June 15, 2007
Chicken and rice, known here as arroz con pollo, is a very popular dish that I have eaten numerous times. I've tried to make it, tico style, but have not yet mastered the local technique. I had been wanting to be in a position to learn by observation and was thrilled when I was given that opportunity.
A group of us gringos were planning a fund-raising party for a friend who was in dire need of, well, funds. We secured the date, time, and venue for a big bash and booked the entertainment. All we had left to do was plan the menu. We decided on a simple meal of chicken and rice, coleslaw, bread and a dessert. Some tica friends volunteered to make the rice dish, and I took on the coleslaw and dessert. Ken anxiously volunteered to make a "party punch." It ended up being a concoction of fresh squeezed limes, tequila and lemon-lime Kool-Aid. It was actually quite good, and we sold out of the "bar special" in no time!
I had decided to make most of my coleslaw the evening before, knowing that "event day" would be a busy one. At my small dining room table, I chopped several heads of cabbage, diced multiple onions and shredded lots of carrots. Not having a container large enough to store it, or room in my fridge, I put my mix into some plastic bags from the grocery store and put them in a cooler of ice. The dressing was whipped up and put into the fridge for the next day's use.
Up early the next day, we all met at the private club where the party was being thrown. I soon found out that in the kitchen the chicken and rice preparations were under way. Whahoo! Observing and learning time for me! Upon enter the kitchen (after a finding a bowl for my coleslaw) I was given an apron and guided to a place along the counter between two ticas at work. Huh? I was just wanting to "observe." Well, THAT wasn't going to happen. A cutting board was placed in front of me, and I was given the largest knife I've seen in my life and told to chop carrots. Okay. I figured I could do that.
Apparently not. My method was corrected a few times before I was allowed to do it unsupervised. These local ladies have been making arroz con pollo dish their whole lives, and I'm quite sure they could do it in their sleep! How I wish I had known what I would be doing in the kitchen that day. I would have brought along my Pampered Chef Chopper (I will SO HAVE to blog about my addiction to Pampered Chef products some day). Having my daily used chopper with me would have made the next hour a lot easier.
I predicted I would chop a finger off before I was finished with the carrots. A friend of mine, Terry from England, joined me at the counter, and she began chopping fresh green beans. Rosa, the band's bass player's wife, was on my right chopping onions. I was getting elbowed from both sides! I was on my second to last carrot, and actually getting the hang of it when the knife slipped and hit my ring finger's nail on my left hand. I stopped ... lifted my hand ... looked at my finger ... waited out the initial pain while closely watching my nail for the first sign of crimson. I waited ... the finger throbbed ... yet ... no blood! Yeah! It hurt like a mother, but it didn't bleed.
My right hand was equally suffering after an hour of chopping as I had developed a blister where the jumbo knife met my palm. I needed a break! But before I could leave the sweatshop I had to mix up my coleslaw. Luckily when I had first gotten there I found a really large plastic container on a shelf that I checked to make sure would fit in the fridge. I got out my grocery bag of chopped veggies and dumped about a 1/3 into the container. I then poured some dressing over it, mixed, and repeated until all was mixed well. I put it in the fridge then slinked off to see how things were going in the main party room.
I was informed while roaming around that we needed a few supplies from the local store. I was set on going to run this errand when I was drug back to the kitchen for phase two of arroz con pollo construction. Maybe NOW I would learn their way of combining the rice and our chopped items! Let's do it!
Back in the kitchen, Terry and I were given 10 whole, recently-boiled chickens that needed deboned and shredded ... by hand! That's a LOT of chicken! I guess it wasn't yet quite time to put everything together yet. There were more ingredients to assemble. So, when a couple of birds cooled down enough to handle, we began our chore. No hairnets, no gloves, just good old germ-spreading chicken parts handling.
The first thing I did with the chicken in front of me was to pull off the skin and discard it into the bowl we were given for "scraps." I was quickly scolded for doing that. Rosa's mom, the alpha tica that day, plucked the greasy skin out of the bowl. She returned it to my supply of what was supposed to be shredded and therefore later consumed.
I was watched over to make sure I was doing it right before being left alone to continue. When no longer being eyed like a hawk, I hid as many chunks of skin in the discard pile (covering them up under bones) as I could. I tell you what, after and hour of pulling meat off bones and tearing it by hand into little pieces, I could have cared less what was in the consumable pile. Fat ... sure ... toss it in. Grizzle, sure! I just wanted to be DONE.
Ants had located a wish bone laying on the counter near my work station and several crawled onto me when I would lean against the counter. Without a doubt, many of them made their way to what would eventually be arroz con pollo. Besides that, an occasional drop of sweat was falling off my forehead and going ... somewhere. My fingertips were wrinkled as if I had been soaking in a hot bath for hours. Man, what I would have done for a sudsy soak about then. My back was killing me! I needed a BREAK!
After the chicken shredding was complete I went to see what was going on in the big room where the band had started to play. The music and the bar, always a success, were enjoyed by all who attended. Time passed, and it was announced the meal was ready to serve. Uh oh ... I missed the final stages of construction! Drat! The crowd quickly gathered to pay for their plates of food, and everyone seemed to think it was tasty. It was! The party raised a few hundred dollars for our keyboard playing friend, who shed tears when he found out the event was for HIM. I love watching a grown man cry.
I still don't know how the local ladies put everything together to make arroz con pollo taste so good. But, don't feel bad. I don't. I can get this Costa Rican staple at any local restaurant for about two dollars a plate. And that comes with fries and a salad. So there is no rush for me to learn how to make it on my own. I'm sure there will be another opportunity, someday. And if not, I have learned enough Spanish to request at the local eatery, "Yo quiero arroz con pollo, por favor." Now, isn't that a lot easier?
Comments
Saratica (anonymous) says...
I hear you! Thank goodness Hal cooks and loves doing it... otherwise, we'd be living on pasta and peanut butter! So nice to meet you and ken - we LOVED Uvita. We'll see you again - pura vida, Saratica
June 21, 2007 at 11:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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