24 Jun Peruvian Arroz con Pollo Recipe – Coriander Chicken with Rice
This rice recipe is a typical dish among Peruvian households. Arroz con Pollo is a Peruvian stew cooked with fresh cilantro or coriander. It is one of my favourite recipes because it is an excellent way to add some veggies to my son’s diet, perfect for those picky children. Also ideal for leftovers because it will reheat without sacrificing flavour or texture.
Arroz con Pollo was a reinterpretation of the classic Peruvian northern stew Arroz con Pato (Rice with Duck). Because it was so difficult to find duck and chicha de Jora in the capital, the cooks changed the duck for chicken and the chicha de Jora for beer to make this classic Peruvian dish.
Recently, the Peruvian style of serving the dish has changed a little, and some people will add a Salsa Criolla on the side and “Papa a la huancaina”. In our family we eat it the old-fashioned way, just rice and chicken, otherwise there will be too many carbohydrates in our meal.
Ingredients:
- Chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks
- vegetable oil
- red onion
- garlic cloves
- coriander or cilantro
- yellow chilli paste
- panka chilli
- lager beer
- basmati rice or long grain rice
- peas
- Peruvian corn kernels
- diced carrots
- red bell pepper or capsicum
- chicken stock
- Salt and black Pepper
First, wash the chicken pieces and dry them with paper towels. Trim the excess skin and salt and pepper them. In a big pot or dutch oven, drizzle a little oil and heat oil at medium-high heat. You must brown the chicken for a couple of minutes to have the right colour. Pick the chicken and leave them aside in the same oil-fried onions, garlic, chilli, and cilantro. Add the lager beer (some people put dark beer) and the browned chicken pieces and let it simmer at medium temperature until the chicken is done. PIck the chicken pieces up and keep them in an airtight container to keep them warm. Incorporate the white rice, peas, carrot, corn, and capsicum. Cover the preparation with enough cups of chicken stock or water to cover them all and have a surplus of 1 cm over the mixture. Check the seasoning and let it cook at low heat for approximately 15 to 20 minutes until the rice is thoroughly cooked and without water. Serve the cooked rice with the warm chicken. Some people will serve it with salsa Criolla and huancaina.
Frequently Asked Questions About Arroz con Pollo.
Yes, you can keep the Arroz con Pollo in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and heat it in the microwave or a skillet without a problem.
You can omit the chilli but use all the other ingredients to bring the flavours, like onions, garlic, capsicums, cilantro, etc.
Yes, you can skip any of these ingredients. When I don’t find the Peruvian corn, I omit it because I think the other type of corn is too sweet for this dish.
In some countries in Latin America, you will find them in grocery stores, and others, like here in Australia, you will find them in Latino Markets.
Peruvian Arroz con Pollo Recipe – Coriander Chicken with Rice
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Peruvian
Description
Arroz con Pollo is a Peruvian stew cooked with fresh cilantro or coriander. This rice recipe is a typical dish among Peruvian households. It is one of my favourite recipes because it is an excellent way to add some veggies to my son’s diet. Also perfect for leftovers because it will reheat without sacrificing flavour or texture.
Ingredients
- 6 Chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks
- 1–2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 1 red onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 a cup grounded coriander or cilantro
- 1 tablespoon yellow chilli paste
- 1 tablespoon of panka chilli
- 1 lager beer (375ml)
- 3 cups basmati rice or long grain rice
- 1/4 cup of peas
- 1/4 cup of Peruvian corn kernels
- 1/4 cup of diced carrots
- 1 red bell pepper or capsicum cut into strips
- 5–6 cups of warm chicken stock or water
- Salt and Black Pepper
Instructions
- Prepare first all your ingredients. We are going to use a food processor to speed up the process. First, wash the coriander leaves and process them to grind them as much as possible. If needed, add a little bit of water to have a cilantro paste. We can chop onions and garlic in the same food processor and set them aside. Also, we can chop the carrot if we don’t mind to have in little bits and the capsicum. (when you want to hide the capsicum, you can chop it too)
- On the other hand, you must wash the chicken and dry them with paper towels. Season them with Salt and Black Pepper. Sear chicken over a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large pot. Let it brown the skin, and pick them out of the skillet. In the same oil, fry the onions, garlic, yellow chilli paste, panka paste and cilantro purée. If needed, add more oil. Fry them until the onion is translucent and pour the beer over and place the chicken pieces back into the onion mixture. Let them cook at medium heat until the chicken is completely done. Add the cups of rice, carrots, peas, corn and capsicum. Fill the skillet with chicken broth or enough cups of liquid to cover the mixture and have an extra centimetre over the mixture. Let them cook over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes until the rice is perfectly cooked and you don’t have mushy rice. Pick the chicken and let them rest in an airtight container to keep them warm.
- A classic Arroz con Pollo is served with salsa Criolla, and others will add Papa a la Huancaina, but you can serve your own version.
- I hope you enjoy this Peruvian Cuisine staple and make it part of your family meals.
Notes
For the Salsa Criolla: you have to slice an onion and let it rest in cold water to let the strong flavour go. Let it go for 15 minutes and drain the water, add salt and some tiny bits of rocoto chilli or bull-eyed chilli. Squeeze a lime over the mixture and a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Let it rest for 15 minutes before using.
If you want to make some Huancaina Sauce, you can see the recipe here
Keywords: Arroz con Pollo, Peruvian Arroz con Pollo recipe, Coriander Chicken, Cilantro Chicken
Hi! I’m Valeria (aka Val) the photographer and recipe developer behind Canguro Criollo. My passion for food began when I was little at my home when everything will revolve around food and now I discover this new creative outlet of food photography. I wish you can follow my journey discovering unique ways of preparing Peruvian food abroad and some other family-friendly foods.
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