ARROZ CON SALCHICHAS (PUERTO RICAN RICE WITH SAUSAGE)
Arroz Con Salchichas, or Puerto Rican Rice and Sausage, is among my favorite meals from the pantry because it’s a comfort, simple to prepare, and brimming with flavor. As Beth says, add eggs to the rice and eat it until you’re disgusted with yourself. (OK… this last one is just me.) PS It’s less than $1 per serving and can be prepared in under an hour!
WHAT IS ARROZ CON SALCHICHAS?
Arroz with salchichas, known as rice with sausages, is a popular comfort food in Latin American cultures. It is a popular dish in Puerto Rico. It’s a typical weeknight meal traditionally prepared using canned Vienna sausages simmered in a delicious sofrito sauce and rice studded with salty capers and olives. Sometimes, corn is added too.
INGREDIENTS FOR ARROZ CON SALCHICHAS
This recipe of Arroz Con Salchichas, also known as “mom’s rice,” is quite traditional. It’s budget-friendly by skipping corn and salt pork, a staple in many of my island’s rice recipes. However, if you’d like to include them, fry around a 1/4 cup of salt pork diced before the sofrito is cooked in the pan. Then, add approximately 1 1/2 cups frozen, fresh, or drained canned corn after adding the olives. Here’s everything you require to prepare my simple recipe for Arroz Con Salchichas.
Sofrito Sofrito’s potent Puerto Rican blend of aromatics is the basis of flavor for numerous savory dishes. Sofrito can be canned; however, fresh will always be superior. Try my easy recipe for a classic Puerto Rican Sofrito.
Adobo and Sazon- These spice blends give the rice a stunning golden hue and impart earthy flavors to the food. If you cannot locate adobo or season in your area, I’ve listed the most simple ingredients in the note section on my recipe card.
Tomato Sauce- can add color and acidity to the dish. It adds bite and color to the.
Onion, Garlic, and Cilantro. The aromatics of these three add earthy flavors to the food. Replace the onion with one tablespoon of onion powder and Garlic with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder. If cilantro isn’t available, you can substitute fresh Italian parsley or leave it out.
Vienna SausagesSmall, open-ended sausages are a bit like hot dogs, but they’re more soft. They add bulk to rice and impart flavor and meatiness. Replace them with any hot dog or sausage.
Typically, within Puerto Rico, medium-grain white rice is the most popular. However, we use the grain Jasmine Rice in this Bytes budget Bytes Kitchen. You are free to use any rice you prefer; adhere to the instructions on the package for cooking times and cooking amounts of liquid.
Capers and olives: olivesThe combination is called Alcaparrado and adds a zing of acidic saltiness to each bite! If you don’t have capers or olives, you can include two tablespoons of distilled white vinegar.
INGREDIENTS
One tablespoon cooking oil ($0.04)
1 tsp adobo* ($0.10)
1 packet sazon** ($0.19)
1 cup chopped yellow onion ($0.19)
1 Tbsp chopped Garlic ($0.24)
1 cup sofrito ($0.36)
2 Tbsp tomato sauce ($0.06)
2 Tbsp pimiento-stuffed Spanish olives ($0.30)
Two teaspoons capers ($0.21)
2 5oz. Cans Vienna sausages ($1.50)
2 cups white long-grain rice ($0.74)
2 1/2 cups broth from chicken boiling ($1.12)
1 cup of chopped leaves to garnish ($0.11)
INSTRUCTIONS
Incorporate the cooking oil in an enormous heavy-bottomed pan placed over a medium-high flame. Add the season and adobo in a slow cooker until the aroma is smoky, around 30 seconds. Add the yellow onion diced and cook until it becomes translucent, approximately 2 minutes. Add minced Garlic, and simmer until fragrant, around 30 seconds.
In the meantime, add sofrito, tomato sauce, green olives, and capers to the pot and cook until the mixture is fragrant approximately 2 minutes. While cooking, cut your Vienna sausages into 1/4-inch thick rounds and wash your rice till the liquid is clear. Be sure to take out any excess water following the rinsing.
Add the diced Vienna sausages to the pot and cook until the links are brown.
Add the rinsed rice and the boiling chicken broth to the pot. Stir and bring the broth to a boil, with giant bubbles rising from the rice’s surface. Stir again, reduce the heat, and then cover the pot with a lid.
Cook the rice on low until the rice is soft, approximately 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the stove, but keep it completely covered. Allow it to rest in a covered container for over 10 minutes. Stir the rice, open the lid to taste, and alter the seasoning according to your preference. Mix in cilantro leaves, then serve yourself a large bowl of rice and prepare to eat!
