My Peruvian mother-in-law taught me how to prepare some of my husband’s favorite dishes. She even claims that I have improved upon her arroz con pollo peruano (Peruvian rice with chicken)!
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Additional Time: | 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 5 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 chicken thighs, skinned and patted dry
- 6 chicken drumsticks with skin, patted dry
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 ½ bunches fresh cilantro, leaves picked from stems
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 Peruvian aji pepper, seeded and deveined
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup orange juice
- 2 cups uncooked white rice
- 2 onions, chopped
- ½ cup white wine
- 3 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 bell pepper, any color, sliced into rings
- ¾ cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Place two large skillets over medium heat; pour 2 tablespoons oil into each skillet and heat until oil ripples. Season chicken thighs and drumsticks with salt and pepper. Divide chicken between the two skillets and fry until golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. Use screens over the skillets to control spattering if needed. Drain chicken on paper towels.
- Blend cilantro leaves, garlic, aji pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and orange juice in a blender until smooth. Pour mixture into one of the skillets; Bring to a simmer, then cook and stir over medium-low heat until the mixture turns from bright to dark green, about 5 minutes.
- Place chopped onions into the other skillet over medium-low heat; cook and stir until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add rice; cook and stir until it starts to turn opaque, about 5 minutes.
- Pour wine into the blender and pulse a few times to rinse off any extra cilantro mixture from the sides; pour wine into the skillet containing the cilantro mixture. Bring back to a simmer over medium heat. Scrape the rice and onions into the cilantro mixture, then stir in the chicken broth and black pepper and bring to a boil. Place browned chicken pieces and carrots into the skillet, stir to combine, and cover. Reduce the heat and cook until the rice is separate and the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 30 minutes.
- Remove the lid, place the pepper rings on the rice, and sprinkle with frozen peas. Cover and cook, without stirring, until peppers and peas are tender, about 15 minutes. Uncover and allow the dish to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- Peruvian aji peppers have a fruity taste and medium heat. They are available at some Hispanic food stores and farmers’ markets. If you can’t find a Peruvian aji pepper, you can substitute a jalapeño or serrano pepper.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 739 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 65 g |
| Cholesterol | 136 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 46 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Sodium | 198 mg |
| Sugars | 6 g |
| Fat | 30 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I made this for a potluck and everyone raved over it! I’ve made it several times since and it is so good. The only changes I made were: I used 12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of the bone in. I like more veg, so I doubled the amounts of carrot, pepper and peas. And lastly, because some reviewers thought it was too much liquid, I added another 2/3 cup of rice. It turns out perfectly for me every time.
delicious!
This was an amazing change from our traditional arroz con pollo. Very rich in flavor and the orange rice was delightful! we left out the peas and added cooked bacon and used its grease instead of olive oil.
No changes made! It was delicious. My boyfriend is from Peru and he said it was perfect. He requested it again this week, too. Gracias!
I used this recipe as a guideline cause it’s been ages since I’ve made arroz con pollo. My husband taught me to make it a few years ago and he never uses wine, orange juice nor Worcestershire. I decided to try the orange juice and Worcestershire but left the wine out and added some lime and it turned out delicious! I might add that I used A LOT LESS liquid and it’s really important to let it sit 5-10minutes before serving.
LOVE IT!!! Tastes just like my mom’s! Thank you!!!
Delicious! A bit time-consuming but worth it! I am not good at following recipes. I tend to use what I have on hand. I skinned the drumsticks, salted and peppered and browned, probably longer than necessary. Had fresh cilantro and minced garlic on hand, used my Magic Bullet and it worked great. Moscato, Lime-Aid since I had no orange juice. Minute Rice, part brown and part white, Canned peas, frozen, pre-cooked carrots, one large onion, used red and yellow peppers on top. Oh, and I had some jalapeño chopped and frozen, so I used that instead of the Peruvian pepper. Wonderful flavor! So worth the time!
No one liked it.
I didn’t have enough chicken so I added in kosher beef hot dogs as well as black beans.
Because some reviewers mentioned the rice turned mushy, I cooked my rice in a rice cooker separately, and added it in at the end for a few minutes to blend the flavors. I found aji peppers at my local public market, but since never using these peppers, I wasn’t sure how long these peppers typically are. The ones I used were about 2 inches long, and I used 3. The meal wasn’t too hot using the three, and it seemed just enough. I also omitted the orange juice and cilantro and I thought the meal turned out great.
Maybe I didn’t make it the right way, but for all the effort, I didn’t enjoy it that much. All the ingredients looked like it was going to be delicious, but it was just kind of blah.
A great recipe, I could find everything living in Ecuador.
I add the cumin as others have said, also additional salt and green olives. I never have peas, have used corn 2 times and comes out great! Husband loves it and I do too and I usually don’t like baked cooked or simmered chicken. I have used chicken quarters once and drumsticks another time, both turned out great. Always have used brown rice. Thanks for a great recipe!!
No idea how “authentic” it is but it’s very flavorful and tasty. Made several adjustments based on preferences/ ingredients I had on hand. – eliminated peas, cilantro – used only drumsticks – used half the amount of orange juice – cooked rice separately so it won’t get soggy – added bell peppers at same time as other veggies – added more broth than called for, especially as the liquid cooked away (eyeballed it) – didn’t use a blender (more out of sheer laziness) Next time I’d double the veggies
This was delicious! I didn’t have an aji pepper, so I substituted with Peruvian Aji Amarillo paste purchased at a local Spanish supermarket in a nearby neighborhood. Great flavor, very authentic! I’ve traveled to Peru many, many times and am quite familiar with the cuisine. In fact, Peruvian food is probably my favorite of any kind. This recipe is definitely a keeper. Also, substituted 1 cup of beer for the white wine.
My mother is from Peru and I grew up eating this stuff and it is one of my favorite dishes. I thought the flavors were really good for this recipe. The chicken came out perfect! Very tender. A couple complaints / suggestions… Too much liquid. The rule of thumb is 2 cups of liquid per 2 cups of rice. Another reviewer had also suggested this. Too much onion. I made it with two unsure of how it would turn out, and it was indeed too much. Next time I will only use one onion, which I think is plenty. This recipe as is will result in mushy rice. My suggestions above should fix this. Mine came out a little bland. I didn’t add enough salt to the combined ingredients before cooking the rice. Next time I will make sure the mixture tastes pretty salty.
Peruvian Arroz con Pollo has no Orange juice or wine on it…. The original and delicious recipe is with beer and chicken broth…and for it not to get too mushy the quantity of liquid has to be the same amount as the rice…if it is 2 cups of rice the you add 2 cups of liquid.
This was a great recipe. Thanks for sharing it.
I live in Costa Rica and Arroz Con Pollo is a staple so I’ve had my fair share. This is far better than anything I’ve ever had. I love it and my husband does too. I’m making tonight for a group of 15 and I am sure they will all love it!
Loved it! I have a friend from Peru whose family owned a restaurant there. She makes this dish all the time as it was passed down to her by her mother. She’d never heard of using orange juice or wine before. But then she tried it and decided to change the recipe she’d been using all her life to include them!
Ahhh-mazing! SO glad we came across this recipe! We omitted the peas, used fresh squeezed orange juice and added a packet of Goya Sazon. Riquisima!