Cuban and Chinese Cuisine Come Together: Cuban Pork Fried Rice Recipe

Cuban and Chinese Cuisine Come Together: Cuban Pork Fried Rice Recipe
By Miguel Esperon

Most people, who do not know Cuba well, are unaware that there is a population of Chinese living and working there since the 1850's. Although there are perhaps only five hundred Chinese there now, there were once as many as 40,000 Chinese in Cuba.

In Havana there is a neighborhood known as "Barrio Chino", which is the equivalent of Chinatown. This neighborhood was once spread over 40 blocks, but now is somewhat run-down but still home to numerous Chinese restaurants.

Because of this Chinese influence, Cuban cuisine has absorbed some the flavors and condiments. You will find soy sauce in most Cuban homes and fried rice is well liked. I have always liked the idea of fusion foods that lie at the intersection of two distinct food traditions. I created this recipe by merging Cuban and Chinese flavors.

Rice of course is a Cuban and Chinese staple. Pork is cooked frequently in Cuban homes, so the leftovers can easily added to this dish. Merging the Chinese soy sauce with the lemon zest, garlic and parsley I think makes a delicious fried rice.

You can use fresh center cut pork chop chops for this recipe. But, as I said earlier, even leftover pork roast is delicious and can be added to the rice. In fact, fried rice is perfect leftover food and you can use leftover rice, any vegetables, meat or even fish and shrimp.

Cuban Pork Fried Rice

Ingredients

-1 pound of Pork, sliced thinly in mouth-sized pieces (cooked leftovers are fine)
-1 small onion, chopped-lemon zest from 2 lemons-small bunch of fresh parsely
-3 cloves of garlic, minced-1 bell pepper, chopped-oil for frying (peanut, vegetable or olive oil)
-3 cups cooked rice-1/2 cup of white wine (or chicken stock)2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions

Marinate the pork in the lemon zest, garlic, salt, pepper, half of the parsley and a touch of olive oil (half an hour). Add the oil to a wok, or frying pan and heat on high for a few minutes. Add the marinated pork. After 3 or 4 minutes add the chopped onions and bell peppers and cook for several more minutes. Add the wine and cook for another few minutes until the liquid has reduced. When there is little liquid left you can add the soy sauce and the rice and mix the ingredients together. When the rice is hot and fully mixed together add the remaining parsley and serve.

You may find more Cuban recipes like this at http://cuban-recipes.net/

I am an amateur cook, that loves to share recipes from Cuba. You can find more of my recipes at [http://cuban-recipes.net/]

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