Quingombo Soup Puerto Rican Food

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.

PUERTO RICAN MONDONGO

Steps:

• Combine tripe and lemon juice in a large bowl. Let sit, about 10 minutes.
• Transfer tripe and lemon juice to a large pot. Cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse tripe.
• Return tripe to the pot. Cover with 2 quarts beef broth, adding water as needed. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cook until tender, about 2 hours.
• Stir remaining beef stock, cassava, potatoes, yams, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, tomato sauce, sofrito, and corn into the pot. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper.

SANCOCHO

Steps:

• Peel and cut the yuca, yautia, green plantain and yellow plantain into 1-inch pieces. Scrape out the seeds, then chop the calabaza, skin on, into 1-inch pieces. Put each ingredient in a separate bowl, adding water to cover vegetables in order to prevent them from turning brown while you prepare the rest of the soup.
• Husk the corn, then slice it into 2-inch-thick segments. Set aside.
• Season pork (or beef) and chicken with 1/2 tablespoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add the pork and brown on all sides for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a clean, large bowl, then add the chicken to the same pot, and brown on both sides for another 5 minutes, adding oil as needed if the pot gets dry. Transfer with a slotted spoon to the same bowl as the pork.
• Reduce heat to medium and add sofrito to the pot, scraping up any browned bits of meat and incorporating them into the mix. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until liquid has evaporated and mixture darkens in color.
• Return the pork, chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot. Add the stock, bay leaves and remaining 1 tablespoon salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once simmering, reduce heat to medium-low and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• To keep the vegetables from falling apart, add each one in order of firmness, cooking each for 5 minutes before adding the next. Begin with the yuca, then yautia, green plantain, yellow plantain, calabaza and corn, cooking the yuca for a total of 30 minutes and the corn for only 5 minutes.
• Add chorizo and stir well to incorporate. Cook for another 10 to 15 minutes over medium-low heat until meat and vegetables are tender and break easily with a fork. Because of all the starches and meat in this dish, this stew tends to be thick and rich. Some of the vegetables will fall apart, giving it a porridge consistency. This is a good thing.
• Adjust salt to taste, and serve with fresh bread or white rice on the side.

CHICKEN GUMBO SOUP

Steps:

• Bring the water to a boil. Add the garlic powder and the hot pepper sauce. Put the carrots and mushrooms into the pot of water. Cook for five minutes.
• Add the okra, wild rice, and chicken cubes. Turn heat to low, and cook for three hours.
• Add the spiral pasta, and cook for ten minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, garnished with green onions.

MOFONGO

Steps:

• Heat canola oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mash the garlic with the olive oil in a mortar and pestle. Combine garlic mixture with the pork rinds in a large bowl; set aside.
• Fry the plantain chunks until golden and crispy, but not brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer the fried plantains into the bowl with the garlic mixture. Toss to coat. Mash the coated plantains with the mortar and pestle until smooth. Season with salt. Roll the plantain mixture into two large balls or several small balls before serving.