From Chef · 2014 · Reconstructed
Arroz con Pollo
Serve when
Serve it off the truck in Miami — 'simple shit like we used to do for family meal,' called out to the window alongside the cubanos.
In the movie
Theatrical
- 01:38:11 Working the El Jefe truck in Miami, Carl's crew calls out orders in a steady rhythm alongside the cubanos — 'arroz con pollo,' plated and handed out the window as fast as the line can move; Carl had named it back in Los Angeles as exactly the kind of simple food he grew up cooking for family meal.
Arroz con pollo is the dish Carl names, unprompted, when he's first imagining the truck back in Los Angeles — not a signature plate, just "simple shit like we used to do for family meal." By the time the truck reaches Miami, it's exactly that: called out in a rhythm alongside the cubanos, handed through a window, no plating required. It's the clearest evidence in the film that Carl finally is cooking the way he wants to.
Ingredients
Method
- Season the chicken thighs well with adobo. Brown skin-side down in the oil in a wide, heavy pot until deeply golden; flip briefly, then set aside.
- In the same pot, sauté the onion, pepper, and garlic in the rendered fat until soft.
- Stir in the rice and sazón, toasting a minute, then deglaze with the white wine.
- Add the stock and tomato sauce, nestle the chicken back in skin-side up, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat 20-25 minutes, until the rice is tender, the liquid is absorbed, and the chicken reads 165°F at the bone.
- Fold in the peas in the last few minutes of cooking, and finish with a scatter of pimientos before serving straight from the pot.
Beyond the recipe
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