75: Arroz Frito / Fried Rice

Ingredients:
3 cups white rice
4 1/2 cups water
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger (fresh minced, or powdered)
1 pound smoked pork (boneless smoked pork chops that are pre-cooked)
6 eggs
3-4 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 bunches scallions

1. Boil the water, add the rice and let it cook over low heat for 30 minutes (do not add salt).
2. Let the rice cool completely.
NOTE: I used previously made killer white rice that I had frozen and it worked great.
3. Beat the eggs and make an omlette.
4. Cut the omlette into cubes.
5. Cut the pork into cubes.
6. Chop the scallions, including the green parts.
7. Heat the olive oil and fry the garlic cloves until golden brown.
8. Remove the garlic cloves.
9. Add the white rice that has completely cooled to room temperature.
10. Stir often so the rice does not stick to the pot.
11. When the rice starts to heat through, add the cubes of egg and pork, along with the ginger.
12. Slowly add the soy sauce, a Tablespoon at a time until the rice is fully coated.
13. Add the scallions on top.

Makes 8 servings.

Cuban Fried Rice

My son’s birthday was coming up and since I had ventured to make my daughter’s birthday cake and frosting, I knew I wanted to make a big Sunday dinner feast for my son. No cake this time, as I was going to order a Cookie Monster cake from Sweetness Bakeshop for my little cookie monster.

What better recipe than a Cuban favorite – Arroz Frito and Arroz Frito Especial. In case you’re wondering, it’s Fried Rice. Traditional Chinese fried rice. But, for some reason, it’s a staple in so many of our homes. It may be because us Cubans love arroz con cosas (rice with things) and you can always take care of leftovers by making a good arroz frito.

Recipe #194: Arroz Frito

In reading the recipe again for this post, I realize that Nitza asks you to make white rice from scratch specifically for this recipe, but I had so much rice left over from the Killer Rice I made for my mother-in-law’s house on Mother’s Day that there was no way I was abandoning all that rice. I froze that leftover rice a few weeks back and knew I’d be using it for my little boy’s feast.

You prep all the ingredients – chop the meats into cubes (yay!), make the omlettes and chop that into cubes (yippee!) when they cool and chop the green onions.

Once that’s done, you fry up the white rice in hot oil that you infused with garlic (doubly for me, since my Killer Rice was already made that way) and when it’s fully heated through, you add in the chopped meats, omlette and some ginger. Then, you add in the soy sauce and mix it up well. When you’re done, you top it with the chopped green onion.

Homemade Chinese food!

Recipe #195: Arroz Frito Especial

I had to make two batches because I was expecting close to thirty blood relatives for our dinner. This second batch included cooked shrimp and ham, chopped into cubes. Done with another recipe.

My son had a blast on his second birthday. The Cookie Monster cake took the, well, you know, cake. And the family had a wonderful dinner. The ladies even had a chance to weigh in as I ventured to make some honey chicken on my own. Must remember to never do that again – rubbery, pale, faintly taste of honey chicken is more like it. Good thing I made enough rice.