“Arroz paisa” or “arroz antioqueño” comes from the region Antioquia in Colombia. It is related to the national dish bandeja paisa. The main difference between these two dishes is that in this case all ingredients are mixed together. Some components are also missing here, but I believe this dish is just as delicious. Arroz paisa contains fried meat, yellow plantain that is also fried, and the sauce named “hogao” or “guiso”. For this sauce you will fry onions with tomatoe and use some typical herbs. The dish is rounded off with rice, black beans, avocado, and lots and lots of cilantro.
Funniyl enough it was a German reader who asked me whether I had the recipe on my blog. So far I did not. Once I started investigating, almost all Colombians I knew were from Bogotá where this dish does not seem to be known much. It is pretty similar to arroz con pollo (so rice with chicken). So I had to dig a bit more and consulted the Internet. I quickly found out that it definitely is related to bandeja paisa as that dish also has meat, rice, etc. fried. However, bandeja paisa does present each component separately, here we will mix all ingredients together. So be warned, you will need to fry quite a few components and need a few frying pans. The hardest part is probably frying the pork belly or “chicharrones” . Below I give you a list of what you may serve in addition.
Arroz paisa is a Colombian rice dish that contains meat and sausage chunks, beans and fried plantains. It is similar to bandeja paisa, but is combined into one dish here. First make sure to wash the rice properly. Then let come to a boil with double the amount of water. Reduce heat and simmer on low for ten minutes. Take off heat and let sit for at least ten more minutes. You can also make the rice the day before. Meanwhile cut the pork belly into cubes. Place into a wide pot and just cover with water. Add one teaspoon of baking soda and boil, but be careful, it may bubble a lot due to the baking soda. Reduce heat and let simmer until all the water is gone, this may take 10-15 minutes. Be sure to wash the pork belly afterwards so get rid of all the baking soda, otherwise it may taste butter. Pat dry, salt from all side and fry in a bit of oil from all sides until crunchy. Set aside. Cut the sausage and also fry until browned, set aside. Peel the plantains and cut into 2cm pieces. Fry in a bit of oil or butter from both side, set aside. Peel and finely cut the onions, cut spring onions and for now only use the white part. Fry on medium heat until translucent. Grate the tomatoes, usually the skin will be left and can be discarded. Add to the onions and fry for another few minutes. Lastly add the green part of the spring onions and the finely cut garlic and fry a few minutes more. Season with salt, pepper, a teaspoon of cumin and some "color". Add the cooked rice and cook for about a minute. Then add the prepared meat and beans. You may wish to season again. Serve with fresh cilantro, the plantains and avocado.Arroz Paisa - Colombian Rice Dish
Ingredients
Instructions
5 Comments
Regina
Sunday August 31st, 2025 at 10:31 AMLiebe Jenny, auch deine leckere Reispfanne ist genau nach meinem Geschmack. Die werde ich mal kochen. Viele Grüße, Regina
Jenny
Sunday August 31st, 2025 at 10:32 AMDie reifen Kochbananen findet man oft in Asia-Läden. Freue mich, wenn du berichtest. Grüße, Jenny
Susanne
Sunday August 31st, 2025 at 01:35 PMOh, das würde ich mögen, die Kombination ist ja toll! Und ich habe was gelernt von dir, ich habe immer gedacht, chicharrones würde sich nur auf die knusprig ausgebackene Schwarte beziehen.
Britta
Wednesday September 3rd, 2025 at 11:13 AMDas sieht aber lecker aus. Mal gucken, ob ich irgendwo Kochbananen bekomme.
Jenny
Wednesday September 3rd, 2025 at 11:19 AMHi Britta, ich finde die oft im Asia-Laden. Grüße, Jenny