hunting on the Mekong
    Posts
    135
    A cuban sandwich, black beans and rice, and a flan for desert. I miss Miami (sometimes). I think there is a Cuban diner on 2nd road here in Pattaya but don't know the exact location. A little help perhaps?

    Great pics and prep work FF.

  6. #6
    Thailand Expat
    ceburat's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Last Online
    30-08-2011 @ 09:42 AM
    Posts
    1,473
    You guys are making me hungry. I love cuban food and mexican food. Especially black beans. Great receipt Frankie.

  7. #7
    RIP
    blackgang's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Last Online
    08-07-2010 @ 08:33 PM
    Location
    Phetchabun city
    Posts
    15,471
    Y'all sound like a bunch of Brazilians.

  8. #8
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Last Online
    @
    Posts
    41,562
    Quote Originally Posted by blackgang
    Y'all sound like a bunch of Brazilians
    And you sound like you play the banjo and have sex with your sister... Boom tish!

  9. #9
    RIP
    blackgang's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Last Online
    08-07-2010 @ 08:33 PM
    Location
    Phetchabun city
    Posts
    15,471
    Naw, takes a kiwi LAWYER to do shit like that.

  10. #10
    Northern Hermit
    friscofrankie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    Chiangmai, Thailand
    Posts
    7,526
    ^ & ^^ & ^^^Just like a meal back home

    shit talkin' motherfuckers and folks yellin' "Pipe down and pass them fuckin' beans!
    Now if a couple of you fuckers can just get drunk and start a fight over somthin real stupid; Be just like thanksgivin'

  11. #11
    I am in Jail
    Lily's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Last Online
    14-05-2014 @ 05:06 PM
    Posts
    6,815
    Quote Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog
    Looks great apart from that cilantro shite.
    You could substitute flat leaf parsley, although to me it wouldn't taste as good.

    Looks and sounds great FF. I love any beans or lentils.

  12. #12
    Member
    KWAN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Last Online
    Yesterday @ 11:10 PM
    Location
    Jomtien
    Posts
    217

    Cuban Meal

    Looks good but try making that in Cuba - you'd just about be able to find the beans, cook 'em and wash them down with sugarwater. I was on hols there a few years ago (in between Thai trips) and that was the staple diet. The girls are beautiful though. Strangest place I've been.
    regards Kwan

  13. #13
    Northern Hermit
    friscofrankie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Last Online
    @
    Location
    Chiangmai, Thailand
    Posts
    7,526
    Actually tell my Puerto Rican Friends these are Cuban Beans, my Cuban friends they're Puerto Rican Howls of nationalistic pride! The dish is equally at home on either of their tables. You can find similar dishes through out the Caribbean. Dunno 'bout today's Cuba though the cubans I know have grown up in the states.

  14. #14
    Newbie
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Last Online
    06-05-2015 @ 09:41 PM
    Posts
    1

    Cuban restaurant in Bangkok

    Quote Originally Posted by bkkpirate View Post
    A cuban sandwich, black beans and rice, and a flan for desert. I miss Miami (sometimes). I think there is a Cuban diner on 2nd road here in Pattaya but don't know the exact location. A little help perhaps?

    Great pics and prep work FF.
    There's a new Cuban restaurant in Bangkok, the Cuba Libre. The Chef is Cubann and they have flan. Near the Ploenchit BTS

  15. #15
    Member
    justme2017's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Last Online
    13-06-2017 @ 02:30 AM
    Posts
    114
    I have been doing beans and rice lately. will try them the way described in the OP. I have been going through all of my recipes lately and pimping them out and perfecting them.

    The beauty about using recipes on this site is it is stuff readily available. So very useful for tweaking recipes for which sometimes my preferred ingredients aren't available.

    Thanks for sharing this!

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •