If you’ve grown up living the Latina life like me, you are likely well-versed in the many variations of Hispanic arroz con pollo. Today, I’m sharing my mom’s recipe for Panamanian arroz con pollo. This Panamanian chicken and rice is such a tasty and comforting meal that feeds a crowd!
You have to enjoy veggies though for this version of arroz con pollo Panama style. We fill it up with shredded carrots, celery, and small sweet peas! Also, our version has a bit more of a spicy tomato base than some chicken and rice Panamanian recipes do.
This is the second year in a row that I have made my mom’s Panananian arroz con pollo for potlucks at my work for Hispanic Heritage Month. It is always a hit! And I decided it was time to post the recipe over here on this little slice of the internet.
When I take this dish for potluck, I just put it in an aluminum foil pan or glass baking dish so I can pop it into the oven at work to heat it up (covered with foil) before serving.
Ingredients for Panamanian Arroz con Pollo
- White rice (medium or long grain)
- Chicken (shredded. I prefer to use chicken breast, but shredded dark meat is also commonly used.)
- Oil (vegetable or olive)
- Minced garlic
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots (shredded or grated)
- Salt and pepper
- Cumin
- LaSeur peas (sweet green peas)
- Tomato sauce (We prefer to mix one can of plain tomato sauce with one can of spicy jalapeno tomato sauce for a bit more low-key spice.)
- Optional: tomato broth
The History of Arroz con Pollo
No doubt, arroz con pollo has been around a very long time. From one Latin American country to the next, you will find differing versions of chicken and rice recipes. But one thing is always in common – hardy rice, a staple of the Latin American diet!
How to Prevent Rice from Becoming Mushy
One way to prevent rice from becoming mushy is to be careful not to overcook and not to add too much water. Growing up with my mom, I came to love the “concho” that developed at the bottom layer of her pot of rice. This is a sure fire sign the rice had just enough water – because there was no water left in the bottom of the pan at the end of the cooking – which is how the crunchy bits of rice on the bottom layer developed in my mom’s pot. Now, the concho is only good for munching on. It isn’t the rice you would serve to others and you certainly wouldn’t put it in your arroz con pollo recipe!
How to Make Arroz con Pollo Panama Style
This recipe is very simple. I use two pots. One pot is the rice pot. The other is a large sautee pan with high sides.
Note that in my recipes, I often use slow cooked shredded chicken that I have already cooked and shredded. But you can always boil, roast, or pan fry chicken. If you need to cook your chicken, I would do that step before starting the rice. My mom has always boiled her chicken.
First, I boil the water for the rice and get the rice started. While the rice is cooking, I chop my veggies, adding them to my skillet with a touch of oil. Once all the veggies are in, I add the seasonings.
The veggies sautee in the pan while the rice finishes up. After the onions have softened, I add in the can of green peas.
To the pan of veggies, I stir in the shredded chicken.
Once the rice is ready, I scoop five-six cups of rice into the pan.
The final touch is to stir in the tomato sauce. I love mixing traditional tomato sauce with one can of spicy tomato sauce. I find the jalapeño tomato sauce at my local Hispanic market, and I stock up while I am there.
Note: sometimes I put the tomato sauce in before the rice. It really doesn’t make much different – as long as the rice and veggie/chicken mixture all are evenly coated with sauce.
One Optional Ingredient for a Spicier Arroz con Pollo Panameno
Sometimes, I add in a tiny bit of tomato broth – made with Knorr’s Caldo de Tomate. When I add this, I add it in when I add in the tomato sauce.
The tomato broth gives a bit more of a coloring to the dish and adds a bit more spicy flavor. However, this is kind of a twist on my mom’s recipe. She has never added in the extra broth to hers.
In the photos in this post, the broth is added and the color of the dish is a bit more red. Without the broth added, your rice will be less red – and still delicious!
Tips
- You can make this dish ahead and reheat later for a potluck. Just add 3/4 cup tomato broth (or chicken broth) to the baking dish and cover with foil. Heat on 300 for about 15 minutes or until heated through and warm.
- Make extra rice when you cook your pot of rice so that you can use the extra to make our Panamanian arroz con leche for dessert! I actually like to double my rice for this recipe – making 10 cups of rice so I have 5 cups of cooked rice to use for the rice pudding. Did you know here is a handy dandy rice calculator to help you figure out the rice-to-water ratio and the cups of rice yielded? So helpful!
What to Serve with Panamanian Arroz con Pollo
Traditionally, in our family, we serve our arroz con pollo Panama style with a side of beans. You might also try a simple side salad or even a side of fresh fruit.
You can always served up some delicious Panamanian patacones or Panamanian maduros! And if you are a fan of yuca, be sure to whip up some yuca frita!
Arroz con Pollo (Panama Style)
Ingredients
- 6 cups Water
- 3 cups Rice uncooked
- 1 Celery stalk
- 1 Yellow onion
- 3 tbsp Vegetable oil divided
- t tsp Garlic
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1½ cups Carrots shredded
- 15 oz Le Sueur peas (small green peas)
- 3 Chicken breasts cooked and shredded
- 8 oz Tomato sauce
- 8 oz Tomato sauce with jalapeño
- ½ cup Tomato broth optional: made with Caldo de Tomate
Instructions
- Boil water for rice in large stockpot.
- When water is boiling, add rice and one tablespoon vegetable oil. Water should rise 1 to 1½ inches above the rice.
- Cook rice, covered, for 20 minutes or until all water has been absorbed and rice appears fluffy.
- While rice is cooking, chop the celery and onion.
- In a large sautee skillet with high sides, add two tablespoons vegetable oil and crushed garlic. Cook on low-medium heat until garlic is fragrant.
- Add chopped celery and onion to pan along with the carrots. Cook on low until onions are translucent. Add peas.
- Stir cooked and shredded chicken into skillet of veggies and continue to cook on low.
- When rice is cooked, add 5 cups of cooked rice to the veggie-chicken pan. Mix well.
- Add in two cans of tomato sauce (and the 1/2 cup of tomato broth if using). Continue to cook on low heat 5 more minutes or so until the dish is heated through.
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