Name: Arroz Frito (Fried Rice)
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: Cuba
Ingredients: 2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice, or 4 cups leftover cooked white rice; 3 to 4 tablespoons peanut oil; 4 eggs; ¼ pound roast pork, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices; ¼ pound small fresh shrimp, cooked in boiling water; ¼ pound ham, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices; 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger; 2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro; ½ teaspoon Asian chile-garlic sauce (optional); 2 green onions (green and white parts only), thinly sliced; 3 to 5 tablespoons soy sauce

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Eating Cuban

By Beverly Cox and Martin Jacobs

Published 2006

About

The first Chinese immigrants arrived in Cuba as coolies (indentured servants), imported by Spanish settlers in the mid-1800s to work in the sugarcane fields. Most were men from the Chinese province of Guangdong. After their eight-year contracts were fulfilled, most stayed on, and settled in what was to become El Bario Chino de la Habana (Havana’s Chinatown). As in the United States, many Chinese immigrants opened restaurants and made a definite impact on Cuban cooking. Today, fried rice is