![]() ![]() Miss Jeanine and I spent a lighthearted afternoon in a modern kitchen above Splash Dive Shop overlooking the Caribbean. Most native Belizean women have been cooking since childhood, and although their traditional recipes generally aren’t written down, they are straightforward. Creole women have a warm, inclusive nature, and they love sharing their traditions, especially those related to food. Patricia Ramirez, owner of Splash Dive Shop in Placencia, thought learning to cook would be a fantastic cultural opportunity for me and she knew who to ask, her favorite onboard cook, a Creole woman called Miss Jeanine. With the end of my time in Belize fast approaching, I realized I had to learn how to make stew chicken for myself in order to be prepared for the cravings that would inevitably hit when I found myself far from the comforts of a Belizean kitchen.įortunately, arranging a cooking lesson was simple. I wanted, no needed, this comfort food at least three times a week. I rarely looked at restaurant menus anymore. Though I didn’t want to be rude, I found myself unable to finish the truck-driver-sized portions on my plate.Īfter three months of traveling in Belize, my stew chicken addiction was undeniable. I ate it politely, daintily, making sure my meat and rice never touched each other on the plate, finishing the potato salad first so the mayonnaise wouldn’t melt and pool over onto the rice, wrestling with the large piece of juicy chicken and getting my first taste of the succulent meat. When I first arrived in Belize, I enjoyed stew chicken as much as the next traveler. I challenge you to find a single restaurant in Belize that doesn’t offer some version of this traditional Creole recipe. Belizean Creole food goes beyond nourishing the body – it feeds the soul, and Creole cooks always make enough to share.Ī plate piled high with tender golden chicken, coconut-scented rice, and red beans spiced with chiles the national dish of Belize – Rice and Beans – is served. When the smell of sweet coconut milk and simmering garlic hits my nostrils, I have no choice but to crack open a cold Belikin beer and wait until lunch is ready. ![]() Just hearing the words “stew chicken with rice and beans” makes my mouth water and my stomach rumble. Learning to cook Belizean stewed chicken.
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