Over one and a half billion of the world’s population eat rice every day. It’s cheap and nutritious, and can be prepared in literally endless ways. Soups, salads, stews, jambalaya, desserts and as a side dish that has been steamed, boiled or fried, rice is the sailing gourmet’s ever-reliable partner. Sailors anywhere in the world can always find a handy port or tiny shoreside village with rice for sale.

Two helpful hints for sailors who want to store rice aboard: (1) Freeze the rice overnight to kill the eggs of vermin, otherwise you will discover your rice infested with little black creatures that are reducing your rice to powder; and (2) remove recently purchased rice from the flimsy plastic packaging and store it in tightly sealed plastic or glass containers to control moisture and prevent insect incursions.

Tickle your palate by being more adventuresome in preparation of rice for meals. Instead of plain water, substitute beef, fish or chicken broth. Or mix lager beer with water, or add the grated zest of a lemon, lime or orange for a citrus flavor. Try adding coconut milk and some desiccated, unsweetened coconut meat, or perhaps saffron, or your favorite herb.

Rice is easy to prepare and comes to the table quickly. Remember to always wash rice before cooking to remove the talc and excess starch; this will also improve fluffiness.

Here’s a cannot-miss rice meal that’s even more easy on the pocketbook because it is typically made with leftover rice from an earlier meal:

EL CAPITAN POBRE’S FRIED RICE MEAL

6 oz. meat cut or chopped into small pieces (spicy chorizo, or kielbasa, chicken or beef)
1 medium yellow (Spanish) onion, chopped
1 medium sweet Bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder (I like the McCormick brand)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cups chilled cooked rice
2 medium fresh tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon canola oil (vegetable oil okay, too)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

In a large (12-inch) skillet or Chinese wok, heat oil over medium heat, then add the chopped meat and cook for about 5 minutes until lightly browned. Now, add the onion, bell pepper and garlic, stirring for about 5 minutes until softened, then stir in the chili powder and oregano. Next, rub the cooked rice through your fingers to separate the grains and add it to the mixture, heating it for about 3 minutes. Now stir in the tomatoes and salt. Once well mixed, make a well in the center of the rice and pour in the beaten eggs, stirring for about 30 seconds until the eggs are partially set and creamy, then finish by mixing thoroughly and cook for about 1 minute until the egg is set. Spoon the fried rice into individual soup bowls and serve while hot.

Enjoy!

I recently responded to an email from a fellow sailor who had reviewed one of my contributions to a website about the advantages of having a pressure cooker onboard. He remarked that he had tried using the pressure cooker years before moving aboard a sailboat, but the meals had a “burned taste” and he felt the pressure cooker was good only for making stews and such, and maybe canning veggies.

My reply to him was to suggest that perhaps he had not learned how to use the pressure cooker properly, and that there are hundreds and hundreds of gourmet-level recipes for pressure cooker meals. I encouraged him to give the pressure cooker another try, this time following the manufacturer’s instructions for its use, and following precisely the ingredients and method of preparation for the recipe. I closed my message to him with this unbelievably simple recipe requiring only 6 minutes of cooking, and assured him it would be a memorable feast if he would only give it a try. For all my fellow sailors, here’s the recipe:

Pollo Radido w/Garlic & Red Wine

“Pollo rapido” is Spanish for ‘Fast Chicken,” and this recipe lives up to its name! Inexpensive chicken thighs plus tarragon, garlic and red wine, and all done in little more than 6 minutes total cooking time in the pressure cooker. What more could a harried skipper ask for? I usually serve this with hot buttered noodles sprinkled with chopped cilantro, or a mound of steamed white rice. A tropical fruit salad will round out the meal. Serves 4 hungry sailors.

