Cuban-Chinese Arroz Frito con Lechón Recipe

Here's a pop quiz...

What do you do with the leftovers the day after the Lechón Asado? (even if it's just out of a crockpot.)

Okay. That was too easy.

So what do you do after you've had as much Pan con Lechón as you can stuff yourself with?

What happens when you have exhausted your basic lechón leftover options?

What do you do if you’re suddenly craving Chinese food?

Or Cuban food?

Or Cuban-Chinese food?

And you don’t live anywhere on the planet where Cuban-Chinese restaurants actually exist?

But you still have a whole bunch of leftover lechón?

And there also happens to be leftover rice?

That's right.

Leftover lechón AND leftover rice?

I'll be grading this one on the curve.

Arroz Frito con Lechón Recipe

  • 3 eggs
  • soy sauce
  • chicken broth
  • vegetable oil
  • ¼ chopped onion
  • ¼ chopped green bell pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 cups cooked white rice
  • 1 cup leftover lechón asado (roast pork)
  • ¼ cup chopped green onions
  • ¼ cup green peas (fresh, frozen or canned)

1) Scramble the eggs well, adding a little bit of soy sauce and a little bit of chicken broth. (should look a little “dirty”)

2) In a large frying pan, heat up enough oil to just barely coat the bottom & sides of the pan.

3) Wait until the oil is pretty hot and pour in the egg mixture until it coats the bottom of the pan. It’s not reallypretty at all, but the soy sauce/chicken broth eggs are pretty tasty on their own. 

Let them cook through and then flip them over once. Don’t worry if they don’t flip over evenly. Once the eggs are cooked, remove from pan and set aside.

4) Add a little more oil to the pan and sauté the onion and bell pepper over medium heat until the onion is translucent.

5) Turn down the heat and add the garlic. Continue cooking, but don’t let the garlic get toasty.

6) Add a bit more oil if necessary, then, add the rice. Fry the rice gently, stirring frequently, adding a bit of chicken broth for flavor.

7) Quickly slice up the scrambled eggs and add to the rice.

8) Add a bit more soy sauce and the diced lechón.

9) Gently fold in the green onions and peas until heated through.

10) Remove from heat, cover, and let it stand for about 5 minutes. Serve hot.

This recipe is easily multiplied – depending on how much you’ve got left over and how many people you plan on feeding. I apologize for the vagueness, but because it's so simple, I never measure the ingredients in this recipe.

I cook it “de oído.” (By ear...)