Traditional Cuban Yellow Rice Food

EASY CUBAN ARROZ IMPERIAL (IMPERIAL RICE!)

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven or saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, green pepper, and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes.
• Add sliced pimentos and tomato sauce. Sauté for 1 minute. Add rice, water, bouillon cube, Bijol and bay leaf. Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 15 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE LID. The steam is what cooks the rice. After 15 minutes, remove from heat. Keep the lid on for another 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
• In a skillet, add olive oil, onions, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. Sauté onions with spices for 5 minutes at medium-high heat. Add garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken stock to deglaze the pan then add the shredded chicken and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In an 8x8 baking dish, you will begin layering your ingredients. First, start by spreading a thin layer of mayonnaise at the bottom. This will prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the dish.
• Next, add a layer of rice, then a layer of shredded chicken, then a layer of shredded cheese, another layer of rice, a thicker layer of mayonnaise, a layer of shredded chicken, and top it off with a thick layer of shredded cheese.
• Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes to melt the cheese. Garnish with sliced olives and pimentos, if desired. Serve and enjoy!

ARROZ CON POLLO

Steps:

• Trim any excess fat from the chicken and season with 1 teaspoon of salt.
• Add 1½ teaspoon of salt, oregano, paprika, turmeric, cumin and black pepper to a small bowl. Stir the seasoning mix to combine.
• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the chicken, skin side down. Cook the chicken for 5 minutes, then turn and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the heat. Remove the chicken from the pot and set on a plate or pan. Loosely cover the chicken with a piece of foil, to keep it warm.
• Do not wash the pot. Set it back over medium heat and add the onions. Cook the onions for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add the garlic, tomato paste and the prepared seasoning mix (1½ teaspoon of salt, oregano, paprika, turmeric, cumin and black pepper) to the pot. Stir well until combined. and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Carefully, add the white wine to the pot and stir, while gently scraping any bits off the bottom. Cook for 1 minute, or until most of the wine cooks out.
• Add the rice, chicken broth, water, and the bay leaf to the pot. Stir well to combine.
• Add the chicken back to the pot. Arrange it so that it's not stacked.
• Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Stir the rice frequently while waiting for the liquid to come to a boil.
• Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• The rice should now be visible on the surface and should not sink to the bottom of the pot when stirred.
• Give everything a good stir. Lower the heat to low, cover and cook the chicken and rice for 20 minutes. Stir after 10 minutes, then stir again after the 20 minutes.
• Taste a little bit of the rice. If it needs a salt, this is the time to add it. As a reference, we added ½ teaspoon of salt to ours. Stir well.
• Raise the heat to medium-low and slowly add the beer, while stirring. Cover and cook the chicken and rice for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to low and cook another 10 minutes.
• Taste the rice, if it's still not done, cover and let it steam another 15 minutes or until done.
• Garnish with the sweet peas, if desired.

CUBAN YELLOW RICE

Steps:

• Place the saffron in the hot water, allow to steep for 20 minutes, the water will turn a deep yellow color.
• After 20 minutes, pour the liquid through a fine mesh sieve (or coffee filter), discard the strands, reserve the liquid.
• Heat a large sauté pan (one that has a lid, otherwise use a large saucepan) over medium heat, add the olive oil, roll to cover the pan, then add the onion.
• Sauté the onion until it begins to turn translucent, about 5-7 minutes, add the salt and the rice.
• Stirring constantly, cook the rice for several minutes until it begins to slightly brown.
• Mix in the cumin, paprika, and oregano until they bloom and become fragrant.
• Pour in the chicken broth and saffron liquid, mix well, and bring to a boil.
• Boil for 2-3 minutes while stirring, reduce heat to low and continue to cook uncovered until the rice begins to absorb some of the water.
• Cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
• Stir in the peas, cover and continue to cook for 5 additional minutes or until the water has been completely absorbed.
• Add the butter and using a fork, fluff the rice while mixing the butter in.
• Serve and enjoy.

CUBAN-STYLE YELLOW RICE

Steps:

• Place the rice in a sieve and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear. Shake sieve to remove excess water from rice.
• Place rice in a large saucepan with a tightly fitting lid and add water. Stir in the onion, salt, annatto powder, paprika, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover pan, and simmer. After cooking for 10 minutes, gently stir the peas into the rice. Cook until all the water is evaporated and the rice is tender, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Serve garnished with pimento slices.

CUBAN SPICY YELLOW RICE

Steps:

• Combine all in the rice cooker. Takes about 20 minutes, depending on your cooker. You can adjust seasonings more or less, for your taste.
• Stove top: Combine all except rice in a saucepan, bring to boil. Add rice and cover. Reduce heat to low, cook about 20-25 minutes. Sit 5 minutes, fluff with fork. (Your basic rice cooking instructions).

AUTHENTIC YELLOW RICE - ARROZ AMARILLO

Steps:

• 1. Rinse the rice in a mesh colander thoroughly to remove all of the surface starch. This step alone can improve your rice dramatically, no matter what type of rice dish you are choosing to make. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. You may want to dig your hands through the rice, moving it around to really rinse it well. Drain the rice well.
• 2. In a large pot with a tight fitting lid, heat 3 cups of water to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to about 4, or medium low. Meanwhile as the water is heating, in a frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat until very hot. Add in the onion and cook for about 1 minute, and then add in the rice to the frying pan. Frying the rice before boiling the rice is commonplace in Spanish and Latin kitchens, though many people are not aware of this ever important step. Fry the rice, stirring with a wooden spoon, for about 4-5 minutes.
• 3. Add to the rice the chicken boullion packets and Sazon Goya packets, and stir well. Be sure all of the rice is evenly coated with the seasoning.
• 4. Transfer the rice to the boiling water, stir once, and cover with the lid. DO NOT open the lid until the rice is done, which will be about 20 minutes. The rice relies on the steam to thoroughly cook through, and by removing the lid, you will allow the steam to escape. Once done, fluff with the back of a fork, and serve with black beans and chicken, pork chops, or anything you like.
• 5. Optional: You can add 1/2 C of frozen mixed vegetables to the rice if you'd like to. Just add them when you are in the stage of frying the rice, to the rice, and transfer to the hot water together.

CUBAN CHICKEN WITH YELLOW RICE

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large deep skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken and brown on both sides until golden and almost done. Remove to a plate, sprinkle with salt and pepper and keep warm.
• Pour water into skillet and add garlic. Bring to a boil and add rice and stir. Add chicken back to pan on top of rice and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Cook until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
• Spoon peas and roasted red pepper over top. Cover again and cook 3-5 more minutes.

YELLOW RICE

Steps:

• In a fine-mesh sieve, rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then set aside to drain.
• In a medium saucepan or pot, heat the oil over medium. Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and fragrant, about 5 to 7 minutes. Take care not to burn the garlic by reducing the heat slightly if necessary.
• Add the rice and sprinkle it with the salt and turmeric. Stir to combine, then cook the rice and spices in the oil for about 1 minute. Add the water, bring to a lively boil over high heat and then immediately cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for about 15 minutes, until the water has been absorbed. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to continue steaming, covered, for another 10 minutes.
• Gently fluff with a fork or a slotted spatula, taking care not to break too many grains. Garnish with the cilantro, if using, and serve.