Chaulafan or chicken fried rice

How to prepare Chinese fried rice .

This Ecuadorian fried rice and many of its rice recipes are already part of a global gastronomic culture.

There are many countries where this fried rice is a regular part of their culinary culture. In Peru we will find it under the name of chaufa rice . And in Ecuador it is part of its cuisine, the chaulafán .

The chaulafán has its origin in the first wave of eastern immigration, which arrived in Ecuador between 1840 and 1860. Upon arrival in Ecuador, Asian immigrants took advantage of what they did not manage to eat during lunch, which they used for snack by adding rice. .

With the leftovers from the lunch meal, this one was eaten at the snack, they called it the “ caledito” . This Ecuadorian harvesting recipe derived in what we know today as chaulafán. Today it is no longer a leftover dish, but a main dish and a sign of its cuisine.

In the city of Quevedo, Los Ríos province, it is recognized as its star dish, as it is the place where the dish was created. The ” chaulafanes ” are very varied, you will find the chicken like the one I am presenting today, but just as delicious are the shrimp, seafood, vegetables … all delicious.

It is a rice with chicken, bacon, onion, garlic, peppers, peas, carrots, scrambled eggs, raisins, spices and herbs. I think you will like it as much as we are passionate about ourselves at home.

Preparation of the rice. Cooking

1. We start by cooking the rice. We need to have previously made chicken or bird broth .
2. It is about preparing a very simple white rice . Heat the oil or butter and add the finely chopped onion.
3. Stir and fry for one minute. Add the rice and mix well with the onion.
4. Add the chicken stock. We salt and let it cook for around 18 minutes.
5. When the broth has been reduced, we lower the temperature to a minimum and let it rest.
6. We have to leave the rice a bit hard, al dente, so that later it does not fall apart with the rest of the process. We reserve.

Preparation of the chaulafán base. Chicken and vegetables

1. We clean the chicken breast of any fat that it may have and cut it into small sticks.
2. We put the meat in a bowl and let it marinate for 1 hour with soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Chop and reserve.
3. We cook the peas for about 10 minutes, drain and reserve. We must leave them al dente. We reserve.
4. We clean and chop the carrots and peppers into small cubes.
5. Peel the garlic and chop finely.
6. We cut the bacon into small squares. Wash well and dry the coriander and chop finely
7. We prepare a French omelette with the eggs and a pinch of olive oil. We reserve.

Preparation of fried rice with chicken

1. For this recipe I have used a wok but if you do not have it there is no problem, we can use a wide frying pan.
2. Heat a splash of olive oil over medium heat to prepare a refried or sofrito for the chaulafan.
3. We add the chicken breasts that we have to marinate and chopped. We lightly brown the meat and remove it. We reserve.
4. In the same oil that we have made the chicken, we introduce the minced onion, the minced garlic, the bacon, the carrots, the cumin, the coriander, the ajiote or ground chili, and the ground annatto.
5. Cook for 6 minutes or until the onions are poached.
6. We add the cooked rice, the minced chicken and the chopped peppers. Mix well and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Pour the rest of the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce, scrambled eggs, bean sprouts and cooked peas. We mixed all the ingredients well.
8. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with the chopped coriander and chives.

Chicken chaulafan is so popular in Ecuador that many know it simply as arroz con pollo.

In this recipe I use a little bacon but you can remove it if you don’t like pork.

You can see all the photos of the chicken fried rice recipe  in this step by step.