Dominican Rice

La Bandera -- The Flag of the Dominican Republic

A while back, I did a blog post for a recipe that I liked.  It was something quick and easy that I called: Rice Concoction.  That recipe was derived from this recipe that I developed called Dominican Rice.

I served my mission in the Dominican Republic.  It is a small island country in the Caribbean and it is a beautiful country.  I grew to love the people while I was a missionary.  Surprisingly, I also grew to love their food.

Dominicans aren't big on spicy food.  In fact, the national dish is so popular, it is called "La Bandera" which translates as "The Flag."  The dish consists of red beans and rice (and chicken if you can afford it!).  That's it.

I remember thinking as a new missionary that I had never eaten so much rice in my entire life because we ate it for every meal.  Eventually, I developed the mindset that if I hadn't eaten rice with a meal, I hadn't eaten.

When I returned home from my mission, I was a single, starving college student.  I decided to try to see if I could replicate some of the Dominican dishes that I ate since they were filling and (more importantly for me) cheap!

Dominican Rice is the culmination of those efforts.  This dish is easy to make, filling, nutritious, and (perhaps surprisingly) pretty tasty.  Here's how you do it (I'm making it as we speak!):

Ingredients:

Rice -- You'll need two cups of rice...

...and these

2 cups of rice -- I prefer brown rice because I think it's healthier, but it's also more expensive
1 can of Costco chicken breast
1 can of chicken broth
2 cans of beans - I am using black beans and chick peas, but you can mix it up and try other beans (or even frozen peas if you want)
1 can of salsa/enchilada sauce - to add a little kick
You'll also need a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Put the rice in the  rice cooker.  Add 5 cups of water.  (This is more than recommended, but I like my rice to be soft and sticky).
2. Add a dash of salt to the rice (for taste) and get the rice cooker cookin'.
3. Combine the canned ingredients (above) into a pan and get to simmer on the stove.
4. Add some freshly ground pepper to the mix.  (Dominicans would not approve of the salsa or pepper (since they like bland food), but I think the recipe is better if it has a little kick to it.)
5. Stir the canned ingredients on the stove occasionally.
6. When the rice is done, dump the rice into a large mixing bowl.
7. Dump the beans, broth, salsa, and chicken into the mixing bowl and mix well.  (You want to break up the chicken )
8. Let cool (because this is pretty hot) and serve.

Should serve at least four adults.

Total cooking time is probably an hour or less, but that's basically how long it takes to cook the rice in the rice cooker.  On the positive side, you don't need to pay much attention once it's cooking--I did this blog post while it cooked.  :-)

Ready to Eat!

Budget:

Here's the breakdown:

• Rice - 2 cups - I'm not sure so I'm calling it $0.50.  (You can buy rice in bulk for less than $1.00 per pound, so I think $0.50 is more than generous.)
• Costco chicken breast - $1.67 per can
• Chicken broth - $0.96 per can (Walmart)
• Chick Peas - $0.68 per can (Walmart)
• Black Beans - $0.68 per can (Walmart)
• Green salsa - $0.99 per can (Ralphs)

Total: $5.48 for four servings or $1.37 per meal.

And this is way more filling than a 99 cent burrito or hamburger from some fast food joint, plus my kids really do love this stuff.

I can do a big pot of this stuff and then take it into work for lunch for the rest of the week.  It stores well in a tupperware container in the fridge and re-heats easily.

Gratuitous Photo of the D.R.!  :-)