Colombian Caribbean Foods
Colombia has its own Caribbean region located at the north end of the country. This region is really rich in food and now we are going to take a look at delicious and typical Caribbean food.
So, in this post you have four great and easy recipes from a wonderful and joyful set of Colombian places bordering the Caribbean sea: Rice with crab meat, white rice with coconut, rice with little black-eyed beans, and Caribbean fresh garlic lobster. Enjoy!
1. Caribbean Fresh Garlic Lobster
Ingredients for four people
- 4 fresh lobsters of 800 grams each one
- Salt and pepper as you want
- 2 lemons
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 8 minced cloves of garlic
- 5 tablespoons of butter
- 2 tablespoons of minced parsley
- 8 minced sweet chillies
- 1/4 cup of brandy
- 1/4 cup of white wine
Tips and suggestions
- To facilitate the manipulation of the lobster in the dish, remove the shell skin and re-accommodate it again before roasting. This will produce a better result, preventing a sticking lobster and reducing wasted meal that cannot be enjoyed.
- Always use special rubber gloves for cooking in order to manipulate the lobsters and avoid cuts and lacerations due to the claws.
- Don’t buy really small lobsters that weigh less than 120 grams. They haven’t spawned yet; so, if you buy them, you are not contributing to preserve this species and actually you are risking the ecological equilibrium.
Directions
Halve the lobsters with a large knife in a longitudinal orientation. Remove the artery and wash the inner part in order to take out the intestines. Draw the meat out by using your fingers but keep it in the shell. Season and marinate with lemon juice. Put a large frying pan on to heat and place olive oil there. Place the lobsters in this frying pan with the meat side down and brown it for five minutes. Repeat this step with the meat side up for another five minutes. Take out the lobsters for a moment and add the garlic in the frying pan and stir-fry for about three minutes. Add the butter, the parsley, the salt, the pepper, the chillies, the brandy and the wine. Let cook for three minutes and then add the lobsters again. Let cook for another three minutes (with the lobsters, of course) and serve as hot as possible.
2. Rice With Crab Meat
Ingredients for four people
- 5 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 green onions (cut into strips)
- 1 minced red onion
- 2 minced cloves of garlic
- 1/2 minced red cayenne pepper
- 2 green sweet chillies (cut into julienne strips)
- 1/2 liter of coconut milk
- 1/2 liter of fish broth
- 2 cups of white rice
- Salt as you want
- 8 big crab claws (without parts of the central shell of the animal)
Directions
Put the oil in a boiling pan and stir-fry the onions and the garlic during five minutes over a low fire. Then add the cayenne pepper and the chillies. Cook for three minutes. After that, add the coconut milk and the fish broth. When it starts to boil, wash the rice and pour into the boiling pan. Taste to check flavor and add salt as you want. Cook this rice as usual. With the help of a tablespoon, break the crab claws shell and extract the meat. Place this meat atop the cooked rice and put a lid on the boiling pan. Lower the heat to minimum and let cook for twenty minutes. Taste to check seasoning and, if needed, add salt. Serve and decorate with the claws.
3. White rice with coconut
Ingredients for four people
- 4 cups of coconut milk
- 1 teaspoonful of salt
- 1 tablespoon of white sugar
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2 cups of rice
Directions
Pour the coconut milk into a boiling pan and then placed over a high fire. Wash the rice if needed. When it starts to boil, add the salt, the sugar, the butter, and the washed rice. Let the mixture boil itself. After that, lower the heat to a medium heat and stir continuously until it becomes dry enough. Put a lid on the boiling pan and lower the heat to minimum. Let cook for twenty minutes.
4. Rice with little black-eyed beans
Ingredients for four people
- 1 cup of little black-eyed beans
- 3 cups of water
- Salt as you want
- 4 cups of coconut m¡lk
- 2 tablespoons of white sugar
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2 cups of rice
Directions
The previous night you need to leave the beans in a pot with a lot of water. In this way, the beans can be softened. The next day, take out the (old) water of the recipient, adds 3 cups of (new) water and let cook for thirty minutes with salt (taste to check flavor while adding salt). Separately, mix the coconut milk with sugar, salt and the butter by using a boiling pan and place over a high fire until this mixture starts to boil. Add the rise (if needed, wash it before) and the cooked beans. Let dry the rice as if it were for a regular rice recipe and serve immediately.
