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is arroz con pollo the “chicken tender basket” of Mexican restaurants?

SolidSnakeBoy

SolidSnakeBoy

Member
May 21, 2018
7,341
It's a staple of home cooking where I'm from (Northern Colombia) , but I don't think it's a common menu item in most restaurants. You can get it at most dinner like places. This version is made with Yellow/Saffron rice and ketchup is a key element. It's pretty easy to make.
 
ajszenk

ajszenk

Member
Dec 6, 2017
1,206
It is so damn hard to find good arroz con pollo in the Seattle area and it breaks my damn heart
 
LunaSerena

LunaSerena

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,525
echoshifting said:
Yes and no. It's a very old dish and there are various preparations that hail from various Latin American countries. But it is commonly encountered at Mexican restaurants throughout the US.

That said, my Colombian grandmother made the best Arroz con Pollo I have ever had.
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To be honest, I don't think restaurants Arroz con Pollo can match a home cooked version of it.
I remember returning home after a year abroad studying in the US and being desperate for some of my mom's home cooking, the Arroz con Pollo she made that day is probably the best I ever had.
 
Why would you do that?

Why would you do that?

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,792
New York City
Interesting... I don't think I've ever ordered chicken tenders before. I feel like it's just not enough variety.

My "chicken tender basket" is really just a cheeseburger and fries. That's what I always fall back to when I have absolutely no idea what I want.
 
Pau

Pau

Self-Appointed Godmother of Bruce Wayne's Children
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,838
SolidSnakeBoy said:
:D , I'm sure there are recipes that don't use it and opt for some tomato source, but I think for many it's just easier.
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Most of my family is paisa so I've haven't had Yellow/Saffron rice prepared either way, but a lot of my cousins will put ketchup on rice all the time.
 
Autumn

Autumn

Avenger
Apr 1, 2018
6,302
Where do you live OP?

Arroz con pollo really isn't really a Mexican dish in my area?

You usually just go for a combo platter with choice of taco, enchilada, chile relleno, tamala, etc.
 
loco

loco

Member
Jan 6, 2021
5,502
This is like a "Chinese" restaurant that also has ramen, sushi, pho and lumpia on the menu.

I've been to quite a few chain "Mexican" restaurants that have mostly south and Central American dishes. You just gotta go with it.
 
masud

masud

Member
Oct 31, 2017
729
echoshifting said:
Yes and no. It's a very old dish and there are various preparations that hail from various Latin American countries. But it is commonly encountered at Mexican restaurants throughout the US.

That said, my Colombian grandmother made the best Arroz con Pollo I have ever had.
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Strange I have never seen Arroz con pollo on the menu at a Mexican restaurant.
 

JDSN

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,129
Something about the idea of eating arroz con pollo in a restaurant feels wrong.
 
Toxi

Toxi

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
17,547
I feel like I think of chicken tenders as more of a restaurant thing, while arroz con pollo I think of as home cooking.
 
GYODX

GYODX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,233
Here is a good homemade recipe for the Puerto Rican version, if anyone is interested.

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From Carmen Aboy Valldej́uli's Puerto Rican Cookery (Cocina Criolla).

Each country--heck, each home--will have their own variations, but this is a pretty good one to start with, if a bit old-fashioned.
 
Doggg

Doggg

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Nov 17, 2017
14,437
Chicken and rice is classic, no matter which country it comes from. I was amazed by how much they eat it in Saudi Arabia.
 

nitewulf

Member
Nov 29, 2017
7,193
masud said:
Strange I have never seen Arroz con pollo on the menu at a Mexican restaurant.
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Not exactly that, but "plato" is basically the same thing, plato con pollo or carne asado is served at my local taco truck and the plato contains rice and beans + salad. But typically this is possibly such a basic dish that people do not order it at restaurants. It's a thing at Dominican restaurants for sure and most latin steaming/hot plate places I have walked into. Or Jamaican/Caribbean.
 

