How to cook sos pwa congo, a classic Haitian rice dish

How to cook Sos Pwa Congo, a classic Haitian rice dish

11/20/2011

Watching my mother-in-law, husband, sister-in-laws, and friends in the kitchen has been something I've been doing since meeting my Haitian-American boyfriend turned husband. Pre-Haitian boyfriend, I had tried Haitian food once from a restaurant, but I had never heard of sos pwa congo. As soon as I tried it, I was obsessed. It's still my favorite Haitian food dish.

As far as the rice goes, it has taken me over a decade to get it right! Follow these steps to master Haitian white rice (diri blan)

Boil 1 1/2 cups of water with salt and a little bit of olive oil
In a strainer, rinse 1 cup of white rice - Madamn Gougousse (Jasmine)
Pour the rice in once the water boils
Cook for 15 to 18 minutes on low and stir occasionally

This should give you delicious Haitian diri blan with gratine on the bottom (the slightly brown crunchy part that everyone loves and argues over!)
updated 11/20/18

FOLLOW THESE STEPS ON HOW TO COOK SOS PWA CONGO - A CLASSIC HAITIAN RICE DISH

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First, add olive oil, 1 large onion, 4 whole garlic cloves and Haitian spices.

Next, boil a large bag of green peas for about 5 minutes. When they are done, scoop out the water and the majority of peas into a blender (keep 1 cup of peas aside that you will not blend). Liquify the peas.

Add Sazon and 1 can of Green Pigeon Peas to the onion mix, I used one Sazon packet + a little salt. Let the mix cook together for 20 minutes.

Take the liquified peas and put them through a very fine strainer with a bowl underneath to catch the liquid. This is to get rid of the peas skin. The remaining skin (pic on far right) can be blended again and made into more liquid. Now add the 1 cup of green peas (from earlier) to the mix and then add liquified green peas for everything to cook.

Let everything boil on medium for about 1 hour.

When ready, serve with Madamn Gougousse (Jasmine) rice. *You can add a tablespoon of butter, salt and vegetable oil to rice for flavor. ENJOY!

I would love to know how you cook sos pwa congo! Let me know in the comments below.

10 Comments

Dorly Pierre-Louis

11/21/2011 10:01:13 am

Congrats Sister in-law.... The job was well done, I am so proud of you! I am open to teach you any Haitian dishes you would like to learn. By the way, I can teach you how to make "Gratine". I am looking forward to taste your Haitian coocking Sister!!!! Bye, love you.

Diana

11/22/2011 12:00:17 am

Thank you so much!! Let's get cooking :) You have to also teach me, and everyone else, about The Real Haiti!

Sandro

11/13/2014 02:13:09 am

Did your brother in law like it? That would indicate that you passed the test

Diana link

11/13/2014 04:27:55 am

He sure did, Sandro! :) Thanks for stopping by!

Vivens Joachim link

2/11/2015 02:13:54 am

Congrats to you! Job well done! But you know the real "pwa congo" is in "Haiti," fresh from the land, dried from the sun, and has that organic feel...simply delicious...Lol

Nikki

5/28/2015 07:13:43 am

What is "haitian spices". I have no idea what that is. :(

Jaden

7/12/2015 08:30:32 am

Epice. Easy to make. Mostly garlic, green onions, maggi, hot peppers blended together. Can add other vegetables and spices to it too

Richard

3/17/2019 03:43:47 pm

I'm confused, do you have the onions in the pot and then you put in the green peas in the same pot to boil? I'm not sure if they're the same or different >.<

Diana

3/17/2019 06:25:13 pm

Hi Richard! The peas should boil in water in a separate pot. Then when they are soft, liquify almost all of them. The remaining peas can be added to the liquified batch and cooked With the onions etc. hope this helps!