If you read my column, you know about the impact, especially gastronomically, that the Chinese have had on Puerto Ricans. When you go into a Chinese restaurant in Puerto Rico and order a seemingly innocuous combo plate, what you receive might baffle a Statesider: an entrée, fried rice, and french fries or tostones. Yes, Chinese cooks have figured out Puerto Ricans’ love affair with double starch and meat.
![Arroz Chino Boricua excerpted from Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook by Illyanna Maisonet.](https://content.ctpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Arroz-Chino-Boricua_16x9-300x169.png)
Arroz Chino Boricua
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup chopped jamonilla (such as Spam)
- 1 pound 16/20-count shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 2 teaspoons sofrito
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups Basic White Rice
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
Instructions
- Add the canola oil to a sauté pan and place over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until translucent. Add the jamonilla and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned, then stir to mix well.
- Add the shrimp to the pan and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, or until just pink, then add the scallions and sofrito and mix to combine. Add the eggs, let settle for 1 minute, and then scramble them in the pan for about 3 minutes. Add the rice, stir in the soy sauce, and keep the mixture moving for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the shrimp are thoroughly cooked.
- Serve the rice hot.
Notes
![Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook by Illyanna Maisonet (© 2022). Photography copyright © 2022 by Erika P. Rodriguez and Dan Liberti. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.](https://content.ctpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/COVER_DIASPORICAN.png)