Deleted member 11008

User requested account closure
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
6,627
Sometimes I have arroz with pollo, but usually as leftovers. I think a more proper dish here is pollo en mole con arroz:

mole-_9IMJjkql3RCWT1eg6AHUD8PKyZLh7o.png


Now I'm hungry damn lol
 
Rover

Rover

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,414
I can't say I'd order Arroz con pollo at a restaurant. It's one of those things that can vary in recipe, and it's hard to know what to expect. A lot of places are just gonna serve you some dry yellow rice that wasn't cooked with the chicken. And if it is closer to home quality (where it's thick and creamy), then it needs the raspa from the bottom to complete the mix of texture and flavor for me.
 
johnsmith

johnsmith

Member
Oct 26, 2017
910
I've never once seen anybody order this in my life, or even remember seeing it on a menu.

I'm Mexican and have been to countless Mexican restaurants of varying degrees of authenticity.

Like I obviously know what these things are, but I can't even picture what this dish would look like.
 
echoshifting

echoshifting

very salt heavy
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
14,695
The Negative Zone
johnsmith said:
I've never once seen anybody order this in my life, or even remember seeing it on a menu.

I'm Mexican and have been to countless Mexican restaurants of varying degrees of authenticity.

Like I obviously know what these things are, but I can't even picture what this dish would look like.
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This is really interesting to me. I had to check the menus of the places within a few miles of me to make sure I'm not crazy haha. Most of the Mexican places that serve entree plates serve it, so does the Salvadorian place. My favorite Mexican restaurant does. I wonder how much of it is regional? I live in the pacific northwest.
 

kIdMuScLe

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,560
Los angeles
echoshifting said:
Yes and no. It's a very old dish and there are various preparations that hail from various Latin American countries. But it is commonly encountered at Mexican restaurants throughout the US.

That said, my Colombian grandmother made the best Arroz con Pollo I have ever had.
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hmmm never seen it in a Mexican restaurant… hell my parents never sold it on their food truck. But I've seen Peruvian arroz con pollo all the time.
 
echoshifting

echoshifting

very salt heavy
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
14,695
The Negative Zone
kIdMuScLe said:
hmmm never seen it in a Mexican restaurant… hell my parents never sold it on their food truck. But I've seen Peruvian arroz con pollo all the time.
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Honestly I'd love to get to the bottom of why it is so common in Mexican restaurants in my area (Portland metro). I could see it if some of the Mexican restaurants here are serving an adapted set of cuisine hybridizing traditional Mexican with that of another Latin American region. But I've dated a couple of Mexican guys here who both liked to flex their knowledge of authentic Mexican joints around town, and I could swear it popped up on those menus too.
 

kIdMuScLe

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,560
Los angeles
echoshifting said:
Honestly I'd love to get to the bottom of why it is so common in Mexican restaurants in my area (Portland metro). I could see it if some of the Mexican restaurants here are serving an adapted set of cuisine hybridizing traditional Mexican with that of another Latin American region. But I've dated a couple of Mexican guys here who both liked to flex their knowledge of authentic Mexican joints around town, and I could swear it popped up on those menus too.
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maybe too hunged up on the name. I know all Mexican restaurants here automatically serves rice and beans. Plus the type of chicken is not the same I guess since some places will have pollo asado, rotisserie chicken or pollo en mole. Like the basic chicken we eat at home for arroz con pollo is just either fried chicken or pollo asado. That's it.
 
Lonewolf

Lonewolf

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,900
Oregon
Fat4all said:
know that when i say "chicken tenders" I don't mean literally or in a mocking way

sometimes you look at a menu and you just wanna fallback and rely on a favorite that you know the restaurant can nail and you don't have to worry about

you just want sommit cheap and filling, sommit dependable when you ain't feeling fancy

burger? ehh. steak? nah. fish? not in the mood.

you've been looking at the menu for like 15 mins now and just can't choose, you've got no cravings

then the waitress makes her rounds for the second time

"you ready to place your order?"
"chicken tender basket with honey mustard, please"

i feel the exact same way with arroz con pollo. it's a go-to, simple, filling, easy to fall back on when you don't know what you really want.

