Chicha de Arroz con Piña (Rice and Pineapple Drink)

Chicha de Arroz con Piña (Rice and Pineapple Drink)

Ingredients:
½ cup of cream of rice (or ½ cup rice)
1 cup of sugar
Pineapple shell and core
A pinch of salt
7 cups of water
1 cup of evaporated milk (substitute for skim, rice mil, almond milk,etc.)

Procedure:
1. Cut the pineapple shell and heart into small pieces. Cook until tender, in 6 cups water. Keep the pot covered so you do not consume too much liquid.
2. Strain and bring the liquid back to the stove.
3. Combine the cream of rice and salt with the remaining cup of water and add this to the pineapple water.
4. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly for about 15 minutes.
5. Remove from stove and add the milk.
6. Let it cool and serve in glasses.

If you use grains of rice instead of cream of rice

 
1. In Step 3, replace the cream of rice by rice and cook until rice is tender (15 minutes), let it cool down.
2. Blend the mixture of rice and pineapple water
3. Follow Steps 5 and 6.

Refrito o Sofrito

Refrito o Sofrito

Ingredients:

½ cup of diced tomatoes

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped

1 medium sized Pepper, finely chopped

¼ teaspoon of black pepper

1 teaspoon of salt

2 cloves of garlic

3 tablespoons of oil (canola or olive oil)

2 teaspoons of vinegar (optional)

Procedure:

1. Mash the garlic with salt and pepper

2. Sauté the onion, pepper and garlic mixture in the oil

3. Add the tomato and let boil for 1 minute

4. Add the vinegar and let to a boil

5. Use as main base for cooking meats, grains or for soups

About Rice

Rice is a common ingredient of the Latin American food and of course the Panamanian one.  Below is a description of this grain and some common varieties readily available today.  If you want to replace white by brown rice, consider that water and time requirements may change. It is recommended to follow instructions included in packaging.

Rice is composed of mainly of carbohydrates in the form of starch. Starch is a tasteless and odorless powder that is insoluble in cold water or alcohol. Its structure is made up of two types of molecules, amylose (20-30%) and amylopectin (70-80%).  Amylose is resistant to digestion and has been found to be an effective prebiotic. On the contrary, amylopectin is quickly degraded.

Based on its size, rice grain can vary from large, medium to short. And within these classifications, we can find numberless varieties.

Long grain (white and brown rice): Its length is three times its width.  Basmati from India and Jasmin from Thailand are two well know aromatic varieties of this grain.  This gran is high in amylose and when cooked, is generally loose with some exceptions (Thai Sticky Rice and Carolina) which tend to stick while cooking.

Medium grain: A bit shorter than the long grain.  This grain is high in amylopectin and absorbs more water, reason for it to stick while cooking.  Arborio rice is a typical example of medium grain rice (also short grain) and it is the perfect rice to absorb flavors.  That is why is used in paellas and sweet dishes.

Short grain: This grain tends to be round when compared to the previous ones. It is very sticky and one great example is Uruchimai or Sushi Rice.

Glutinous rice is the name given to those varieties with high amylopectin content and low on amylose. This composition makes it very sticky when cooked, thus is nickname “Sticky Rice”. It is chewier than the regular varieties.

Parboiled rice is rice that has been boiled in its husk by soaking, steaming and then drying the grain.  This process helps the grain retained its nutritional value.  When is uncooked its color is yellowish but turns white when cooked. It takes longer to cook and does not absorbs flavors as easily.

Wild rice (or Indian Rice, Canada Rice, Water Oats) is longer than the long grain rice and darker.  It comes from an aquatic plant grown mostly in North America.

Brown rice is rice that still has the bran hull which makes it high in fiber and vitamins.

Red rice is unhulled or partially hulled rice which has a red husk.  It has a nutty flavor and a high nutritional value.

Black rice from China (also known and Purple Rice) is a range of rice types with some of them being glutinous rice.  It has a nutty flavor and a high nutritional value. The bran hull contains one of the highest levels of anthocyanin (water-soluble pigments) antioxidants found in food.