 Arroz a la cubana - Rice smothered with tomato sauce, plantains and a fried egg | |
| Course | Main course |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Unknown, possiblySpain |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Rice,fried egg,tomato sauce |
Arroz a la cubana (Spanish pronunciation:[aˈroθalakuˈβana]) ("Cuban-style rice") orarroz cubano is a rice dish popular inSpain, thePhilippines, and parts ofLatin America. Its defining ingredients arerice and afried egg. A fried banana (plantain or othercooking bananas) andtomato sauce (tomate frito) are so frequently used that they are often considered defining ingredients too.[1][2]
Despite the name, the dish does not exist inCuban cuisine and its origins are not definitively known.[3][4] It may possibly originate from a Spanish misinterpretation of common Cuban meals of eating rice with stews and a fried egg whenCuba was still a Spanish colony.[3][5]
In Spain, a typical dish ofarroz a la cubana consists of a serving of white rice (which is sometimes shaped into small mounds using a glass),tomato sauce (tomate frito) and a fried egg. While the most traditional recipe includes a friedplantain (plátano),[6] it is also common to find the recipe using sausages and bacon.[5] It is typical to cut and mix all the ingredients before eating, allowing the yolk of the egg to melt and combine everything well.
Arroz a la cubana has been eatenin the Philippines sinceSpanish colonial times.[6] Like in other versions, it comes with white rice, fried egg, and some ripe friedcardava orsaba banana, sliced length-wise.[7][2][8]
It differs significantly from the Spanish and Latin American versions in that instead oftomate frito, it always includes ground meat (giniling, usually beef) in tomato sauce.[7] This component is typically cookedpicadillo-style, with minced potatoes, carrots, raisins, peas, onions, garlic, and other ingredients in a tomato-based sauce seasoned withpatis (fish sauce),soy sauce, and sometimes chilis.[8][9][2][10]
A regional variant ofarroz a la cubana isarroz de Calamba fromCalamba, Laguna. It differs in that it is served with strips ofsmoked fish (tinapa).[11]
In Peru, it is common for the dish to consist of white rice, fried plantain, a fried hot-dog wiener, and a fried egg over the white rice.[12]
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