Ecuadorian Fried Rice (Chaulafan)

I first had Chaulafan at Cocina Latina restaurant in Minneapolis.  I was fascinated by the concept of Latin/Asian fusion represented by the dish - essentially fried rice (brought to South America by Chinese immigrants) with Latin influences such as cilantro, cumin and ancho chile powder.  It was so amazingly good that I had to re-create it at home, complete with the Colombian hot sauce that was served on the side.

There are quite a few ingredients but it comes together reasonably fast if you do some prep in advance - cook the rice, buy cooked chicken from the deli, and make the hot sauce.  (If you don't want to make the hot sauce you can use any bottled sauce but I've tested several and think the Colombian hot sauce is the best with this dish.) Having a helper also comes in handy for the chopping part.

I assume this is a fairly special-occasion dish since it contains not only bacon and shrimp but also chicken, eggs and even optional shredded pork.  Of course, you can eliminate one or more of the proteins if you want but I'd keep the bacon for flavor.

There are two ingredients that you may not have on hand - ancho chile powder and achiote powder.  Of the two, ancho chile is much easier to find and is important to the taste of the dish.  It's a mild but smokey chile that's really delicious.  Achiote powder is primarily a coloring agent and since the dish uses just 1/4 teaspoon you could eliminate it if you can't find it.

Leftovers heat up really well with the exception of the shrimp, which can get tough if you microwave them.  Leave them out while you reheat the rest of the rice and then stir them in after the rice is hot to gently rewarm them.

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Chaulafan: Ecuadorian Fried Rice

Serves 3-4                           

 Note: To speed up meal prep, make the hot sauce and cook the rice in advance.

Rice

1 T oil

1 T white onion, diced

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup uncooked white rice

Salt to taste

Chaulafan

2 oz pancetta or diced bacon

4 raw very large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed and cut in half lengthwise

2 eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper

 1 T vegetable oil

½ cup diced white onions

1 small carrot, diced 

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 T soy sauce, divided

1 T Worcestershire sauce, divided

3 T finely chopped cilantro, divided

2 tsp Ancho chile powder

1 tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp achiote powder

1/3 red and 1/3 green bell peppers, diced

½ cup frozen peas, thawed

1-1 ½ cups cooked shredded chicken (from the deli department)

½ - 1 cup cooked shredded pork, optional

4-5 green onions, finely chopped

Sliced red onion, for garnish

 Colombian hot sauce (see following recipe)

To cook the rice, heat the oil, add the onions and the rice, stir well. Then add the broth, season with salt to taste, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Cool.  May be made in advance and kept cooled and covered in the refrigerator.

Heat a large nonstick sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the pancetta or bacon and sauté, stirring occasionally, until crisp and brown.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  In the same pan, add the shrimp and sauté quickly (1-2 minutes) until barely cooked through.  Remove and set aside.  Add the beaten eggs to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cooked until softly scrambled.  Remove, chop, and set aside.

Add the tablespoon of oil to the pan over medium heat, then add the remaining white onions, carrot, garlic, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, half the Worcestershire sauce, Ancho chile powder, cumin, and 1 tablespoon cilantro.  Cook for 5-8 minutes until the onions and carrots are cooked. 

Add the cooked rice (and optional pork), chicken, and bell pepper.  Stir well, taste and season with salt and pepper.  Cook over medium high heat for 5 minutes, stirring infrequently, allowing a brown crust to develop on the bottom.  Stir in the remaining soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cilantro, shrimp, eggs, peas and green onions and stir well.  Cover and heat through for about 3-4 minutes.

Serve garnished with sliced red onion and hot sauce on the side.

 Colombian Hot Sauce

½ cup water

½ cup white vinegar

2 habanero peppers, chopped and seeded

1 to 2 green onions, chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon lime juice

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup cilantro, chopped

½ cup red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium tomato, peeled and seeded

Add water, vinegar, habanero peppers, onion, sugar, oil, lime juice and salt to a blender and blend well.  Add cilantro, red bell pepper and tomatoes.  Pulse once or twice to mix the ingredients without blending.  Use immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week.  Or, freeze in ice cubes trays for individual use later.