This is such a treat. I didn't actually make this. My roommate (who's a Hudyo) surprised me with this dish today for
dinner (June 12, 2002). He was
reading one of my Filipino recipe books and decided to make this dish because he thought it was easy to do. And he said
it was ... and didn't take more than 30 minutes.
The book is called "The Food of the Philippines" by Reynaldo Alejandro. It's a handy little book with beautiful pictures of
authentic and traditional Filipino recipes. And as usual, because it is by Reynaldo Alejandro, the recipes are very easy
to follow and the ingredients are very easy to find even in the diaspora. The book also has chapters on Filipino food and food
practices. You can order this book now (!) by clicking the picture below.
At anyrate, on to the recipe - Arroz a la Cubana or Cuban-style rice. This is now a staple in my household.
Ingredients:
vegetable or corn oil (about 3 tablespoons)
minced garlic (1 tablespoon)
minced shallots (1/4 cup) - green onions
diced tomatos (1/2 cup)
ground beef (1/2 lb)
ground pork (1/2 lb)
note: he didn't have ground pork, so he just used ground beef
soy sauce (3 tablespoons)
raisins (1/4 cup)
salt (1/2 teaspoons)
ground black pepper (1/4 teaspoon)
peas (1/2 cup)
peanut oil (5 tablespoons)
plantains (3, peeled and sliced)
note: he didn't have plantains, he just used plain bananas
6 eggs
freshly cooked rice, kept warm (5 cups)
In a large stock pot or skillet, saute garlic and onion in heated vegetable or corn oil until golden brown.
Add minced shallots and cook until transparent.
Add diced tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the beef, pork and soy sauce. Cook until the meat is brown.
Add raisins, salt and pepper. Stir constantly. Add the peas and simmer for another 5 minutes.
In another pan, heat the peanut oil and fry the banana slices. Remove from the heat and set aside. Put more
peanut oil and fry the eggs sunny side up. Set aside.
On a large serving platter, arrange the cooked rice with the meat and plantain and the eggs ... however you like
them to be arranged.
Impress your friends with this complete meal! And buy the book. Rey Alejandro has lots of other easy to make
treats in the book! And to think I have the book for four years now!
