Finally, My Arroz con Pollo Recipe | Food Podcast Episode 8

Little Lady Cook "La Cocinerita" — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 14:06:15 +0000

I published this podcast episode back at the end of April and I could tell you so many of the excuses I have for not having shared the recipe until now, but instead I’ll just keep it short and sweet and share the recipe.

Seriously, here you go, this is the podcast episode and the recipe below, ¡a comer! (you’re welcome)
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I usually make the stock the night before or days before and freeze it.

Chicken Stock Recipe (this will yield enough to make arroz con pollo (twice the recipe), or just save the chicken stock and shredded chicken for another time)

Ingredients

3.5 lb chicken thigh (bone & skin in)

3 medium size carrots

1 medium size yellow onions

scallion bulbs

3 garlic cloves

cilantro stalks

1 bay leaf

culantro leaves (2-3)

Instructions:

– Fill up a pot with water until you cover all the chicken, add chopped vegetables, herbs stalks. and bay leaf

– Bring to a boil and then lower the temperature and simmer 30-45 minutes (until the chicken is cooked).

– Remove all the chicken from the pot, continue simmering the stock.

– Debone chicken and remove skin and toss (bones & skin) back inside the pot, you can simmer in low for 2-3 hours, depending on how much time available you have and how much you want to reduce as well you can either add more water to the stock, or you can make sure you get 2-4 cups and your stock will have a wonderful strong chicken delicious taste.

– While the stock continues to simmer you can now shred the chicken with your hands and reserve.

– Pass stock through a sieve to make sure it has no bits, squeeze those juice from the bones, skin, and vegetables (seriously, look at the photo above on how much I squeezed them skin/bones/veg).

Note: When the stock cools off you can skim the fat off from the top and save it to use to cook the arroz con pollo or any other delicious meal; chicken fat is so delicious I actually use it a lot for cooking over other animal fats.

LittleLadyCook’s Arroz Con Pollo Recipe:Ingredients:

1 lb of white rice

2 cups of shredded chicken

2-3 cups of chicken stock

1 tbs tomato paste

3 garlic cloves, minced

Scallions, chopped

Cilantro, chopped

Culantro, chopped

Chicken Fat

Annatto powder

Turmeric Powder

Paprika

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Cumin

Worcestershire Sauce

Soy Sauce

Black Pepper

Red Pepper, chopped

Green Peas

Carrot, chopped

Onion, chopped

Olives

Capers

Instructions:

– Rinse your rice in cold water 3-4 times to remove some starch.

– Bring 2 cups of stock to a boil, add tomato paste, pinch of turmeric, 1-2 teaspoons of the annatto, pinch of all the spices, and salt. Taste and adjust as you go, it is easier to add more seasoning later.

– Add the rice, make sure there is around 3/4-1 inch of the stock above the rice, cover the pot, temperature on medium.

– Add the garlic, cilantro, culantro, red pepper, and add around 2-3 tbs of chicken fat.

– Cover and simmer until the rice is done, if you think it’s too watery and are afraid of it getting too porridge like don’t add more stock and finishing i without a lid.

– In a separate pan, caramelize your onion in chicken fat, medium high heat, reserve, then heat up pan again with chicken fat and caramelize the carrots a little as well.

– Reheat pan with chicken fat if you still have some or olive oil and saute the shredded chicken in chicken fat with annatto and turmeric. This can be done in two minutes since your chicken is already cooked.

– Add back the cooked carrots and onions. Turn off your pan.

– Lastly, add the peas to your shredded chicken mixture, if you get frozen peas: rinse them under room temperature water and then mix in with the carrots, add the onions back and once your rice is done you can mix it all together. (make sure you are seasoning as you go, with salt, soy sauce, and/or worcestershire sauce.

