This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through links. I will only recommend products that I have personally used! Learn more on my Private Policy page.
It is so much fun having an idea of how to cook. Are you in a place, where you feel the same way? Or are you still learning and that is one of the reasons you stop by my blog. What is so cool is that my wife and I were watching Diners, Drive-in and Dives (I know, I never watch that show) and we saw this Ecuadorian Chicken and Rice dish being made. She looked over at me and said “I want you to make me that!”
Ecuadorian Chicken and Rice
No problem. I obviously had a general idea of what ingredients were used, and a general idea of the cooking method used. The rest is improvisation. When you have cooked enough, you really start to get a sense for ingredients that go together and how the chef is preparing the dish. Now, I do not know if I did everything that was done on the show but I know my wife thought it was “awesome” and that is no exaggeration.
I also suggest that if you see something made you like, google the recipe to see if you can find something similar to give you a better idea of what you saw on the TV. In so doing, I saw an additional recipe on lolita’s blog for a tomato sauce that I thought would add great spice and a little bit of color to this dish. This little addition is not how I saw the dish prepared but the additional spin was really good. The sauce was really simple – tomatoes and jalapenos whipped in a blender. Then, cooked a little on the stovetop with some herbs added. My wife and I were adding a lot of this sauce as we plowed our way through the Ecuadorian Chicken and Rice. Like my masala variations, this dish is so well suited to creating with many different ingredients. Who knows where that will lead me.
- 1 Roasted Chicken, pulled
- 2-3 tbs oil
- 1 cup diced white onions
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tbs finely chopped cilantro
- 1/2 tablespoons hot Mexican chili pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons achiote powder
- 2 bell peppers (1 red and 1 green), diced
- 10 - 12 baby carrots, diced
- 7 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Worcester sauce
- 3 tablespoons parsley stir-in paste
- 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 3 scallions/green onions, finely chopped
- 3 Plum tomatoes
- 3 jalapenos
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, diced
- 2 cups white rice
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- Bring the broth to a boil. Add the rice, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile de-bone the chicken and reserve the chicken meat for later.
- Heat 2-3 tablespoons oil and the achiote and Mexican chili powder over medium heat in a Dutch oven. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the chopped onions and cook for 2 minutes.
- Next add the crushed garlic, half the Worcester sauce, half the soy sauce, cumin, cilantro and cook for about 5-8 minutes or until the onions are soft.
- Add the cooked chicken meat to the vegetables.
- Next, add the cooked rice. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the remaining soy sauce, remaining Worcester sauce mix well.
- Add the tomatoes and jalapenos to a food processor and blend well.
- Pour the sauce into a stock pot with the cilantro and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.
- To serve, spoon as much of the chicken and rice as you wish on your plate.
- Top with the green onions and tomato sauce.
- Enjoy!
Ingredients
The Achiote infusing the oil, then the peppers added followed by the herbs and the chicken.
Oil & Achiote Spice
Peppers Added
Herbs & Spices Added
Chicken Added
Finally, the cooked rice is added so all the flavors can meld together.
Rice Added
The tomato sauce puree blended, then herbs added on the stovetop.
Tomato Sauce Puree
Herbs Added to Tomato Puree
The final plated Ecuadorian Chicken and Rice.
Ecuadorian Chicken and Rice plated
how many servings does it serve and what is the serving size?
John, this will feed up to 8 if you want to share. 3 or 4 people could definitely polish it off.
I am an American and I have lived in Mexico where they like hot spicy foods and now I live in Quito Ecuador South America where they do not eat hot spicy food as a norm! This dish looks really good but the native Ecuadorian does not eat all the spicy jalapeño and chipotle peppers.
Barbara, thx for sharing the cultural differences of the food. This recipe is pure comfort food and one of my wife’s favorites.
As an Ecuadorian, this is true. No hot spicy food food me. Well seasoned but not spicy hot. This is more a Mexican style.
So glad you to stopped by. My wife has been begging me to make this for her again. I hope she does not see your comment and get reminded!
The perfect comfort dish.
It truly is a comfort food dish.
This looks wonderful! I love the flavors and I can’t wait to try it!
Thx Serena.
This looks awesome. I might try it without the chicken. I bet it’ll be delicious that way too!
I’m where you are! I know exactly what you mean 🙂 If I see something being made and can imagine what it tastes like, I can generally pull something together.
This looks sensational, the flavour base is right up my alley. I love the way it’s presented too!! Very cool. Don’t be surprised if you see a variation of this on my site sometime soon! All credit to you!!! N x
I would be honored to see a variation of this on your site. Enjoy eating it too!
So flavorful! Great recipe.