Asopao Food

ASOPAO DE POLLO

Steps:

• Season chicken thighs with black pepper and adobo seasoning.
• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir green pepper, red pepper, onion, garlic, and tomato paste in the hot oil, until the vegetables have softened slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove vegetables from the pot and set aside.
• Pan fry chicken in the pot until browned, 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Return cooked vegetables to the pot along with rice, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until rice is tender and chicken is no longer pink inside, about 20 minutes.
• Stir in peas and olives and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and discard bay leaf. Stir in cilantro and serve.

PUERTO RICAN SEAFOOD SOUP: ASOPAO DE MARISCOS

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom the pan thinly and saute the large diced white onion and large diced green pepper until translucent. Add lobster heads and shrimp shells. Cook until color starts changing and starts to look red. Add tomato sauce, white wine, and bay leaf. Add clam juice and water. Cook for at least 2 hours, then strain.
• In a medium size stockpot, saute the small diced onion, and small diced pepper until translucent. Add rice, clams, mussels, bay leaf, and a pinch of saffron. Add all strained seafood stock and cook until rice is soft, approximately 20 minutes. Add shrimp, scallops, and lobster. Cook for approximately 8 minutes. Add culantro and season with salt and pepper.

ASOPAO DE POLLO (TRADITIONAL CHICKEN ASOPAO)

Steps:

• *Note:alcaparrado is a mixture of whole green olives, pimentos, and capers; look for it in the Latin section of the supermarket or in Latino markets such as Goya.
• Combine the first 5 ingredients in a small bowl.
• Sprinkle chicken with the oregano mixture.
• Heat Annatto Oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add the chicken; cook 8 minutes, turning once.
• Reduce heat to medium.
• Add Sofrito and tomato; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add rice, wine, ham, and alcaparrado; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
• Add the water and chicken broth; bring to a boil.
• Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Stir in the peas, and cook for 5 minutes or until the rice is tender.
• Garnish and serve.

ASOPAO DE POLLO (PUERTO RICAN CHICKEN STEW)

Steps:

• Blend 1 cup chicken stock with lime juice, bell pepper, sweet pepper, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, and oregano to make the sofrito.
• Combine olive oil and annatto seeds in a large skillet over medium heat. Heat until seeds start to open up and oil turns a yellow-orange color, 3 to 4 minutes. Add enough chicken to cover the pan in a single layer without overcrowding. Cook, turning halfway, until juices run clear, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Combine remaining chicken stock, 1/2 of the sofrito, and bay leaves in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Stir in rice, tomato, green peas, onion, green olives, capers, adobo seasoning, salt, and pepper.
• Add the cooked chicken to the broth. Saute remaining chicken in the annatto oil before adding to the pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer until rice is tender, about 20 minutes more.

PUERTO RICAN ASOPAO DE POLLO

Steps:

• Grind all the Adobo ingredients together in a mortar and pestle or food processor to make a paste.
• In a cast-iron or heavy skillet, heat ½ cup olive oil. When very hot, add annatto seeds. Turn heat to low, continue cooking, stirring frequently, for approximately 5 minutes, until oil is a rich orange-red color. Allow to cool, then strain into a clean glass container. Set aside. Discard seeds.
• Whir all Sofrito ingredients in a blender until chopped.
• Add 1/4 part of the sofrito with the vinegar to the adobo mixture in a bowl and blend well. Rub the mixture over the chicken pieces. Let marinate in the refrigerator overnight. Place remaining sofrito mixture in tight lidded container and refridgerate.
• In a soup pot, heat the achiote oil. Add remaining 3/4 part of the sofrito. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Add chicken. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently to ensure that all the pieces of chicken are seasoned. Continue cooking a few minutes more until the chicken is opaque.
• Add the white wine and tomato sauce and stir well, then add the rice, water, capers, olives, bay leaves, oregano, and salt. Return the mixture to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, covered, 20 to 25 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

ASOPAO

Steps:

• Put chicken, onion, garlic, green pepper, tomatoes, chorizos, bay leaf, water, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper into a pot. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Add rice to pot, boil again and simmer, covered, until rice is tender and the dish has the consistency of a thick soup, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.