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“Rice and Bins” is a traditional dish made predominantly by Creoles (the descendants of African slaves who live along much of the Caribbean coast of Central America).  Basically the dish comprises of "rice" and "beans" which are both cooked in coconut milk and a mixture of spices and then mixed together and served with some type of meat (although meat is by no means necessary). 

This is a wickedly good version of this traditional recipe that my friend Mauricio, the super chef, showed me just before I left Malpais.  If you choose to make this recipe with coconut milk made from flesh coconuts (see bottom the bottom part of this recipe for how to do this), there is also a yummy recipe of Dulce de Coco at the bottom that makes use of the left over coconut gratings.  Dulce de Coco is a coconut sweet made with grated coconut and panela (an unrefined sugar) that goes really well with vanilla ice-cream or spread on a pizza base and topped with chopped banana, cinnamon and chocolate pieces.
 


Note: Although rice and bins is a rich and delicious meal on its own, it is traditionally served with fish and fried plantain wedges (patacones).  At the bottom of this recipe I have included a recipe for patacones plus a delicious and simple way that you might prepare the fish.

What you need

The beans part

• 1kg of red beans (you can pretty much you can use any red bean variety)
• Coconut milk from one large or two small fresh coconuts (see below or one can of thick coconut cream)
• 3 cups of water
• 1 medium sized ginger root
• 2 Panamanian chilis (if you are scratching your head and wondering what the hell a Panamanian chili is, rest a assured you can use any small and spicy red chili variety - habanero, Thai etc)
• 12 cloves of garlic
• 2 Chicken stock cubes, preferably organic (I am sure that vegetable cubes would work fine as well, however I are being authentic here)
• 2 teaspoons of Madras curry powder
• A few sprigs of fresh oregano

 
The rice part

• 1 kg of white rice (or why not try the recipe with brown rice and simply double the cooking time)
• Coconut milk from one large or two small fresh coconuts (see below or one can of thick coconut cream)
• 3 cups of water
• 2 sticks of cinnamon (or about 3 teaspoons of powdered cinnamon)
• 2 Panamanian chilies (see above)
• 2/3 of a teaspoon of salt

 
Method
 
The beans part

First, check the beans for any small pebbles or debris and then place them in a large pot together with the coconut milk and water and bring them to the boil.  Now, while the beans are heating up, smash up the ginger root a bit with the butt of a knife (to release its juices), puncture the chilies about 10 times with a knife or skewer and peel the garlic cloves.  Add these ingredients to the pot together with the stock cubes, curry powder and sprigs of oregano and stir well.  Mauricio mentioned that some optional extras to add even more zest to the beans would be: cloves, nutmeg, anis, fresh mint and black pepper.  I will leave you to explore the quantities required, if in deep you do choose to add any or all of them (the recipe tastes awesome without them too).  In any case, now would be a good time to and any of those extras (all except the mint which will go in right at the end).
 
Cook the beans with the lid on until the beans are soft and start to split open (this will take about 1-3 hours, depending on how fresh the beans are - I generally err on the side of cooking beans too much than too little because I think they taste better that way and are also easier to digest).  Note: the amount of water to add to the beans is just a rough guess and you will probably need to keep adding more.  The beans should be covered by about 3 cm of water throughout the cooking process.  Once the beans are cooked, set them aside and let them cool.
 
The rice part

Once the beans are cooking, it is time to prepare the rice.  Place the rice in a pot with a tight fitting lid and add the coconut milk, cinnamon, chili (first puncture it about 10 times with a knife or skewer to allow it to release its flavor).  The rice is ready when it is al dente or still a bit chewy.

Before you serve the Rice and Bins, you will probably need to reheat them.  When they are both hot, drain the beans (make sure you reserve the liquid) and toss the two together. 

Rice and Bins can certainly be a meal in itself, as it is rich, tasty and filling however traditionally it is served with fish (see below) and fried green plantains (called ‘patacones’).

