Easy Spanish Arroz a la Cubana Recipe

Get ready to get the best of both worlds when you finish making this amazing recipe that is the perfect mix between Caribbean and Andalusian cuisine.

We are talking about the Arroz a la Cubana, a famous dish that is as great as other easy Spanish recipes like the classic paella or the Spanish chicken and rice recipe.

Keep reading this article to learn how to make this Spanish rice recipe at home, with some extra tips that will help you during the process.

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Background of the Dish

The name Arroz a la Cubana translates to Cuban rice, which might make you think that it is a Cuban recipe.

However, this eggs and rice dish was created in the 1600s, when Cuba was a colony of Spain, so it is a Spanish recipe. 

Nowadays, it is known as the perfect mix between both cuisines, as it has the fried bananas typical from the Caribbean, and the tomato sauce that is a staple ingredient of Andalusian cuisine.

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Things You’ll Need for Arroz a la Cubana

For this egg fried rice recipe, you will need round-grain rice, eggs, bananas, tomato sauce, olive oil, and some butter.

We recommend that you make this Arroz a la Cubana in a deep saucepan, but a large pot would work well too.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (300 gr) round-grain rice
• 3 cups (750ml) water
• 4 eggs
• 4 bananas
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup (220gr) Tomato sauce
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt (to taste)

How to Make Arroz a la Cubana – Step by Step Guide

1. To start making this Cuban rice recipe, just grab a deep saucepan and put a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Once it starts to sizzle, add the rice and fry it for a couple of minutes while mixing.

2. After that, add the water, and as soon as it starts to boil, add salt to taste. Turn the heat to low.

3. Continue cooking the Cuban rice on low to medium heat for 20 minutes. If it runs out of liquid before that time, add more water.

4. Now taste the rice and add more salt if necessary. Drain the water and let it rest for 10 minutes before eating.

5. As the Cuban white rice rests, peel the bananas and cut them in two halves, lengthwise.

6. Now in a skillet, add the butter and let it melt. Brown the bananas on both sides. Set them aside.

7. Then using a clean pan put a little extra virgin olive oil on it. When it gets hot, fry the eggs with salt to taste.

8. Next, heat the tomato sauce for 7 minutes (or until it reaches the desired temperature) to pour it over the rice later.

9. For each plate, put a generous amount of white rice, a fried egg, and 2 banana halves.

10. Finally, for the Spanish twist on the recipe pour the tomato sauce over the Arroz a la Cubana and serve it while warm.

Substitution of Ingredients

The Arroz a la Cubana is a simple recipe that only calls for a few main ingredients, but still you can make some changes to them.

For example, you can make the sofrito sauce for this rice recipe and add some fresh herbs to your rice as well.

This Spanish rice is better with round-grain rice, also known as arroz Bomba, but you can use any rice of your choice.

To turn this easy fried rice recipe into a vegan one, you should replace the butter with vegan margarine, and avoid using eggs (although it won’t be the classic eggs on rice dish in that case).

If you want to try rice recipes with different toppings, then you should check the Chorizo paella or the Paella with pasta.

Tips on Serving Arroz a la Cubana

The Arroz A La Cubana is one of the most complete rice dishes that you will find: it has protein, and nutrients from vegetables and bananas, with just a small amount of fat.

This makes it an amazing lunch that will give you all the energy that you need for the day, or a fantastic dinner too.

The eggs with rice can be eaten all year round, and if you want to make the most out of the tomato sauce and egg yolk then serve it with some slices of your favorite bread.

We recommend serving it with all of the ingredients warm, but room temperature or cold won’t harm you.

How to Store Arroz a la Cubana

If you won’t be able to serve this easy Spanish rice as soon as you finish making the recipe, then you should check these tips for storing it.

You can freeze it or store the Arroz a la Cubana for a couple of days in the fridge, but there is a catch.

In both cases, you can only store the white rice, the fried eggs, banana, and tomato sauce can’t be stored for this recipe.

This is because they take on a bad taste and texture, but fortunately, you can cook the white rice by itself and store it for later.

Just let it come to room temperature, place it in a covered container, and store it for 4 days in the fridge or 45 days in the freezer, then you can enjoy the fried egg and rice.

Recipe Card: Arroz a la Cubana

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