Arroz Con Pollo Peruano: Peruvian Rice With Chicken
Crispy, fried chicken pieces lie on a mountain of rice speckled with carrot cubes, peas and red bell pepper, seasoned with cilantro.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 40 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- ½ cup olive oil
- 4 chicken legs
- ½ red onion (chopped finely)
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon ají amarillo chili pepper paste
- 1 cup cilantro leaves (freshly processed )
- 1 tablespoon ají panca chili pepper paste
- 2 cups white (long-grain rice)
- 1 cup malt beer (optional)
- ½ cup green peas (cooked )
- ½ cup carrots (cooked & diced)
- 2 ½ cups chicken stock or water
- 1 cup salsa criolla
- 1 red bell pepper (julienned)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 onion (julienned)
- 1 small limo chili pepper (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon parsley (finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- 1
Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and fry in a frying pan over a medium heat until sealed all over (not cooked inside). Remove the chicken and set aside.
- 2
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pot, lightly fry the onion, garlic paste and ají amarillo paste, ají panca paste and cumin for two minutes over a medium heat.
- 3
Blend the cilantro
- 4
Add the cilantro paste, mix well and let the ingredients cook for another five minutes, or until the onion is soft.
- 5
Add the chicken thighs (or chicken legs) to this mixture of seasoning and cook for 20 minutes or until the chicken is completely cooked inside. Remove the chicken pieces and set aside.
- 6
Add the rice to the same pot where you cooked the chicken, which still has more seasoning, and add the 2½ cups of chicken stock or water. Mix the ingredients well so the rice is covered with seasoning (otherwise it won’t take on its characteristically green tinge). Bring to a boil over a high heat without a lid. As soon as it starts to boil, cover the pot and let the rice cook over a low heat for 15 minutes approximately. (In case you’re using beer, which we omitted, replace half a cup of water or chicken stock for beer and add it in this step.)
- 7
Prepare the salsa criolla by mixing the julienned red onion, finely chopped limo chili pepper, parsley, olive oil, lime juice and salt. Add the cooked carrots and peas. Place a generous portion of rice on each plate, top with a piece of chicken and serve with salsa criolla.