Things get fishy

This is where this recipe moves into unchartered territory, as I haven’t made or seen the ‘fish part’ of it.  However, Mauricio told me that if you are going to serve rice and bins with fish (or chicken), it is a good idea to cook it in the yummy tasting bean liquid (that I hope you remembered to reserve).  The following is a rough idea of how I would go about things.

Start by gently sautéing some chopped onions and when the onions have turned clear, add the reserved liquid together with some chopped tomatoes and then pop the lid on.  Once the tomatoes have softened a bit, add the fish (or chicken) and gently steam it until it cooked. 

Things get bananary

Note: If you have got this far, you may as well keep going and fry up some patacones, as they are an absolute cinch to make.  First, get your hands on some green plantains (probably the hardest part about making patacones).  Next, peel and chop the plantains into two inch pieces and fry them in about one inch of vegetable oil turning them once.  Once they are very lightly golden, take them out of the pan, squash them into a patty about half an inch thick and then pop them back into the pan and fry them until golden.  Drain the patacones on some absorbent paper and sprinkle them with a pinch of salt

Serve the rice and bins with fish and patacones.  Everything on the one plate – delicious! 

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Dulce de Coco is a yummy mush made out of grated coconut and unrefined dark sugar.  It is a good thing to make with left over grated coconut pressings (that have been used to make coconut milk), however it also tastes really good if made with grated coconut that has not had its milk removed.
 
What you need

• 1 Coconut
• 1/2 cup of unrefined sugar (or brown sugar)
• 2 sticks of cinnamon (or 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon)
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (or essence)

 
Method

This first part of the recipe assumes you will also make Rice and Bins with the milk extracted from the coconuts.  First blend or finely grate the flesh of one coconut.  If you are making "rice and bins", add 2 cups of water to the gratings, mix well and then press the gratings through colander or cheesecloth to extract the milk.  Make sure you squeeze the coconut gratings really well to remove all the milk, otherwise your coconut milk may end up insipid and watery.

Next, put half a cup of unrefined sugar (or the most ‘natural’ sugar you can) in a saucepan with about half a cup of the coconut milk (or water if you are making this recipe with ‘virgin’ coconut gratings), add the cinnamon and stir until dissolved.  Now, add the coconut gratings and stir occasionally, the longer you leave the mixture boiling the thicker and sweeter it will get.  It is ready when it the liquid has all evaporated and the coconut resembles the texture of cooked rice.  Finally, add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, mix well, and serve on pieces of coconut shell or rolled up into balls.  Tastes amazing with vanilla ice-cream.

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Chances are that unless you live in an area with an abundance of fresh coconuts, making coconut milk from fresh coconuts is probably something you will only do once for the experience, if ever, as it is a lot of work.  However the taste is certainly worth it. 

Note: Shake the coconuts before you buy or collect from to make sure they have liquid inside.
Punch a hole in two of the coconut’s "eyes" and drain the coconut water.  This water is not required in the recipe so I suggest you drink it, as it is tasty and nutritious)

Smash the coconut open and using a knife, pries away the flesh from the shell.  Pop all the flesh (brown skin and all), into a food processor together with one liter of water and process until fine.
Next, strain the coconut through a cheese cloth (or strainer), and press out all the liquid you can, setting it aside.

Now, pop the gratings back into the food processor, add another cup of water and repeat the process to extract more milk from the gratings. Add a total of 3 cups of water to the coconut gratings.  Listo! The coconut milk is now ready to use for both of these recipes.  The left over gratings can be used to make the "Dulce de Coco" recipe or added to biscuit or cake recipes.

Note: Making coconut oil.  If left for a few hours, the fresh coconut milk will separate in "cream" and "milk".  To make coconut oil (for cooking or skin care) simply skim off the thick cream part and heat it gently for a few minutes until it turns into oil.  Cool the oil and store it in a wide mouth jar (it will solidify again if the temperature drops below about 28 degrees Celsius).