Easy and Delicious Cuban Imperial Rice Recipe

I’ve probably mentioned before that my husband loves Cuban food, as he should seeing how he grew up in a Cuban household where his mother or grandmother would make delicious big meals two, and sometimes three, times a day. As someone who is not on that kind of cooking level, like at all, I’ve been pinning lots of ideas and found a few recipes for this Cuban dish called Arroz Imperial, which is basically a chicken and yellow rice casserole (to me, at least).

It may seem like a lot is going on here, and there kind of is, but it’s really pretty easy to put together and doesn’t take very long. After a few tries and adding my picky-eater touch, here’s a recipe for the super-delicious Cuban dish that’s sure to please everyone’s tastes:

Ingredients:

• 2-3 large chicken breasts (or the equivalent size in thighs, depends on your preference)
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 2 cups jasmine rice
• 1 packet yellow rice seasoning (I use Vigo)
• EVOO
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 Tbsp. red wine (or cooking wine)
• 5oz tomato sauce
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 4 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 2 cups thick shredded mozzarella cheese
• (optional) 1/2 cups frozen peas

Instructions:

Place the chicken in a pot of boiling water, add about half of the onion and 2 chopped garlic cloves and salt and pepper to taste. After water is boiling, turn the temp down to low/medium heat and let cook thoroughly (about 45min-1hour)

Mix the rice with a little bit of water and the yellow rice packet; but use a utensil to mix it, not your hands, unless you want them to be stained yellow! Once the chicken is done cooking, remove the chicken and shred, then set aside for later. Use the leftover chicken broth to cook your rice, typically 2x the amount of rice. Bring to a boil, pour in yellow rice, stir and then cover and turn to low heat and let cook for 20 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, heat up some EVOO in a large frying pan and sauté the chopped bell pepper for about 3-5 minutes, then add the rest of the chopped onion and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Add cumin, oregano, garlic, bay leaves, wine, and stir. Once the wine has cooked through, add the chicken, lime juice, and sauce (and peas if you want) and mix well. Let it cook for about 4-5 minutes.

When the rice is done cooking, mix in the mayonnaise. This may sound gross to some people, but it won’t taste like mayo, it just keeps the rice extra moist, which is great if you end up reheating the dish.

In a greased 13×9 baking dish, line the bottom with a thin layer of yellow rice. Next, layer the chicken mixture on top of the rice and smooth out, top the chicken with a nice thick layer with the rest of the yellow rice. Cover with the mozzarella cheese and put it in the oven at 350°F for about 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is perfectly cooked to your liking.

This is extra yummy with some salty tostones, but I would start cooking those once you put the dish in the oven, because they take a while to fry (at least the frozen ones do). Also, if you’re a mayo lover like I am, you can even put a little more on top of the chicken and rice to make it even tastier 🙂

Enjoy!

xx,

Kirsten