Arroz chaufa

Name: Arroz chaufa
Cook time: 31 min
Total time: 31 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Peruvian
Ingredients: 300 g Rice; 3 u Egg; 4 tablespoons Soy sauce; 3 cloves Garlic; Salt; 1 pinch Black pepper; 4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil; 1 piece Ginger; 6 u Spring Onions; 1 teaspoon Sesame Seed Oil; 400 g Chicken Breast

Easy

Contains allergens

HuevosCereales con glutenSojaSésamo

Author: Equipo Cocinoa
Preparation time: 31 min
Servings: 4

Summary

The fried rice of Peruvian chifa restaurants: day-old rice stir-fried over fierce heat with chicken, omelette, spring onion, ginger and soy sauce, served in a neat dome. Ready in half an hour.

Ingredients

4 servings

Add to Bring!

300 g Rice (long-grain, cooked the day before and chilled (about 800 g cooked))
3 u Egg
4 tablespoons Soy sauce
3 cloves Garlic
Salt (to taste)
1 pinch Black pepper (or white pepper)
4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 piece Ginger (fresh, about 3 cm, very finely chopped)
6 u Spring Onions (white and green parts kept separate)
1 teaspoon Sesame Seed Oil (toasted)
400 g Chicken Breast (or boneless thighs, diced)

Instructions

Cook the rice the day before with slightly less water than usual, spread it on a tray so it cools quickly and keep it covered in the fridge. If you haven't, cook it in the morning and leave it spread out in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Get everything ready before you turn on the heat, as the stir-fry moves fast: cut the chicken into 1.5 cm dice and mix with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce and a pinch of salt; finely chop the garlic and ginger; slice the spring onions, keeping the white and green parts apart; beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and break up the cold rice with your hands to get rid of any lumps.
15 min
Heat the wok with 1 tablespoon of oil, pour in the eggs and make a thin omelette, tilting the wok to spread it. Once set, slide it out, roll it up and cut it into strips or small squares.
3 min
Put the wok over the highest heat with 2 tablespoons of oil until it starts to smoke. Stir-fry the chicken, first leaving it alone so it browns and then tossing, until cooked through. Lift it out and set aside.
6 min
Add the remaining oil, the garlic, ginger and white parts of the spring onion and stir-fry for half a minute. Add the rice, spread it up the sides and leave it for a few seconds without moving so it toasts; then toss and repeat several times, until the grains are separate, piping hot and faintly smoky.
5 min
Pour the rest of the soy sauce around the rim of the wok so it sizzles before it reaches the rice, and toss well. Return the chicken and omelette, add most of the green spring onion, the sesame oil and the pepper, stir-fry for another minute and check the salt.
2 min
To serve it as a dome, pack each portion into a bowl and turn it out onto the plate. Finish with the remaining green onion.

Notes

In Peru, chifa is the name both for the cooking born when Chinese immigrants, mostly Cantonese, who arrived from the mid-19th century onwards met Peruvian ingredients, and for the restaurants that serve it, found in every neighbourhood of Lima. Chaufa, whose name comes from the Chinese chaofan ('stir-fried rice'), is its most popular dish and one of the most cooked at home. The rice must be a day old and cold: freshly cooked rice is too moist, clumps together and won't brown. Home hobs lack the power of a restaurant wok burner, so to get that smoky aroma (wok hei) heat the wok or a cast-iron pan thoroughly, don't overfill it, and for more than four servings stir-fry in two batches. Pour the soy sauce around the hot rim of the wok so it caramelises before you toss it through. There are versions with seafood, roast pork or noodles (the 'aeropuerto'), and some households finish it with a little diced red pepper. Food safety: cool cooked rice quickly, spread out, and refrigerate it within an hour; leftover chaufa should be eaten by the next day at the latest, reheated until piping hot. For a gluten-free version, use tamari instead of soy sauce.