No Rice at a Wedding? Use It in Arroz con Pollo

Dexi's Panamanian chicken and rice, the recipe I flew back to learn.

A recipe worth flying back for

Nobody throws rice at weddings anymore... So I say, put it to better use.

Arroz con Pollo, chicken and rice, is a classic across Spain and Latin America. In my family, it meant a special occasion. My Panamanian mother made it for the big moments, and it was always a treat.

In February 2017. I was in Panamá, and my mother asked Dexi to make the Arroz con Pollo.

I didn't understand why it was such a big deal that Dexi made it... until I took the first bite.

All I could think was: how does she do it? What's the magic ingredient?

That September, I was back in Panamá with one goal before I flew home, to learn Dexi's Arroz con Pollo.

I made an appointment, I stood in her kitchen, and wrote down and photographed every step, with no professional kitchen and no camera crew. Just Dexi, me, and kitchen lighting.

For Hispanic Heritage Month, I'm sharing it with you.

Arroz con Pollo Panamanian style with platanos maduros

Cooking with all your senses

At Bougie Vida, I believe the good life starts with your senses. This dish proves it.

The sizzle of rice stirring in olive oil. The broth turning the rice a warm golden orange, and the smell drifting through the house while the pot rests.

You don't need fancy ingredients or knife skills. You just need an afternoon and an appetite.

From experience: shop the day before. Start to finish, this takes about 1½ hours.

Let's glow for it!

Dexi's Arroz con Pollo

Serves 6 to 8 · About 1½ hours

Ingredients

• 3 large in-bone chicken breasts or 4 medium (without the skin)

• 1 celery stalk with leaves (cut the leaves off and put aside)

• 1 medium carrot

• 1 green pepper

• 1 red pepper

• 1/2 cup Spanish olives pitted with pimentos (Goya is the best & cheapest)

• 1/4 cup small capers

• 1 14.5 oz. can of mixed vegetables

• 1 8 oz. can of green beans

• 4 ozs. of plain tomato sauce (not paste)

• 2 packets of powdered chicken flavored bouillon (try Goya)

• 2 1/2 cups white rice (in the notes I'll show the adjustments for brown rice)

• Olive oil

• Worcestershire sauce

• Soy sauce

• Oregano

• Pepper

• Salt

• Garlic powder

• Onion powder

Directions

1. Pat dry your chicken breasts and place in a bowl. Season with Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce. Enough so each piece is marinated. Sprinkle the garlic powder and onion powder over each piece and rub in. Add a pinch of salt, pepper, and oregano to each piece of chicken and rub in.

   
   

2. Place your chicken pieces in a large stock pot, breast up, and sprinkle one packet of powdered bouillon over the chicken then throw the celery leaves on top. Put on medium heat for 5 minutes.

STEP 3: Add enough water to cover the chicken, (approximately 10 cups), and put on a high flame.

STEP 4: While the chicken is cooking, finely dice the green pepper, red pepper, and celery stalk, and coarsely grate the carrot (peel the carrot before grating). Set aside.

STEP 5: The chicken should be boiling at this point. Once the water is boiling, let the chicken cook for 45 minutes. Now, you can take a short break, but don't go too far. After 45 minutes, remove the chicken and let cool on a plate. Keep the remaining liquid. Later, it will be poured into the rice.

STEP 6: Time to start the rice. Take your 2 1/2 cups of rice and rinse the rice with water at least twice through a strainer. Rinsing the rice removes the starch so your rice isn't sticky. Put aside.

STEP 7: Chicken breasts should be cool enough to begin shredding. Take a plate and start shredding the chicken into medium sized pieces. Once you've shredded all the chicken, put aside.

STEP 8: Now it's time to make the rice. In a large stock pot, pour olive oil so it just covers the bottom of the pot, and put on a medium flame. Pour rice into the pot and give a big stir. Let rest about 30 seconds. Give another big stir making sure oil covers all of the rice. Let rest another 30 seconds. You're going to stir and rest the rice two more times, for a total of 4 times.

STEP 9: Take the liquid from the chicken and pour into the rice until the rice is just covered. Add the tomato sauce and stir. Put the rice on a high flame and sprinkle one packet of powdered chicken bouillon over the rice. Wait about 3 minutes and put the cover on the rice.

STEP 10: While you're waiting to cover the rice, open the cans of mixed vegetables and green beans and drain them. Now give the rice a light stir and cover. Let cook on high for about 4 minutes without lifting the cover.

STEP 11: Check the rice after 4 minutes, the water should be evaporating, if not cover and cook for another minute. Once you see the water has started to evaporate, add the chicken, mixed vegetables, green beans, celery, peppers, olives, and capers to the rice. Give the rice a couple of big stirs. Cover, lower to a medium flame, and let cook for 3 minutes. Stir the pot a couple of times and replace the cover. Let cook for 5 minutes.

STEP 12: Add the carrots and give the pot a couple of big stirs. Cover, put the flame on low and let finish cooking for 15 minutes. Shut off the flame and let it rest for 10 minutes then serve.

FINAL STEP: Serve this with a small salad and you and yours will have a delicious meal!

CYNTHIA SAYS:

1.) If you substitute brown rice in this recipe, when you're ready to add the liquid, add 1 2/3 cups of water for each cup of rice, then follow the recipe.

2.) This dish is often served with patacones (fried plantains), or platano en tentacíon, made with ripe plantains, which will be recipes for another day.

Download the recipe here:

Dexis Arroz con Pollo - Bougie Vida.pdf

Download PDF • 105KB

Stay in the glow and enjoy,

Cynthia

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