Looking for something delicious to bring to your next pot luck? This dish is fool proof to make and it’ll sure make a big impact!
I’ve been told by friends this is the best version of Arroz Imperial they have ever had. Sometimes I add a layer of mixed frozen veggies. If you like veggies, feel free to include it in this recipe.
Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
5 chicken drum sticks (or any dark meat pieces with bone in)
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
5 cups of rice
2 or 3 aji cachucha (Or 1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper optional)
1 onion
5 large garlic cloves
1 can of tomato sauce
1 packet of Sazón Goya
Couple table spoons of dry wine
Medium jar of mayo
4 large packs of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 Tbs oregano
1 Tbs cumin
1 Tbs salt
1 Tbs pepper
1 Tbs paprika
1 Tbs Sazon Completa
Prep:
Chop up all the veggies and place into a pot of water along with the chicken and all the other ingredients (except the rice, mayo, and cheese) in order to make a soup.
(I personally like to pass the veggies through a food processor to get like a paste-like consistency… no big chunky piece. Of course, this is optional.)
The amount of spices used is chefs choice and best controlled during the soup making process. You can always add more seasoning to the broth to get it just right!
After the chicken is cooked, use the same soup/stock to cook the rice adding only a little salt to the rice since the stock will contain a lot of flavor.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the rice is cooking shred the chicken (remove the bones).
Once the rice is done and the chicken is shredded the assembly can begin.
Arroz Imperial is assembled in layers. Think of lasagna layers. Instead of pasta, it’s rice. Instead of ground meet, it’s shredded chicken. You get the picture. Use an oven safe dish and place a thin layer of rice on the bottom. Make sure to press the rice down to get it even across the dish. Then add a thin layer of mayo followed by a layer of shredded chicken, followed by a layer of cheese, repeat until you reach the top. Last layer should be rice with cheese on top.
Right before placing the dish in the oven, pour some of the left over stock over the rice so it won’t dry out in the oven. (Be mindful of the corners of the dish as the rice in this area is more vulnerable towards the heat and can dry out faster leaving you with hard rice.)
Place dish in the oven for 20 min or until cheese is melted.
(I like to use both white and dark meat pieces of chicken as I feel this offers the best of both worlds in terms of flavor. Make sure to use pieces with the bone in since this offers a richer flavor when making the soup.)
Tip: My mom used to tell me when cooking any rice dish, you’ll get more flavor when using the soup/broth. This is what inspired the way I came up with this particular version of my Arroz Imperial recipe.
