Locrio (Dominican Chicken and Rice)

A locrio is a common Dominican dish similar to paella. Like paella, there are many variations. The main point is to have a little tomato sauce/paste for coloring, and some caramelized sugar.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup oil for frying
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 4 lbs (1.8 kg) chicken, cut in pieces
• ½ cup olives (pitted) or capers
• 2 tbsp oil, for when rice is almost done
• ½ cup finely diced celery
• ½ cup finely diced onion
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 4 cups rice
• 5¼ cups chicken stock or water
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 1 tsp salt or to taste
• 1 tsp thyme
• ½ tsp oregano (optional)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Steps

1. Heat the ¼ cup oil in a pot over high heat.
2. Add the sugar to the pot. Let it melt and caramelize, turning light brown. Pay close attention and don't let the sugar burn. Do not use plastic utensils to stir the sugar, since it will be at around 350°F (175°C).
3. Add the meat to the caramel and let it brown on all sides. Remove and reserve the meat.
4. Add the garlic, onions, and celery to the pot. Fry.
5. Add rice and cooked meat to pot with the vegetables. Whisk together chicken stock and tomato paste until smooth, then stir it into the rice mixture. Stir in the salt, pepper, thyme, and olives.
6. Check the seasoning. If the salt level is good, add an extra ½ tsp of salt. This is because the rice will absorb some of the salt, and it will come out a bit flat in the end unless you add extra salt.
7. Bring to a boil over high heat. Let it boil, stirring occasionally, until the water is absorbed. The high heat is needed to bring the rice temperature up so that it cooks. If you lower the flame at this point, the rice might not cook all the way.
8. Cover, lower the heat, and let it cook for 15 minutes.
9. Uncover, sprinkle 2 Tbsp oil on top, and stir so that the uncooked rice on top goes to the bottom. Cook for another 5 minutes.
10. If rice still not cooked, give it another stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Sometimes you may need more time; see notes below.
11. Turn heat on high for a couple of minutes to brown and toast the rice on bottom. Sometimes it does this by itself during the main cooking so you don't have to do this. Experience will tell.
12. Serve.
13. Preheat oven to 350°F (125°C).
14. Proceed with the recipe as above, using an oven-proof pot, until the rice absorbs all the liquid. Once this happens, cover the pot, put it in the oven, and bake for 30 minutes.
15. Add 2 tbsp oil, and stir so the uncooked rice is on the bottom and the bottom rice is on the top. Bake for another 20 minutes.
16. Stir. If it is still not fully cooked, bake another 20 minutes.
17. Serve.

More recipes with chicken, olives, rice, celery, onion, garlic, broth or stock, tomato paste or thyme

Adapted from “Locrio (Dominican Chicken and Rice)” in the Wikibooks Cookbook by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Reformatted for this site; this page's recipe text is shared under the same license.