# Beans and Rice ideas please. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 11, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beans-and-rice-ideas-please/418724 "2007-09-11T00:27:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beans-and-rice-ideas-please/418724/1 "2007-09-11T00:27:18Z")
I have a ton of long grain rice and pinto and kidney beans courtesy of a friend who moved away. I’m looking on ideas to make them more interesting, maybe an easy to make sauce or some additional ingredients. I know to soak the beans and how to cook rice. My cooking skills are on the low end of mediocre and my kitchen is pretty minimal. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beans-and-rice-ideas-please/418724/2 "2007-09-11T00:40:12Z")
mix beans with ground meat as they are cooking and add spices, onions, green peppers, garlic etc Indian Garam Masala \_ buy at grocery store. I don’t like curry powder so any recipe that calls for curry, I use garam masala. Top with some pickled vegatables or chutney. Mexican use chili powder - top with raw onions, chopped tomatoes, cheese Italian basil, oregano Southern mainly the pinto beans (or navy beans), cook with a hambone, eat with cornbread, top with chopped onions, chopped pickles You can cook the beans generically and add spices later but it won’t be as good as cooked in spices. [QUOTE=Larry Borgia] I have a ton of long grain rice and pinto and kidney beans courtesy of a friend who moved away. I’m looking on ideas to make them more interesting, maybe an easy to make sauce or some additional ingredients. I know to soak the beans and how to cook rice. My cooking skills are on the low end of mediocre and my kitchen is pretty minimal. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beans-and-rice-ideas-please/418724/3 "2007-09-11T00:56:51Z")
Creole - Cook beans with a flavorful sausage, chunked. Serve over rice. Heretic chili - Make up a big pot of chili using the kidney beans. \ Serve over rice. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beans-and-rice-ideas-please/418724/4 "2007-09-11T01:04:59Z")
Puerto Rican Rice and Beans - [Here’s my recipe.](http://psycat90.livejournal.com/109015.html) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beans-and-rice-ideas-please/418724/5 "2007-09-11T11:36:19Z")
Spanish options: Add bits of bacon. Add chunks of bacon, chorizo or black sausage. Add more-liquid-than-usual tomato sauce, but not much, and sliced hard-boiled egg. Add bits of chorizo. Add diced chicken. Adding a laurel leaf to the soak-in water (and also to the beans-boiling water), but not eating it, is also something we do in my family. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beans-and-rice-ideas-please/418724/6 "2007-09-11T11:49:14Z")
Use coconut milk instead of water to cook the rice ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beans-and-rice-ideas-please/418724/7 "2007-09-11T16:08:17Z")
Thanks guys! **psycat** your recipie sounds delicious, but is a little advanced for my tiny, poorly equipped kitchen and mediocre skills. Keep the ideas coming! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beans-and-rice-ideas-please/418724/8 "2007-09-11T16:25:44Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] Adding a laurel leaf to the soak-in water (and also to the beans-boiling water), but not eating it, is also something we do in my family. [/QUOTE] American translator: we call laurel leaf “bay leaf” over here. And I agree that it should be present in most bean dishes. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beans-and-rice-ideas-please/418724/9 "2007-09-11T16:27:22Z")
[QUOTE=Slithy Tove] Use coconut milk instead of water to cook the rice [/QUOTE] Or chicken broth. Or white wine. Anything to give it a little more flavor. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beans-and-rice-ideas-please/418724/10 "2007-09-11T16:47:10Z")
Go to a good market and find a smoked pork shank. Not a ham hock, not a ham bone, but a smoked pork shank. Put it in with a generous batch of unsoaked beans, well covered with water, and a couple of bay leaves. Simmer the pot, uncovered, for about 2.5-3 hours, stirring occasionally, or until the beans are tender and the shank meat is almost falling off the bone. Fish out the shank and let it cool; if the beans are quite soupy, turn up the heat and let them boil vigorously to thicken up a bit. Stir occasionally so they don’t stick. Pull all the luscious tender shank meat off the bone, removing the gristle and fatty bits, and return the meat to the beans. Saute some sliced garlic and onions for a few minutes and add them into the beans. Serve it over white rice. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beans-and-rice-ideas-please/418724/11 "2007-09-11T17:15:37Z")
This isn’t what I’d call a “recipe” so much as a cheap improvised bachelor food. One thing I would do is, I’ll take a bowl of rice mixed with some beans, which may be red or black, and regular canned beans or refried. I put some cheese on top, and some jalepenos, and some salsa. Maybe some fresh tomatoes or whatever if I have them. I’d heat the rice, beans and cheese but not the other stuff.