Peruvian Fried Rice (Arroz Chaufa) with Chicken

This traditional Peruvian Fried Rice or “Chaufa” is delicious and comes together very quickly.

📝 Ingredients

• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 1/4 cup water
• Vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• Salt and pepper
• Vegetable oil
• 500 g chicken breasts or filets
• Salt and pepper
• 3 spring onions / green onions (only the white part, thinly sliced)
• 3 spring onions / green onions (only the green part, sliced)
• 2 garlic cloves (finely grated or chopped)
• 10 g ginger (peeled and finely grated)
• 1/2 red bell pepper (in small cubes)
• Rice from above
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce (optional but recommended)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil (optional but recommended)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- For the rice ---
2. 2If you have rice leftover from another meal, now's the time to use it! You will need 2 cups of cooked rice
3. 3Preheat a small pot to medium heat. Add the oil and rice and stir for one minute.
4. 4Add the water and when it breaks into a boil, reduce the heat and place a lid on it. Let it cook for 15-20 minutes or until there's no water left.
5. 5--- For the omelette ---
6. 6Mix the eggs with salt and pepper.
7. 7Preheat a small 20cm/8in pan to medium-high heat.
8. 8Spread a bit of vegetable oil on the base of the pan and pour the eggs in.
9. 9Let it cook until it looks about halfway done. Flip it and let it cook for a few extra seconds. Try to avoid drying it up.
10. 10Chop the omelette up into squares.
11. 11--- For the fried rice ---
12. 12Preheat a wok or pan to high heat.
13. 13Drizzle a bit of vegetable oil and add enough chicken to cover the base of the pan. If you add more it won't become golden. Leave the chicken still so that it can become golden on one side, a couple minutes. Flip it and let them become golden on all sides. Then remove them and repeat with the rest of the chicken. Reserve them.
14. 14Still on high heat, add approximately one teaspoon of vegetable oil, the white part of the spring onion and the red bell pepper. Cook them mixing every once in a while until they turn golden brown.
15. 15Add the ginger and garlic and cook them for 30 seconds while stirring to prevent them from burning.
16. 16Add the rice, chicken, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil (still on high heat) and mix.
17. 17Now we're going to fry the rice a bit so the flavours evolve further. For this reason, you want to flatten the rice and leave it still for 2-3 minutes so a crust forms, then stir to combine. Repeat this about 6 times.
18. 18Add the green part of the spring onion and the omelette and stir. Serve immediately.