Arroz Paraense

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 3-liter pot with tight lid
• •Small pot for tucupi
• •Fine sieve
• •Medium bowl for soaking shrimp

Instructions

1. 1

   Dessalt the shrimp

   Put the dried shrimp in a bowl, cover with warm water, and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain, taste one, and if it is still aggressively salty, rinse once more and drain well. You want the shrimp savory, not shouting, because tucupi already has its own strong voice and the rice needs balance.

2. 2

   Rinse the rice

   Rinse the rice in a sieve under running water until the water looks much less cloudy, then let it drain for a few minutes. This washes off loose starch so the grains cook separate instead of turning sticky. Arroz soltinho is not magic. It is rinsing, measuring, and then leaving the poor thing alone.

3. 3

   Boil the tucupi

   Pour the bottled tucupi and water into a small pot, bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. It should smell sharp, earthy, and citrusy, with a bright yellow color. Real tucupi has already been made safe by a long boil after pressing mandioca brava, but simmering it again wakes up the flavor and gives you a clean, hot liquid for the rice.

4. 4

   Build the refogado

   Warm the oil in a heavy 3-liter pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and see-through, about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and chicória-do-pará for 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't brown the garlic. Burnt garlic turns bitter and then it follows you around the whole pot like a bad decision.

5. 5

   Toast the rice

   Add the drained rice and stir for 2 minutes, until the grains look glossy and a little separate. This coats the rice in the refogado and helps each grain cook with flavor from the start. If you skip this, the tucupi still helps, but the rice tastes more poured-on than built-in.

6. 6

   Cook in tucupi

   Stir in the drained shrimp, then pour in the hot tucupi mixture and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a lively bubble, stir once, lower the heat, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. The liquid should be gently moving, not raging. Too much heat makes the bottom catch before the top finishes, and then you'll blame the pot when it was the flame.

7. 7

   Rest the rice

   Turn off the heat and leave the pot covered for 10 minutes. Don't peek. The grains finish cooking in their own heat, and the bottom releases from the pot. Open too early and you interrupt the one part of rice cooking that does the work while you do nothing. A rare blessing.

8. 8

   Wilt the jambu

   While the rice rests, blanch the jambu in boiling water for 1 minute, just until the leaves go glossy and deep green, then drain and chop roughly. Fold it into the rested rice with a fork, lifting instead of smashing. Jambu goes in at the end so it stays green and lively; boil it with the rice and it turns tired, and a tired green is nobody's victory.

9. 9

   Taste and serve

   Fluff the rice gently, taste for salt, and finish with green onion if using. The rice should be loose, yellow from the tucupi, dotted with shrimp, and bright with jambu. Serve it as the rice of your pê-efe, with beans if they fit your table today, grilled fish or chicken, and something green beside it.

Chef Tips

• •Buy real bottled tucupi from a trusted producer, labeled as tucupi, not molho amarelo. Tucupi starts as liquid from mandioca brava and only becomes safe after a long boil that drives off cyanogenic compounds. A yellow sauce on the shelf is not the same thing, and I won't help a packet pretend to be dinner.
• •Jambu is worth looking for when it is fresh, green, and not limp. If you can't get it, make the rice without it instead of throwing in a random green and calling it the same dish. The meal will still be good; the name just gets more honest.
• •Dried shrimp varies wildly in salt. Taste after soaking. If it still tastes like the sea got angry, rinse again. Salt should season the rice, not hijack it.
• •The Tuesday shortcut is bottled tucupi and cleaned dried shrimp. Good. Use them. The bad shortcut is replacing tucupi with stock, turmeric, or yellow sauce. That gives you yellow rice, not arroz paraense.
• •Leftovers make excellent lunch-box rice. Warm with a spoonful of water in a covered pan so the grains loosen without drying out.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak and drain the dried shrimp up to 1 day ahead, then keep covered in the fridge.
• •Wash and pick the jambu up to 1 day ahead. Wrap in a barely damp towel and refrigerate.
• •Cooked arroz paraense keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat covered with 1 to 2 tablespoons water per serving.
• •This rice freezes acceptably for up to 1 month without jambu. Add fresh blanched jambu after reheating if you can.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 320g)