ARROZ GORDO (Assorted Meats and Rice)

Arroz Gordo
1 large onion, diced
Make sure you have prepared all the food as per ingredients list.
Fry the onion in lard until fragrant and add the tomato paste*. Add the uncooked rice and stir to coat it in the paste. Add the water or stock, and then the whole piao and 1 tsp. of salt. Cover tightly with the lid and bring to a boil. Stir frequently until the rice is swollen to prevent the rice from sticking to the base of the pan (use a non-stick pan). After the rice comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes to 1 hour until cooked.
In the meantime, heat more lard in a frying pan and when at a medium heat, deep-fry the cebola cecco until golden brown. Remove and drain on kitchen towel paper. Using the same oil, repeat the process with the raisins and the bread cubes.
Place the rice in a large dish, flattening the surface. Slice the paio thinly and arrange on top of the rice. Sprinkle over the cebola cecco. Add the chicken and fried croutons and garnish with sliced eggs.
* It is important to fry off the tomato paste to get rid of the raw taste.
500g medium-grain rice
300g tomato paste
1 whole piao
(substitute with 2 chorizo)
3 cups water
(substitute with chicken stock)
2 tbsp. paio oil
(substitute with olive oil)
1 whole roasted chicken (approx. 1kg in weight)
16 sections cebola cecco (substitute with shallots), peeled then thinly sliced lengthways
90g small raisins, rinsed then wiped quite dry
4 eggs, hard-boiled and sliced
6-8 tbsp. lard for frying (substitute with vegetable oil)
12 slices stale bread, cut into cubes without the crust

Originally posted /11/2011


Arroz Gordo is a Macanese party food, a tomato rice with delicious crunchy bits on top.

If you use short grain rice it will turn out like a risotto, hence the medium grain rice. The rice is not really meant to form a crust like paella either.

Traditionally the chicken would be deep fried, however a healthier option is to roast the chicken then cut into sections (breast, thigh, etc) which is what was done in the below photograph.



NB: 
Some people also like to have some sliced Chinese ham and one potato cut into very find strips to be deep fried as a topping. Some people also prefer the bread to be cut into thin slices instead of cubes.

Traditionally, the chicken would be cut into big chunks, put into a pan with water just to cover with half a tsp of salt. Bring to boil then lower heat to simmer until tender.

Lastly, some times re eggs, people peel, take two and cut those into halves and cut the ends of the rounds into zig zag or any fancy shapes. The other two eggs cut lengthwise into 4s or 8s.

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