Easy Arroz Valenciana

Arroz valenciana is one of the many dishes that is popular in the Philippines, particularly in Negros Occidental where my family is from. It is almost always present in gatherings. The dish uses glutinous or sweet rice, turmeric powder, pork, pork liver, chicken, peas, raisins, and bell pepper.


The process of cooking arroz valenciana can be intricate and laborious if you take the long way since you have to make sure that the rice is cooked well. This meant stirring it constantly to make sure that it is evenly cooked and to prevent the bottom from getting burned. That is just too much work for me so I used to stay away from making this dish. When I first came to the States (which was ages ago), I stayed with my aunt in New Jersey and that's where I learned how to make arroz valenciana the easy way. The first secret is cooking the rice in a rice cooker. The second is using chicken broth instead of water to cook the rice which eliminates having to season or making sure that the dish is evenly seasoned. The third is to boil the meat separate then slicing it. The last one can be done ahead of time and can be kept in the refrigerator until needed.


Ingredients:

3-4 cups glutinous (sweet) rice
chicken broth (enough to cook the rice and then some for cooking the rest of the ingredients)
1/4 lb pork, sliced
1/2 chicken breast, boiled and hand shredded
1/4 lb pork liver, sliced
1/4 lb shrimp, deveined and shelled
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup raisins
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small bell pepper, sliced thinly
sea salt and pepper, to taste
1 - 2 Tbsp oil for sauteeing
2 tsp turmeric powder
2 hard bolied eggs, sliced into wedges (optional)


1. Place rice and turmeric powder in a rice cooker. Add enough chicken broth to cook the rice. Stir half way through the cooking process to make sure that turmeric is incorporated into the rice evenly.
2. Boil chicken breast, pork, pork liver in a pan until tender. Let it cool and then slice/ shred.
3. Heat oil in a large pan. Addonion and garlic and cook until fragrant and translucent.
4. Add shrimp and saute until it turns orange. Add sliced/shredded meat and saute until heated through.
5. Add about 1 cup of chicken broth, peas, and raisin. Simmer until raisins has plumped up and peas is heated through. Don't worry if there is a little too much liquid because the rice will soak it up.
6. Add bell pepper and cooked rice mixture. Mix well.
7. Adjust seasoning as needed and according to taste.
8. Transfer to a serving platter and decorate with shrimps and/or hard boiled egg wedges. Serve warm.

NOTE: You can leave the shrimp shells on if you like. If you leave out the liver if you want.

Baked Stuffed Pumpkin

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Autumn, where art thou? I really wish autumn would come soon because like i've said in my earlier post, I am so sick and tired of this almost year-round warm weather. Makes me think sometimes whether I should move somewhere cooler. Nah! won't happen because that would mean giving up the convenience that LA has to offer - easy access to ethnic resto and stores...hehehe.

Since I was really hoping for autumn to come, I made something that reminds me of the season - stuffed pumpkin! Pumpkin is just so autumn, isn't it? It also reminds me that the holidays are coming up - Halloween, thanksgiving, and yes, christmas. Oh, no! Soon it will be the end of the year but I am not going to think about that just yet and just wish for autumn to come :)


I made baked stuffed pumpkin for lunch today. I saw two small pumpkins when I went to the Korean store last time so I snagged both of them and had planned on making this dish sometime this week. It is quite easy to make actually since the stuffing is cooked separately from the pumpkin and they just come together towards the end. The reason I cooked the stuffing all the way through s because I always get scared that the rice won't be cooked correctly if I just use raw. Otherwise, If I use a different stuffing, I will just cook both the pumpkin and the stuffing together. The whole process took me about an hour which already includes cooking and preparation.

To carve the top out, you need to use a sharp knife with pointed end so you need to be very careful. I used a steak knife when I did it and angled it downward. While cutting the top, you need to cut all the way through so it comes off easily. I used a teaspoon to scrape all of the seeds and fibers inside the pumpkin then discard them. When cooking the stuffing, I cooked the rice in the rice cooker first before Imixed it with the rest of the ingredients. A long time ago, I learned a simple trick to ensure that the rice is well seasoned by using chicken stock instead of plain water. This eliminates the hassle of having to mix the rice well to make sure that it is evenly seasoned with salt. Read on for the entire recipe and direction.


Ingredients:

2 small pumpkins (approxinately 2-3 lbs each)
1 tsp salt

Stuffing:

1 1/2 cups sweet rice (also known as sticky or glutinous rice)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 lb. spicy longganisa (philippine sausage) or any of your sausage preference- casing removed and broken into small pieces.
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 small shallots, finely chopped
1 small green bell pepper, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup raisins
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2-3 Tbsp oil


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Remove tops of the pumpkins then scrape seeds and fiber.
3. Sprinkle 1 tsp salt all over both pumpkins.
4. Take about 1 Tbsp oil and paint pumpkin with it. Place tops back on the pumpkins.
5. Transfer to aluminum foil lined baking pan.
6. Bake for 40 minutes or until fork tender.



Stuffing:

1. While pumpkin is baking in the oven, prepare stuffing.
2. Place sweet rice in rice cooker. Add turmeric and water. Cook according to direction.
3. Once the water boils, mix once or twice to ensure that turmeric is dissolved. NOTE: Turmetic will give the rice a yellow color.
4. while rice is cooking, heat pan tomedium.
5. when pan is hot, add the remaining oil then saute garlic and shallots. Cook until fragrant.
6. Add longganisa or sausage of choice and saute until almost done. NOTE: preferably skinless but if it has casings, just remove it before sauteeing.
7. Add raisinsand about 1/4 of cup of water. Let it simmer to rehydrate raisins.
8. When water has been absorbed, add green bell pepper and cooked rice with turmeric.
9. Mix well until all ingredients is incorporated. You may add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup water if the mixture is too dry. Let cook until almost all of the fluids has been absorbed.
10. One the pumpkin is done cooking, remove it from the oven.
11. Scoop stuffing into the pumpkin cavity then return to the oven uncovered.
12. Turn the oven temperature up to 400F and cook for another 8-10 minutes then remove .
13. Transfer to a serving dish and serve warm.