Cuban recipe

Cuban Completa of Arroz con Pollo a la Chorrera, Fried Ripe Plantains and Fresh Salad

Name: Cuban Completa of Arroz con Pollo a la Chorrera, Fried Ripe Plantains and Fresh Salad
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 65 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 1 kg chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks); 2 cups rice; 5 cups hot chicken broth; 1 medium onion, chopped; 1 green bell pepper, chopped; 4 garlic cloves, crushed; 2 tablespoons tomato puree; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 pinch of saffron or bijol for color; ½ cup dry wine; ½ cup petit pois (peas); 3 tablespoons olive oil; Salt and pepper to taste; 3 ripe plantains; Oil for frying; 1 pinch of salt; 3 ripe but firm tomatoes; 1 cucumber; 1 ripe avocado; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 tablespoons olive oil; Salt to taste

Creamy, juicy arroz con pollo a la chorrera with fried ripe plantains and a tomato, cucumber and avocado salad. A Cuban Completa for 4.

CiberCubaNovember 11, 2026

AI-generated image.CiberCuba

Preparation25 min
Cooking1 h 5 min
Total time1 h 30 min
Servings4 servings
DifficultyMedium

On the Cuban table, a good arroz con pollo almost never comes alone: it is joined by fried ripe plantains, sweet and caramelized, and a fresh salad that adds contrast. That is the Completa we are offering today, a combination plate of the kind served on Sundays or when company comes over.

The rice is made a la chorrera: it is cooked with plenty of broth and served creamy and moist, with very juicy chicken, without ever becoming soup. The ripe plantains are fried in slices until golden, and the tomato, cucumber and avocado salad is dressed right at serving time so it arrives fresh and crisp.

Method

Arroz con pollo a la chorrera

Season the chicken with salt, pepper, half of the garlic, the cumin and the oregano. Leave it covered in the refrigerator for 15 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
Heat the oil in a wide, deep pot and brown the chicken in batches for about 8 minutes. Remove it to a plate; it will not be fully cooked yet.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba
In the same fat, sauté the onion, bell pepper and the rest of the garlic until softened. Add the tomato puree and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and reduce for a few minutes. Add the chicken and 1 cup of the broth, cover and cook at a gentle simmer for 15-20 minutes.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba
Temporarily remove the chicken so you can spread the rice over the sofrito base. Add the remaining 4 cups of hot broth and the saffron or bijol, and adjust the salt. If a lot of liquid evaporated during the earlier cooking, replenish it with a little hot broth or water.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba
Return the chicken, nestle it among the rice and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for approximately 18-22 minutes, partially covered, until the rice is tender and the chicken reaches at least 74 °C in its thickest part without touching bone. Add hot broth if needed to keep the creamy texture.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba
Add the already cooked petit pois, optional, and let them warm through. Adjust the texture with hot broth if the rice is dry. Remove from the heat, rest for 3-5 minutes and serve without letting it dry out.
AI-generated image.CiberCuba

Fried ripe plantains

Peel the ripe plantains and cut them into 1 cm diagonal slices. Fry in batches over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes per side, until golden without burning. Drain and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

Fresh salad

Wash and cut the tomato into wedges, peel and slice the cucumber, and add the avocado in slices. Dress with lemon, oil and salt right before serving.

Assembly

Serve the hot, creamy arroz con pollo with the ripe plantains on the side and the fresh tomato, cucumber and avocado salad.

Tips and variations

Coordination: start with the chicken and the sofrito. Bone-in chicken is first cooked in broth before the rice is added, so you don't have to take the rice further to finish cooking the meat. The 90 minutes are approximate and include the side dishes prepared in parallel.

The a la chorrera texture: the rice should be moist and creamy, not dry and not turned into soup. The 5 cups of broth are the base for 2 cups of rice; also keep extra hot broth or water on hand to replace what evaporates and adjust the texture at the end. Serve after a short rest, because the rice keeps absorbing liquid.

Chicken: check for at least 74 °C in the center of the thickest part, without touching bone. Clear juices or the absence of pink color are not enough. Keep the chicken refrigerated until cooking and keep utensils that touched raw chicken away from the salad.

Petit pois and wine: add the peas already cooked; if they are frozen or raw, cook them first according to the package. To omit the alcohol, replace the ½ cup of wine with the same amount of broth. Cooking does not guarantee that all the alcohol is removed.

Ripe plantains and storage: use very ripe plantains and fry without burning them. Refrigerate the arroz con pollo promptly in shallow containers, eat it the next day and reheat to 74 °C in the center with a little broth. The ripe plantains and the salad are best freshly made.