Arroz con Habichuelas. There is white rice and stewed beans (add your favorite color bean), then there is yellow rice served with your choice of stewed bean, but today I want to talk about the second most iconic rice dish we cook in Puerto Rico (Arroz con Gandules is number one, hands down, with White rice and Red Beans a tasty second place). Rice with Beans.
Table of contents
What is Rice with Beans
For the longest time, I thought that Rice with Beans, or Arroz con Habichuelas, was the product of Colonizers creating their dishes with the ingredients available on the island. But, I do not think that is the case for many of the rice dishes on the Puerto Rican menu. Recently I came across a social post on Instagram about Jollof. Then, I immediately realized the roots of rice dishes in Puerto Rico. JOLLOF is a West African dish made of rice, spices, and on occasion, meats. Tomatoes, ginger, cinnamon, and curries are vital ingredients used to make this dish, ingredients we do not use in Puerto Rican culture, yet the process is very similar.
What gives Arroz con Habichuelas it's beautiful color?
I learned to make Arroz con habichuelas using tomatoes sauce. But my rice never came out loose and grainy. Instead, it was sticky, wet, and frequently overcooked. Sticky wet rice is what we call "EMPLEGOSTAO." A few years ago, I started using achiote oil for cooking rice, and since then it has yielded the consistency and desired color, I like.
Other options for coloring your rice are Tumeric, Paprika, or Saffron, with saffron being the most expensive of the three.
Can it be made in advance?
Yes. Especially if I am preparing it for an event like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or an at-work celebration. I cooked my rice in a disposable aluminum pan the night before an event, for ease of transport and clean-up. The rice reheats well in the oven. Just keep it covered to maintain the moisture in the pan.
Which ingredients (flavors) are dominant? How would you intensify, or mellow out these flavors?
Sofrito. A critical flavor is sofrito. I make my sofrito with only vegetables, even though the original sofrito recipe calls for tocino (fatback) or ham. Those are the key ingredients to this recipe. If you want to make the recipe vegan/vegetarian friendly, omit the pork by-products and just the sofrito. The sofrito I make does not have pork. I do not always want that profile in everything I cook.
Making Stovetop Rice with Beans
Here is an essential way I approach this recipe, a ratio of 1:1:1.5, one cup of rice: one cup of beans: one and a half cups of liquid. Regularly, I am only cooking this recipe for my husband and me. So the most I would make is 2 cups of rice to 1 to 2 cups of beans. The amount of beans depends if I am using my beans I rehydrated or canned beans. If I use canned beans, I use the entire can, anywhere between 12-16 ounces (1.5-2 cups). If I use my beans, I might only use one cup of beans, as well as one cup of rice. So I guess it boils down to what type of beans you will use—canned or rehydrated?
Rinse the rice until the water comes out clean and set aside. Measure one and a half cups of water also set aside and the cup of beans. Here is a great way to introduce flavor, swap the water for vegetable (or chicken, beef, or mushroom) broth.
Dice about a cup of onions. Next, mince four cloves of garlic. Finally, add the garlic to the onions.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 6-quart kettle. Once hot but not smoking, add the onions and the garlic. Sautee the vegetables until translucent and soft.
Add the rice and quickly toss it around with the onions and garlic. We want to cover the grains of rice with oil. Add one to two tablespoons of achiote oil. If achiote oil is not available, add one tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of turmeric, paprika, and/or a few sprigs of saffron. Tumeric will give you bright yellow rice. Paprika has a soft orange color.
Add beans and toss in with the rice for a bit, then add your liquid. Allow the fluid to boil for about five minutes, uncovered. Do not stir. After five minutes of boiling and most of the liquid has evaporated, cover and reduce heat to the lowest setting. Let cook for another 15 minutes.
There should be no trace of water after 15 minutes. Then, with a fork, fluff the rice and remove it from the heat.
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Recipe
Puerto Rican Rice with Beans
Ingredients
Instructions
- I approach this recipe, a ratio of 1:1:1.5, one cup of rice: one cup of beans: one and a half cups of liquid. Regularly, I am only cooking this recipe for my husband and me. So the most I would make is 2 cups of rice to 1 to 2 cups of beans. The amount of beans depends if I am using my beans I rehydrated or canned beans. If I use canned beans, I use the entire can, anywhere between 12-16 ounces (1.5-2 cups). If I use my beans, I might only use one cup of beans, as well as one cup of rice. So I guess it boils down to what type of beans you will use—canned or rehydrated?
- Rinse the rice until the water comes out clean and set aside. Measure one and a half cups of water also set aside and the cup of beans. Here is a great way to introduce flavor, swap the water for vegetable (or chicken, beef, or mushroom) broth.
- Dice about a cup of onions. Next, mince four cloves of garlic. Finally, add the garlic to the onions.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 6-quart kettle. Once hot but not smoking, add the onions and the garlic. Sautee the vegetables until translucent and soft.
- Add the rice and quickly toss it around with the onions and garlic. We want to cover the grains of rice with oil. Add one to two tablespoons of achiote oil. If achiote oil is not available, add one tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of turmeric, paprika, and/or a few sprigs of saffron. Tumeric will give you bright yellow rice. Paprika has a soft orange color.
- Add beans and toss in with the rice for a bit, then add your liquid. Allow the fluid to boil for about five minutes, uncovered. Do not stir. After five minutes of boiling and most of the liquid has evaporated, cover and reduce heat to the lowest setting. Let cook for another 15 minutes.
- There should be no trace of water after 15 minutes. Then, with a fork, fluff the rice and remove it from the heat.
Notes
- For liquid, I use broth. Depending on the flavor I desire. I have used chicken, vegetables, beef, and mushroom. But water works just as well.
