Southern · Lowcountry · side

Charleston Red Rice

Charleston Red Rice reads sweetness 6.2, umami 4.6 and allium 4.2 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Southern · Lowcountry side, about 1 hr 45 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 4.9 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 6.7 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 2.9 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.6 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 1.7 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.8 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 6.2 · Umami 4.6 · Allium 4.2 · Salinity 3.6 · Heat 3.5 · Sourness 2.7 · Warm Spice 2.3 · Fruity 1.8 · Richness 1.5 · Earthy 1.4 · Herbaceous 1.4 · Bitterness 1.2 · Floral 0.9 · Nutty 0.6 · Citrus 0.5

What's in it (12)

• long grain white rice — 400 g
• smoked slab bacon — 170 g
• yellow onion — 280 g
• green bell pepper — 160 g
• tomato paste — 170 g
• tinned crushed tomatoes — 400 g
• water — 600 g
• salt — 10 g
• black pepper — 5 g
• sweet paprika — 5 g
• cayenne pepper — 3 g
• sugar — 13 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 45 min (1 hr 35 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 87.3 kcal, 2 g protein, 0.3 g fat, 18.9 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

1. Red rice is the Lowcountry's direct descendant of West African jollof, carried across by the Senegambian rice growers whose knowledge built the Carolina rice economy in the first place. It is a one-pot pilau, which means the rice finishes in a measured amount of liquid and steam and comes out in separate grains, never stirred, never boiled and drained.
2. Carolina Gold is the point and it is not interchangeable. It is a long-grain landrace with an unusually soft starch that swells and separates rather than gumming, and it has a distinct pale-gold, faintly nutty flavour. Anson Mills and Carolina Plantation both ship it. If you use ordinary long-grain rice, cut the liquid by 100 ml and understand you are making a different dish.
3. Render the bacon in a heavy lidded pot over medium heat, 10 minutes, until the fat has run and the pieces are chewy-crisp. Leave all the fat in the pot.
4. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook 8 minutes, until soft and just starting to colour.
5. Add the tomato paste and fry it, stirring constantly, 4 minutes, until it turns from bright red to brick and smells sweet rather than tinny. This step is the one people skip and it is the one that makes the rice taste of tomato instead of tomato paste.
6. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, water, salt, black pepper, paprika, cayenne and sugar. Bring to a boil and let it cook down 10 minutes.
7. Rinse the rice in two changes of cold water, drain it, and stir it into the pot. Level the surface, cover tightly, and put it in a 175 C (350 F) oven for 1 hour. Do not lift the lid before 50 minutes.
8. Take it out, leave it covered 10 minutes, then lift the lid and fork it up from the edges into the middle. The grains should stand apart and be stained an even rusty red.
9. Substitutions: streak-o-lean can stand in for the smoked slab bacon; shrimp stock can stand in for the water.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Caribbean Pepper Pot Soup — Caribbean
• Gefilte Fish (Poached Carp and Pike Quenelles in Their Own Jelly) — Ashkenazi
• Chicken Curry with Caramelized Onions — Indian
• Zacuscă (Autumn Roasted Aubergine and Pepper Preserve) — Romanian
• Chicken Vindaloo — Indian

Keep reading: what sweetness, umami, allium mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.