Puerto Rican food is made with one-of-a-kind seasonings and is one of the most delicious in the world. They have this distinct taste and aroma that you won’t find anywhere else. This is why hotels in San Juan get orders from customers all over the world. If you can’t place an extravagant order, we have 10 Puerto Rican recipes you can try at home in this article.
Puerto Rico is home to a great number of recipes, such as slow-roasted pork, spicy sauces, and the most amazing cocktails. You will love all the tasty treats, hearty soups, and tangy side dishes. Puerto Rico is often referred to as the Heart and Soul of the Caribbean, because of its pristine beaches and beautiful islands. The capital city is San Juan. It has a rich history and culture, and of course, the remarkable Puerto Rican cooking.
Puerto Rican recipes contain a host of ingredients like vegetables, grains, plantains, tomato sauce, yuca, glandules, legumes, meat, seafood, fruits, shellfish, olive oil, herbs, and spices, often infused together. There is also Sofrito, which is the core of Puerto Rican cuisine.
If you’re looking to experience Puerto Rican cooking as you live in Puerto Rico, here are 10 Puerto Rican foods you can try at home.
1. Bistec Encebollado (Puerto Rican Steak and Onions)
Steak and onions are popular dishes around Puerto Rico. It is also a staple food in the Philippines, Peru, Mexico, Cuba, and the Caribbean islands. With Bistec Encebollado, you can enjoy a rich blend of Puerto Rican foods like sazon, adobo, and sofrito to make your steaks truly amazing.
One secret to a good Bistec, is marinating for at least 5 hours, or overnight. You can have this beef stew with white rice or the Arroz con gandules. It can also be topped with fried eggs, beans, avocados, or even a piece of bread.
2. Pernil (Puerto Rican Roast Pork)
Pernil takes the center stage on Puerto Rican Christmas dinners. This delightful Puerto Rican dish is made from whole pork shoulder bathed in herbs like parsley, paprika, oregano, cumin, garlic, onion, and lots of Latin flavors.
Traditionally, people in Puerto Rico and the neighboring islands use sour orange, lime, or vinegar, to give this dish an citrusy taste. After that, the chicken is marinated overnight, with a bit of Sofrito to give it a kick.
It is then slow-roasted for hours until you have a truly tender, meat-of-the-bone delicious meal. You can serve it with rice, salad, beans, or plantains.
3. Arroz con Gandules
Arroz con Gandules is an amazing dish of tender rice flavored with pigeon peas. It also goes with sofrito, salted pork, tomato sauce, and other essential seasonings you’d find in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean islands.
If pork isn’t your thing, you can also try Arroz con Pollo, which means rice with chicken. Medium or long-grained rice is ideal if you want a more traditional meal. However, Basmati may also work perfectly.
To get the best experience, eat the Arroz con Gandules with roasted pork. But you can also enjoy it with pork chops, fish, or Picadillo and other common meals in Latin America.
4. Carne Guisada
Carne Guisada is made from boneless beef steak. It is flavored with Latin flavors and garnished with chopped tomatoes and tomatillos. The beef is then slowly cooked until tender.
For the best result, marinate the beef in lime juice, garlic, and other seasonings for at least 5 hours. Also, remember to add caramelized brown sugar to the olive oil before adding the marinated meat. This gives the Carne Guisada its deep brown color. You can pair this food with your favorite side dishes such as white rice, a side of tostones, or tortillas.
5. One Pot Puerto Rican Chicken and Rice (Arroz con Pollo)
This chicken dish is made with a blend of spices. Some of the main ingredients are pigeon peas and olives. The sofrito sauce is spread liberally on the rice and chicken and then cooked in the same pot.
Puerto Ricans use long-grain rice to cook this meal so that it doesn’t get too mushy. Tomato sauce and extra chicken sauce (or veggie sauce) may also be added to enhance the flavors.
6. Carne Molida (Puerto Rican Picadillo)
Picadillo is a sumptuous dish that means a lot to families in Puerto Rico and other countries in Latin America. It is a ground beef stew made from mildly spiced ground beef, tomato sauce, and green vegetables. It is also garnished with raisins and olives.
This easy and versatile recipe works perfectly on its own or as a meat filling for tacos burritos, enchiladas, and empanadas.
Apart from the Puerto Rican version, people in Cuba, the Philippines, and Mexico have their variants. However, no one makes this meal as tastefully as Puerto Ricans.
7. Habichuelas Guisadas (Puerto Rican Stewed Beans)
The Puerto Rican version of stewed beans is simply one-of-a-kind. This recipe involves stewing beans in a tomato-based broth with Puerto Rican spices. Other main ingredients include olives, bay leaves, and oregano.
Puerto Rican families also garnish this meal with tomatoes, sazon, sofrito, and adobo. This explosive spice infusion might make you never eat beans in a different way again.
Sofrito is the cooking base for this meal. It is made by blending cilantro, cilantro, garlic, onion, sweet peppers, and green peppers. You can serve these stewed beans with a variety of other Puerto Rican dishes, or just use rice as a side dish.
8. Puerto Rican Shrimp Stew (Asopao de Camarones)
This Puerto Rican dish is made of Shrimp and Rice Sauce. It is a comfort meal comprising sofrito, shrimp, tomato sauce, garlic, spicy peppers, and a large amount of rice pudding.
For a softer consistency, the rice should be soaked for a few hours before cooking. You can serve Asopao de Camarones with tostones (twice-fried plantains), sautéed green beans, sweet plantains, or mashed potatoes.
9. Puerto Rican Sancocho
Puerto Rican Sancocho is one of the most delightful Puerto Rican dishes. It is a hearty stew made with various types of meat, root vegetables, and starches. This is one of the popular Puerto Rican dishes that contains a generous amount of beef. Other main ingredients include plantains, corn, and sweet potatoes fried in hot oil.
Considering its enriching ingredients, it is no wonder Puerto Ricans usually make this recipe on special occasions and holidays. People in the United States can also make this meal at home, or buy it from the many restaurants in New York City that sell food from Latin America.
10. Asopao de Pollo (Puerto Rican Chicken Stew)
This great-tasting dish is Puerto Rico’s national soup. It is a one-pot meal brimming with chicken thighs, an assortment of seasonings, and lots of vegetables. Often, you can add rice to make an all-around wholesome meal. Asopao is unique for its soup-like consistency. Hence, it makes the perfect comfort food or the go-to meal on a cold winter night. You can also serve with a coquito (coconut-based punch) for a Puerto Rican-themed dinner party.
Puerto Rican Dinner Delivered with Oja Express
One thing you’ll always love is the flavors and aesthetically pleasing appearance of Puerto Rican dishes. The reoccurring ingredients include mashed potatoes, sofrito, green plantain, plantain leaf, and meat filling. If you can lay your hands on these in the United States, then you can easily make almost all the popular Puerto Rican dishes you want. We think your dinners should be creative and we have great recipes available on OjaExpress.
You can rest assured that on OjaExpress, you can find the ethnic ingredients you need to make your Puerto Rican foods and get them delivered.
