There are so many variations on beans and rice. Today’s comes from No Meat Athlete; we made it with brown jasmine rice and white beans.
The bites that included pineapple were quite tasty. The other bites were a bit bland—despite the onion and garlic—so next time we have this, I’m going to dice the pineapple and mix it in. I’ll also use some seasonings in preparing both the rice and the beans. (Not sure what seasonings yet…) That should spice it up a bit and make it quite tasty. Or maybe I’ll just add a whole lotta pineapple 
Oh — every recipe I’ve made that calls for chopped cabbage grossly overestimates how much is needed. Unless your cabbage heads are really tiny, a quarter of the head yielded more than two cups chopped.
Hawaiian Beans and Rice
ingredients
- 1 cup dry brown rice
- 1 can drained and rinsed beans, or 2 cups cooked
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cups chopped red cabbage (about half a head)
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 can sliced pineapple, juice reserved
Cook the brown rice in a rice steamer or follow the directions here. Heat up the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat and fry the onion for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for an additional 5 minutes. Stir in the beans and heat through.
Stir the red cabbage, ½ cup pineapple juice, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and smoked paprika into the bean and onion mixture. Cook for 5 minutes, until cabbage is cooked but still crunchy. Stir in spinach and cook for 2 more minutes, until slightly wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, spray a frying pan with nonstick cooking spray and heat on medium high. Lay pineapple rings in pan, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Fry for 2 minutes per side, until nice and charred. Serve on top of beans and rice.
Feeling fancy? Add a chopped red bell pepper in with the cabbage, sprinkle beans with a minced jalapeño pepper, and fold ½ cup of toasted coconut into cooked rice.