it fills a hole, it's cheap, it's delicious, and you don't gotta think hard about it

last week i was eating tongue tacos with all the accoutrements, today im eating a big pile of rice, cheese and chicken
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For me it's a pork chimichanga with rice and refried beans. I'm big on pollo a la diabla too, and that's my go to if they have it. Have nevered ordered arroz con pollo.
 
mikeamizzle

mikeamizzle

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,058
LunaSerena said:
To be honest, I don't think restaurants Arroz con Pollo can match a home cooked version of it.
I remember returning home after a year abroad studying in the US and being desperate for some of my mom's home cooking, the Arroz con Pollo she made that day is probably the best I ever had.
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Sounds like all of us in the US with Italian heritage and red sauce.
 

JDSN

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,129
Pau said:
Most of my family is paisa so I've haven't had Yellow/Saffron rice prepared either way, but a lot of my cousins will put ketchup on rice all the time.
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Ive seen paisas throw ketchup in their bandejas, blew my mind and I always throw a bit of puré de tomate when i'm cooking the zaragozas since then.

I can't quite replicate the chicharrón tho, Even to the cuts are superior where I live.
 
Outlaw

Outlaw

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,110
Texas
Arroz con pollo listed like that at a Mexican restaurant? Can't recall ever seeing it on a menu. I'm of Mexican descent too.

I want to go as far as to say it's for sure a dish in another Latin American country but definitely not a staple on the Mexican cuisine side (restaurants, I've had it at home).
 
Lulu

Lulu

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
26,680
Mexican? More like Puerto Rican, were not all the same fam.
 
Many

Many

Member
Sep 17, 2018
566
What is exactly arroz con pollo? What kind of rice? How is the chicken cooked? I'm mexican and we eat chicken and rice, but it us not a particular food, but a variety of foods.
 
Yog-Sothoth

Yog-Sothoth

Member
Oct 1, 2018
3,225
Many said:
What is exactly arroz con pollo? What kind of rice? How is the chicken cooked? I'm mexican and we eat chicken and rice, but it us not a particular food, but a variety of foods.
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I have this very same doubt lol. Is it just boiled rice? Fried? Does the chicken have any sauce or is it just grilled or boiled? So many questions.
 
Trouble

Trouble

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,128
Seattle-ish
Arroz con Pollo at Mexican Restaurants in America is basically the equivalent to fried rice at an Americanized Chinese restaurant. It's chopped up chicken and some veggies and spices mixed up with rice.

E: and cheese!
 
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Yog-Sothoth

Yog-Sothoth

Member
Oct 1, 2018
3,225
Markofhavoc said:
My wife's biggest issue she brings up multiple times is when we went to a restaurant and got an enchilada and there was no sauce on it and they didn't have sauce for it when she asked for some after getting it
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Oh my.
Well, there's a version of enchiladas with no sauce in some states. Usually the dough is mixed with chiles so the tortilla comes out spicy but they're served dry. Maybe it was that version? Lol.
 
OP
OP
Fat4all

Fat4all

Woke up, got a money tag, swears a lot
Member
Oct 25, 2017
92,571
here
Trouble said:
Arroz con Pollo at Mexican Restaurants in America is basically the equivalent to fried rice at an Americanized Chinese restaurant. It's chopped up chicken and some veggies and spices mixed up with rice.
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ive gotten it quite a bit and it's pretty rare for veggies to be served with it, lol

there are 4 sit down Mexican restaurants near me, 2 food trucks, and 1 supermercado that also makes amazing food near me, and all seven of them have arroz con pollo on their menus

Yog-Sothoth said:
I have this very same doubt lol. Is it just boiled rice? Fried? Does the chicken have any sauce or is it just grilled or boiled? So many questions.
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it's usually a fragrant white rice that's been boiled and drenched in cheese and topped with grilled seasoned chicken

tho one place near me has a more succulent version of the chicken (that's also drenched in cheese)
 
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