Arroz a la cubana (Cuban-style rice) is a Spanish dish consisting of a fried egg, rice, and tomato sauce and it is very popular in the Philippines and parts of South America. This is a great weeknight meal since it’s simple and quick to prepare.
When I saw this dish on Skip to Malou, I had to try making it immediately as I have a weak spot for dishes with (runny) fried egg on top of rice. My children liked it because ground meat is easy for them to eat and digest and it’s tomato-based. Not to mention there are bananas and raisins in it for additional flavors!
I adapted the original recipe by adding the ground pork, not just ground beef, for flavor and texture. I also added mushrooms and more veggies. It might not be “authentic” but I made sure all the good nutrition is in one dish. I can’t emphasize enough that it’s VERY easy to cook. I hope you give it a try!
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Arroz a la Cubana
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic (sliced)
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ onion (chopped)
- ½ lb ground beef
- ½ lb ground pork
- ½ carrot (chopped)
- ½ red bell pepper (sliced)
- ½ zucchini (chopped)
- 6 mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 can tomato sauce (15 oz, 425 g)
- 1 plantain (sliced; I use a firm yellow banana)
- 3-4 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell)
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp raisins
- 4 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- parsley
Instructions
- In a large frying pan, heat olive oil and add garlic and bay leaf until fragrant.
- Add the onion and sauté until soft.
- Add the meat and stir until the meat is cooked through.
- Add the carrot, bell pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms and sauté until soft.
- Add tomato sauce and bring it to boil. Using a skimmer, skim off the scum and fat. This is really important step to get a refine taste so please don’t skip. After finished, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.
- Meanwhile, you can fry plantain (banana) and eggs to your liking.
- Add oyster sauce, soy sauce and raisins and stir well.
- Serve rice on a plate/bowl and pour the sauce over. Top it with fried bananas and a sunny side up egg.
Full of vibrant colour and fresh flavour! This dish has been given the “okay” by my sister to add to my ever-growing recipe book (thankfully) because I just love it. Quick and easy. It was great to try out this Filipino/Spanish/Cuban dinner.
As always, thanks Nami!
Hi Julia! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! Glad to hear you enjoyed this dish. 🙂
Hi Nami San,
I probably have to slice the mushrooms as well, right?
What makes it like a soup? Should I put water/chicken stock inside?
Tamás
Hi Tamás! Yes, slice the mushrooms. I also edited the recipe, instead of skim off from “the soup”, I meant skim off from the “sauce”. It’s the sauce from tomato sauce. No need to add water or broth. 🙂 Thank you for bringing to my attention!
Namiko-San:
I think you forgot to add the “rice” in your description ???
Hi Doug! You mean in the recipe?
3-4 serving cooked/steamed rice
Step 8: Serve rice on a plate/bowl and pour the sauce over. Top it with fried bananas and a sunny side up egg.
Maybe you’re referring to somewhere else?
Okay.. I misread the description. I assumed it’s like Jambalaya or “Kai-Meshi” where the rice is blended into the dish.
Oh okay! No problem. 🙂
This was so good and very different from anything we normally eat! Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe. I substituted peas instead of the zucchini (which I find would release too much liquid and make things watery) and also added 1/2 tbsp worcestershire sauce.
Hi Yaoli! Yay! I’m happy to hear you liked this dish! It was a new dish for me when I first tried it, but since then I made several times already as my family enjoyed it. Thank you for your kind feedback!
I made this last night for a weeknight dinner, my hubby & I loved it! My hubby walked by the kitchen and saw all the veggies, asked ‘do I have to eat all the veggies?’ At the end of the meal, he said ‘yay another dish I can handle the veggies in my meal, feel free to make it again’. LOL Thanks for another great recipe Nami!
Nami, what do you do with the 1/2 carrot, 1/2 zucchini & 1/2 bell pepper?
I’m so happy you and your husband enjoyed this meal! My kids eat all the veggies whenever they’re cooked like this (they can’t separate veggies and it’s so delicious that they don’t really pay too much attention!). As for the leftover veggies, how about this Japanese meat doria?
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/meat-doria/
If you don’t have Tonkatsu Sauce, replace it with Worcestershire sauce. This is another family favorite, and I put all kinds of veggies in here (all finely chopped). You can include zucchini, carrots, bell peppers, anything! 🙂