A New Year‘s tradition for many, some say eating Hopping John will bring you good luck for the coming year. Whether it brings you luck or not, it tastes so good you won’t be able to get enough of it. Make this dish for a New Year's party, or serve it at any other time of the year to bring some luck into your household. Even if you don't believe in such tales, this is sure to be a dinner your family falls in love with.
A Tip For Cooking Rice
In most cases, you'll want to wash your rice before cooking it, similar to how you might rinse vegetables or fruit. Many cooks don't realize the need for this, but in many cases it's quite important. Let's cover the reasons why cleaning your rice is so important.
First, cleaning your rice before cooking it will remove excess starch. This will prevent the grains from sticking together, and will lower the risk that they stick to the pot. If you're making sticky rice, you want this starch to remain so you'll get the ideal texture. Otherwise, sticky rice isn't what you want- you want fluffy rice, which you'll get in part from washing your rice.
Another reason is to wash off excess dirt and dust that could be present on the rice. Chances are you won't see this debris, but it definitely can be present. This debris often settles on the rice during processing, and isn't going to be removed by normal cooking.
The only instance in which you shouldn't wash your rice is if the instructions on the bag specifically tell you not to. This is usually only in cases where the rice is enriched with vitamins and minerals. If this is the case, washing the rice will strip it of these additions.
To wash your rice, simply put it in a bowl and agitate it in cold water. You should see the water start to become somewhat cloudy. Change out the water once it becomes cloudy, and repeat the process until the water remains clear. At this point, your rice is clean and ready to cook!
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Awesome Skillet Hopping John Recipe
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Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 (16 ounce) cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked rice
1 teaspoon salt
Crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
1. Sauté onion and garlic in butter until onion is tender.
2. Stir in black-eyed peas, chicken broth, rice, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper.
3. Bring mixture to a boil; cover and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
4. Serve with additional crushed red pepper. Serves 6.