Cuban Fried Rice

Name: Cuban Fried Rice
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 3 eggs; 1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more to taste; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; 1 cup onion, chopped; 1/2 cup carrot, chopped; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 2 cups cooked rice; 1/2 cup chicken broth, as needed; 2 cups cooked ham, diced (or lechon asado); 1/2 cup frozen green peas; 1/2 cup green onions, chopped

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Prep 15 min
Total 30 min
Ingredients 11
Servings 4

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You might be wondering why Cubans eat so much arroz frito. Isn’t fried rice Chinese? Cuba has a large population of Chinese immigrants and, at one time, even claimed to have the largest Chinatown in all of Latin America. Every Cuban family has a slight variation to the recipe, including the types of meats added, but the dish is unified by the salty flavors of ham and soy sauce, which is commonly referred to as “salsa china”.

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup chicken broth, as needed
2 cups cooked ham, diced (or lechon asado)
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup green onions, chopped

Directions

1

Scramble eggs with soy sauce and a splash of chicken broth. Coat your pan with a thin layer of oil, adding your eggs to make what will resemble a pancake. Flip the eggs once, cook through and remove. Let eggs cool slightly before cutting into thin strips.
2

Add additional oil to pan. On low heat, cook onions and carrot until onions are translucent. Add garlic, making sure not to let brown.
3

Add rice to onion mixture, with additional oil if necessary. Flavor rice with chicken broth, making sure not to make the rice “soupy”. The amount will depend on how dry your rice is. Add a few splashes of soy sauce for good measure. Fry the rice mixture for several minutes, stirring frequently.
4

Once cooked down, add scrambled eggs, diced ham and green peas. Stir gently until everything is well incorporated and let cook for a few minutes. Add splashes of soy sauce as needed.
5

Stir in chopped green onions and remove from heat. Serve warm.

Expert Tips

tip 1
Use leftover rice to make this meal even quicker to make!

Nutrition Information

No nutrition information available for this recipe

More About This Recipe

You might be wondering why Cubans eat so much arroz frito. Isn’t fried rice Chinese? Cuba has a large population of Chinese immigrants and, at one time, even claimed to have the largest Chinatown in all of Latin America. Every Cuban family has a slight variation to the recipe, including the types of meats added, but the dish is unified by the salty flavors of ham and soy sauce, which is commonly referred to as “salsa china”.