Ingredients:
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
12 large cloves or garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Sprinkle salt and pepper onto the thighs to season, then heat olive oil in the cooker over high heat and when it’s smoking, add the garlic and red wine. Lock on the cooker lid and over high heat bring the cooker to pressure and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 2 more minutes. Turn off heat and allow cooker to sit for another 2 minutes to finish cooking. Now, release any remaining pressure and transfer the thighs to a serving platter and keep warm. Finally, heat cooker and reduce the broth over high heat for a couple of minutes, then stir in butter and when melted, pour over the thighs. Garnish with a little extra tarragon if desired. Serve with buttered noodles or steam rice.

This recipe originally posted in the forum.

PyratSail would like to welcome two contributing authors to our growing family of sailor-writers. RossinTampa, our Trailer Sailor – chronicling the adventures of his family aboard Lola as they sail the waters of Tampa Bay and beyond. And, skipper/chef Robbie Johnson, author of Gourmet Underway – our new Galley Guru. You can read more about them both in the contributing authors section.

No sailor worth his salt sets to sea without some dried beans in the galley stores. But I’ve noticed U.S. sailors tend to buy canned beans more often than not, and I wonder why. Dried beans are cheaper, take up less galley storage space, and if stored in air-tight jars will keep “fresh” for months. Meanwhile, the canned beans are rattling and rusting away in the bilge, or taking up a bunch of cabinet space, require a can opener to use them, and are expensive to purchase.

More valuable than a Rolex.

I think some sailors are under the impression that dried beans have to be soaked a day ahead of their use, and that they take a long time to cook, and what sailor wants to fool with that? The good news is that beans don’t have to be soaked overnight, and they can be ready to eat in little more than 15-20 minutes if cooked in a pressure cooker. Or if the beans are to be used as an ingredient in a cooked dish, they can be prepared by simply boiling them in water or broth for 5 minutes or so, covered and allowed to sit for a hour. Now they can be used as called for in the recipe.

But maybe it’s the issue of taste that keeps dried beans so low on the sailor’s shopping list. If beans are not prepared right they can be tough and tasteless. Maybe the answer lies in learning a little bit more about how to turn these hearty and nutritious legumes into palate pleasers. Did you know that pound for pound beans have more energy and nutritional value than just about any other food? And they’re loaded with complex carbohydrates including sugar.

When those cold, nasty ‘northers begin to blow this winter and you’re beating across the Stream in steep seas, a bowl of hot bean soup will be worth more to you than a new Rolex watch. There are few rules to preparing bean dishes, but they must be followed religiously to be successful: (1) never add salt to a bean dish until the cooking is almost done, or the beans will turn out tough; (2) if you boil beans their skins may burst, so it’s better to simmer them over low heat; (3) always keep the beans covered in water while cooking them, and improve the flavor by cooking them in a broth or bouillon water, or with a chunk of salt pork; (4) after cooking, allow the beans to sit for an hour to cool before serving. Finally, there are many different kinds of beans, and it’s important to match up the right kind of bean to the dish you’re preparing. I explain all of that in my cookbook, Gourmet Underway – A Sailor’s Cookbook. In the meantime, try this guaranteed winner the next time you’re bound for Bimini trying to outrun a ‘norther:

White Bean & Escarole Soup
3 cups cooked, drained beans
3 quarts beef broth
1 cup onion, diced
5 slices smoked bacon
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 large head of escarole

Use the quick-soak method to prepare the beans. Cut bacon into 1-inch pieces. Combine all ingredients except the escarole, salt and pepper, in a large skillet and bring to a quick boil then reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cut escarole coarsely and stir into soup to simmer for about 8-10 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat, remove bay leaves and adjust seasoning, then serve. Makes about 16 cups.

Note: If you’ve just read this article and have only canned beans on board at the moment, drain their canning liquid in a colander, then rinse them with cold water and drain again. Add the beans to the pot along with the other ingredients except the escarole and seasonings. Reduce the initial cooking time from 35 minutes to about 15-20 minutes, and definitely don’t bring to a boil or the beans will just go mushy. You’ll still have a great meal!

Copyright 2008 Robbie Johnson