Variations on this famous Nigerian dish appear all over West Africa, including versions with game, fish, chicken, and vegtables.

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 pounds sirloin steak cut into 12 pieces
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil, preferably peanut oil
• 1 1/4 cups chopped onion
• 2 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 teaspoons crushed red chile or red caribe
• 1 cup rice

Instructions

Heat 1/2 cup of the water and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt in a barge, heavy skillet.  Add the steak pieces and simmer, turning the meat once or twice, until the water is evaporated.  Add 3 tablespoons of the oil and brown the meat.  Set the meat aside.

Place the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 cups of water, 1 cup of the onion, 2 cups of the tomatoes, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, and chile in a large, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil.  Add the reserved meat, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally.

Heat the remaining 2 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a saucepan.  When the water is boiling, add the rice and the remaining onion, tomatoes, and the remaining 1 tablespoon tomato paste.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

To serve, spoon the rice over the meat.

Mangos and coconut milk are meant for each other, and sticky rice is the icing on the cake. Try to get yellow-skinned “Manila” mangos if you can—the flavor is stronger and more acidic than the green and red-skinned South American varieties.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sticky rice

• 1 can coconut milk, separated into: 1 cup coconut milk and 1/4 cup coconut cream

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1-2 large ripe mangos, peeled and sliced

Instructions

Soak the sticky rice for several hours, then place in a bamboo steamer over a wok of boiling water until translucent and dry. A large stock pot with a bowl inside can be used as a substitute if the normal bamboo steamer is not available. Sticky rice is very hard and requires a lot of water to cook, so don’t let the steamer run dry.

Heat the coconut milk, sugar and salt in a saucepan over low heat until sugar just dissolves. Pour about half of the mixture over the cooked sticky rice and mix well. Add coconut cream to the remaining mixture and heat to a boil, then cook 5 to 10 minutes until thickened. Allow to cool. Place the rice in a serving bowl, top with sliced mango and drizzle with the coconut cream mixture. Serve at room temperature.

This is a uniquely Korean dish. It has a robust, feisty flavor thanks to the happy marriage of tastes between the nutty rice and fresh, well-pickled cabbage kimchi. This recipe calls for whole cabbage kimchi, either homemade or store-bought. Only the stem part of the cabbage is used, not the stuffing. With its robust kimchi flavor, this rustic one-dish meal does not need to be accompanied by any other sauce.

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw short-grain rice

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion

• 4 ounces lean ground pork or ground chicken breast

• 2 cups finely diced whole cabbage kimchi, stem part only and without stuffing

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

• Pinch of salt

• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

• 2 cups hot water

• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen green peas

Instructions

Soak the rice in lukewarm water in a bowl for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the garlic and green onion and sauté for one-and-a-half minutes, until fragrant. Add the pork or chicken and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the kimchi and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add sesame oil, salt, and pepper and immediately remove the skillet from the heat.

Drain the rice. Combine the rice and 2 cups of hot water in a heavy 3-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the kimchi mixture to the rice and stir well. Cover, decrease heat to medium, and cook gently for 15 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid, occasionally stirring and scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon. Decrease heat to low and sprinkle the green peas on top of the rice. Cover and cook for 10 minutes more. Decrease heat to very low and let rest, covered, for 15 minutes.

Fluff the rice with a wooden spoon and serve piping hot in individual bowls.