Is there anyway to make a too spicy recipe milder? I made a big batch of red beans and rice last night and it is too hot. There is no way the kids will eat it unless I can tone down the spice. Any ideas?
Thanks for all the great ideas. I tried a little bit of most everything. I added sweet stuff and extra white rice. Never heard of Basmati rice but I'll have to look for that the next time we need rice. I thought about making another batch but I already had about 3 meals worth with just this one batch. We have used the Zatarans before and really liked it and I had dried red beans so I thought I'd try making it from scratch. It was a recipe I found online that had good reviews - so to the the poster who asked about whether it was a mix, it was made from scratch and it was the cayenne and red pepper that did me in :). I shouldn't have added as much as it called for. We did end up serving it in tortillas with extra cheese and sour cream and that toned it down enough for everyone to eat it. I'll have to remember the vinegar for the future as well as the yogurt for when we are out of sour cream. Thanks again!
Red beans and rice! Are you from New Orleans? I'm a transplant and I thought I was the only person in the midwest who fixed red beans and rice!
Did you use a mix or make it from scratch? Did the spice come from additional pepper/seasonings that you added or was the meat spicy sausage like andouille? The answer may depend on where the "heat" came from. But like most everyone else, I think extra plain white rice can help a little.
Make another batch of beans and rice without the hot spices and mix the two together. You can always freeze the leftovers.
I would also serve it with a sour cream and a large glass of milk. Depending on their ages, they may like it spicy. My son since he was 4 loves spicy foods. You can maybe put it in a burrito with refried beans and cheese, lettuce, sour cream. The other ingredients might tame down the spice.
Add some white vinegar. It will make it milder and not affect the taste.
I make VERY HOT Jambalaya every year for the guys I used to work with! I always bring a container or 2 of Sour Cream to neutralize the spice! It works wonders!!!! While most of the guys like it some of them can not take the HOTNESS and just put in a little bit of the sour cream to tame it down!
Good luck and enjoy!
sour cream first thought. more plain rice mixed in may help too
Add honey or brown sugar - sweetness is the natural counteractant to spicy. Good luck!
I have to agree that cheese and sour cream were the first things I thought of to help tone it down. I also agree that putting it into a tortilla would help too - lettuce or diced tomatoes will help as well. Think of it as a taco/burrito ingredient for the kids and it ought to work out just fine.
Try cooking it down longer with chunks of cut up potato. Potato sucks up salt out of things too salty so maybe it will work on the spice also. Next time you make beans and rice, seperate the kids portion and add your "heat" source for and extra 15 minutes. That'll work.
I've heard of putting a potato in will tone it down. Or is that for saltiness?
I would add sugar or brown sugar.
If the guys don't like sour cream I used to put natual yoghurt in mine and it really tapers down the spice.
I once heard at a Chinese restaurant - to tone down the spicy, add white vinegar....never tried it, but sounds like an experiment to try...good luck.
Trisha try some sugar, honey (or a little chocolate - it works!) Generally the sugar counteracts the heat, and it won't make the dish sweet.
Hope that helps!
Lynn
Sour cream and additional plain rice are my first thoughts. Basmati rics seems to absorb spiciness better than regular rice.
Add plain yogurt (and I only get ones without sugar or high fructose corn syrup, like Stoneyfield Farms or Nancy's). Adds extra protein and cuts the spice!
try something sweet like honey or sweet and sour sauce or plum sauce
Try a adding brown sugar a little at a time until it tones it down enough for your little ones.
