Jamacian me Happy!

Week two of my 22 dishes from around the world. This week is Jamaica. while I doing research Steve was skeptical about the meal. But it all worked out and he enjoyed it and he said we could have this meal again one day.

Some of the ingredients I bought.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Can't be to careful.

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 habanero stemmed, seeded, coarsely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp of All spice
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients and puree. I use the ninja and it did a marvelous job. Set aside about 1/4 cup of the now pureed goodness so you can use while the chicken is actually cooking. 

add the below ingredients below to the remainder puree Jerk seasoning. 

• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Cut the chicken into cubs and place in a freezer sized bag pour the pureed Jerk seasoning onto the chicken and let marinade.

Before I cook the Chicken, I want to create the sides. Tonight we are having Rice and Peas. (which is rice and kidney beans) and Fried plantains. Yum and YUM.

Rice and Peas

This was an interesting go at the recipe i pulled from the website. I tweaked it a bit. 

• 2 cups of rice
• 1can of kidney beans (do no rinse)
• 1 Can of coconut milk
• Pinch of salt
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 3/4 water
• 1 uncut Habanero

Add all the ingredients in a pot and bring to a light boil and then let simmer for 20-30 mins are until rice is tender. Make sure not to puncture the habenero. You are not using for the heat you are using to get some extra flavor.

Once the rice is just about done get those plantains cooking.. I used Coconut oil in order to fry them. I thought it was fitting. Heat up the oil and start frying. keep a close eye on them don't let them burn. 

Before

After

I let the chicken marinade for about 4 1/2 hours. Though over night would be best. Once the chicken has marinade place on skewers and Prepare the grill. In my case its an indoor grill we received for Christmas!! 

Cook the chicken completely. you can you either uses the extra sauce and slather in on while the chicken is cooking or as a dipping sauce!

 

Before

After

This dinner was an amazing succsess. We both really enjoyed that flavor they pair very well. The rice had a sweetness to it from the cocunt milk and the heat of the chicken! We will definitely be making this again. 

Next week Scotland!