Charleston red rice

Charleston red rice is a rice dish commonly found along the Southeastern coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina, known simply as red rice by natives of the region.

Alternative namesRed rice

TypeRice

Region or stateSoutheast United States

Associated cuisineLowcountry

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Charleston red rice

Alternative names	Red rice
Type	Rice
Region or state	Southeast United States
Associated cuisine	Lowcountry
Main ingredients	White rice
Ingredients generally used	Crushed tomatoes, bacon or sausage, celery, bell peppers, onions
Food energy (per 3 oz serving)	166 kcal (690 kJ)[1]
Nutritional value (per 3 oz serving)	Protein 3 g Fat 3.2 g Carbohydrate 30.7 g
Similar dishes	Thieboudienne, jollof rice

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This traditional meal was brought to the U.S. by enslaved Africans from the West Coast of Africa.^{[citation needed]} This cultural foodway is almost always synonymous with the Gullah or Geechee people and heritage that are still prevalent throughout the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia.^[2] The main component of the dish consists of the cooking of white rice with crushed tomatoes instead of water and small bits of bacon or smoked pork sausage. Celery, bell peppers, and onions are the traditional vegetables used for seasoning.^[3]

The dish bears a resemblance to African dishes, particularly the Senegambian dish thieboudienne, suggesting a creolization of the dish from West Africa to the New World.^[4][5] It also bears a resemblance to jollof rice.^[2]