FINISHING THE ARROZ CON POLLO

– I like to finish my arroz con pollo in the oven, I mix everything in this stage (olives/capers, shredded chicken, and rice with vegetables) and spread it all on an oiled (covered in foil if you prefer) baking sheet, at 350F-400F until your preferred doneness. You might have to stir a few times to make sure the whole rice is cooked as you like it.

NOTE 1: I’ll keep coming back to this recipe and make it as clear as possible, but this is really how I usually make my arroz con pollo. I have what I call a “lazy version” where I use Maggi cubes (literally has turmeric/annatto/msg and a bunch of delicious stuff that saves time). You can cook all together as many people do.

NOTE 2: I’m careful with the salt because I add a lot of olives and capers to my arroz con pollo at the end so they retain their crunch and saltiness, this is why I make my last adjustment right when I place the baking sheet with the arroz con pollo in the oven.

Optional for serving:
– Sliced toasted almonds

– Raisin haters, some people might actually add raisins, but it is not common, I do love raisins in my arroz con pollo!

– For a more Panamanian traditional party way: serve your arroz con pollo with a side fried yellow plantains (tajadas or caramelized plantains) also with a Russian Potato Salad. Trust me, listen to the podcast on the reason why, haha!

¡a comer!

Chef Melissa de LeÃ³n at the Academia de Artes Culinarias

Little Lady Cook "La Cocinerita" — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:36:32 +0000

Chef Melissa “La Cooking Diva“,Â invited me to one of her classes at the Culinary Arts Academy in Panama, this class was a level 1 for a group of friends who work together, so the fact that it was not a group of students made it very interesting.

I arrived ealier than the ChefÂ so I went for a walk on that nice area, when I came back Melissa also arrived and showed me the 2 dishes and 1 dessert she was going to work with the students.

This is for the Plantain Pie with Chorizo

Ingredients for the Arroz con Pollo

I really liked her system of writing on the board the dishes and students choosing where they wanted to work, for some reason I ended up with the Plantain-Chorizo Pie & I was thrilled (you all know how much I love plantains)

Everyone going through the Prep List divided per dish

I wish I could have recorded this class and not just done photos, every single student has a marvelous personality, and the little fellow you will see on this next picture, he behaved so well, I mean as well as a kid can behave around knives and kitchen toys haha, trust me if I was him I don’t think adults could have cooked a thing with me around.

The little fellow

Student chopping PimentÃ³n Verde

Chef Melissa & students stirring the pot of the Arroz con Pollo

This is the Sweet Plantain Pie, with chorizo & Queso Fresco

It was amazing all the stories, the jokes the comments mostly on football, you know world cup 2010!

Deboning the chicken for the Arroz con Pollo

The kitchen layout for this class was pretty comfy, huge tables, a nice organized pantry, the Academy provides a good environment for these students, having said that a class with Chef Melissa could be informative & fun at the same time, I wish I could have gone to many others but it will be a must once I go back to Panama.

The delicious Arroz con Pollo

Student using his creative skills, it shows you that cooking is an expression of art

This Pie, was my favorite, the perfect combination of chorizo, the queso fresco & the sweet plantains, it brought me from sweet to salty, quite tasty!

The wonders of Phyllo Dough, just this simple recipe brought so many ideas to all the students, and even the little fellow mentioned how much he wanted cheese & ham inside ofÂ it instead of an apple strudel ha!

It was a lovely happy Thursday night with Chef Melissa and her group, they were really warm and cheerful, I can’t believe they came straight from work, so much energy and enthusiasm, this class is the best therapy anyone can have for stress.Â No yoga, no running, no swimming or watching movies, grab a recipe, bunch of ingredients and let your mind and hands do the rest.

You know, some people cook for a living, some because they have to, and some others choose to cook just because, the reason doesn’t matter as long you always, always enjoy your time in the kitchen.

Â¡a comer!

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arroz con pollo Archives - Cocinerita

Finally, My Arroz con Pollo Recipe | Food Podcast Episode 8

Chef Melissa de LeÃ³n at the Academia de Artes Culinarias