Cooking Ground Pork: Easy Arroz Ala Cubana Recipe
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 3-5 pieces saba (cardaba) banana, still green but almost ripe, halved
- 1 small carrot, peeled and diced
- 2 small potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 green bell pepper, cut intro strips
- 1/2 kilo ground pork
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small onion, minced
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 5 tablespoons tomato sauce
- canola oil for deep frying
- ground black pepper
Instructions
- Saute garlic and onion in canola oil.
- Add ground pork. When the pork has lost its reddish tint, add soy sauce and saute for 5 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of water and then let it simmer. Add potatoes. Proceed to adding the carrots after 5 minutes.
- Let it boil til most of the water has evaporated then add the tomato sauce.
- Add bell pepper and let it simmer for a few minutes. Add a dash of ground black pepper for taste. Remove from heat.
- In another pan, deep fry the halved bananas til golden brown. Set aside.
For your own version of the arroz ala cubana, what would you most like to add?
Additional Instructions
1. When plating, arrange the banana halves around the plate in a circle, pointing outwards, like the sun.
2. Scoop mounds of the arroz ala cubana in the middle. Serve hot.
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The original recipe includes sunny side up eggs but since I am not a big fan of eggs, I didn't include them in this variation. I think the sunny side up would look good in the middle of the "sun" though. ;) Other variations use whole kernel corn and/or green peas instead of potatoes and carrots. Others use them all, if you're feeling generous.
This recipe can feel a lot of people so it's a great addition to party menus. It can also be used as dip for your nachos and chips (which I really enjoy doing, by the way). Here in the Philippines, it is often served with rice for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And since these small bits are packed with lots of flavor, it really can feed lots, especially when eaten with rice.
I have been eating this for almost my whole life because my family is composed of a mostly fried-chicken-pork-chop-and-hotdog-type of people. They rarely cook anything that takes too long to prepare. I guess this was one of the "healthier" dishes that I got to eat while growing up. Fortunately, I learned how to cook so now I can fend for myself. I love this dish though so I still make it every once in a while. :)
