Connie’s notes
Why this dish is called arroz a la Cubana in the Philippines has not been documented clearly. But, as food for thought, I am reproducing here a comment left long ago by a reader and fellow food blogger, Nathan, when I published my earliest recipe for this dish.
Hello, I just wanted to share some info I know about this dish. “Arroz a la Cubana” would translate to “Rice Cuban Style”In Spain “Arroz a la Cubana” is consumed with fried eggs, over rice, served with a tomato sauce and fried plantains. (my grandmother is Spaniard and lived in Cuba many years up until 1960’s and my grandfather is Cuban born of Spaniard grandparents since most Cubans of pre-castro before 1960’s had Spaniard parentage or grandparents, etc. until most of the population fled due to revolution) In Cuba or “Cuban culture” and food, we don’t even call it “Arroz a la Cubana” it’s just “Huevo Frito Con Arroz” (translates to “Fried Egg with Rice”) , very simple just fried egg over rice and some salt, then break and mix, it can be eaten alone or with fried plantains or even fried sliced potatoes (cut in cubes or like french fries) For a heartier meal, we make a Cuban ground beef hash, serve it over rice with 2 fried eggs on top and a side of plantains this is called “a caballo” P.S. I think it’s interesting and cool how different cultures interpret or adapt different dishesBased on that, it appears that Filipino arroz a la Cubana more closely resembles the Cuban “a caballo” or, perhaps, it should be considered a version of picadillo which is found in various Latin American and Caribbean cuisines. But I doubt if arroz a la Cubana will be called by any other name by Filipinos. I’ve cooked it for years, I’ve modified my recipe countless times in an attempt to make it better each time, and I realized that the real secret is in exercising patience. Tip #1: Saba is a cooking banana native to the Philippines. If unavailable in your region but you have access to plantain, it is an acceptable substitution. Tip #2: The rice can be newly cooked or it can be day-old rice recycled as fried rice. The traditional way of serving the egg is fried sunny-side-up.
Ingredients
Beef picadillo
- 500 grams ground beef (1/1 pounds) with at least 30% fat
- 2 shallots peeled and chopped
- 6 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
- 2 sprigs oregano stripped
- salt
- pepper
- ½ cup chopped bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped carrot
- ½ cup sweet peas
- 2 cups diced tomatoes canned was used here
- 2 pinches sugar
To serve
- cooked rice
- eggs fried sunny side up
- 6 to 12 ripe saba bananas sliced and fried
- cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- Heat a pan and spread the ground beef. Cook without disturbing for a few minutes.
- Stir, breaking up clumps, and cook until fat has been rendered. Cook the beef in the rendered fat until lightly browned.
- Cook, stirring often, until the shallot pieces are just starting to turn translucent.
- Add the bell pepper, carrot and peas.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes and add the sugar.
- Stir until simmering.
- Cover the pan, set the heat to low and simmer for about ten minutes.
- Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
- Cover the pan once more and continue cooking until the mixture is quite dry.
- Give your picadillo a final taste, adjust the seasonings, if needed, before assembling the dish.
- Ladle rice into shallow bowls and top with egg. Arrange the beef picadillo on one side of the rice and the fried saba bananas on the other. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
Easy hot pot style soup
