Cook-up rice

Cook-up rice is rice cooked in a single pot with beans or peas and meat. Favorites are cowpea (feijão-fradinho), split peas, red beans and pigeon peas (feijão-guandu). The meat can be salted pork or beef, fresh meat, chicken, tripe or dried shrimp. Thyme, scallion, basil, onion and tomato add flavor, and coconut milk makes the rice tender and full-bodied.

It’s a dish of humble origins. According to Kaieteur News, it was made at the end of the week, when the pantry was running low, using leftover meat cooked together with rice and beans. That’s why it’s still very common on Saturdays, although it’s made any day. Every household has its own recipe.

On the last night of the year, Old Year’s Night, cook-up rice is the tradition in many Guyanese homes. No one knows exactly why this dish became linked to the date. The belief passed down through generations says that whoever has enough cook-up in the pot to get through the night will not lack food in the new year. Many churches leave the pot cooking on low heat during the midnight service so the food is ready at the end.