Chicken Stew

I don't have an opinion about the authenticity of the dish, and I am not too familiar with it. I did make some alterations based on what I had available. I substituted white wine for beer, and used more achiote paste (doubled) because it was my only source of cumin at the moment. I used boneless skinless chicken thighs. I found that I had to simmer it covered for 40 minutes before the chicken and potatoes were tender. As I used basmati rice (what I had), the rice was woefully over-cooked. With a short-grain rice, this would not have been a problem. I added a big handful of green olives, because I like them. Over all, the sofrito was wonderful and I'll be using that again as a base for other dishes. The final stew had nice flavor, and the texture would have been nice with short-grained rice (or long-grain added later in the cooking process).

• StoneGirl

• Above the 60th parallel

• 4/4/2011

This is fantastic! Not a huge fan of cilantro so cut it in half... also couldn't find achiote paste so added a teaspoon of the achiote spice. With a dash of Old Bay and a sprinkle of smoked asiago cheese as a garnish.... wonderful comfort food!

• katherineknapp

• Pittsburgh, PA

• 2/19/2011

my recipe can be found here: //m.fonts4kids.com/members/member_recipes/recipe_views/views/1204917

• olgavargas

• 4/3/2006

terrible. too bad asopao is one of my favorite meals, it is also what i make when i want to showcase good puerto rican food. this recipe does not make it justice, if you want, i can send you my recipe for asopao. you won't regret it. send me an email to vargaslester@yahoo.com and i will send you the recipe.

• vargaslester@yahoo.com

• Dallas, TX

• 3/3/2005

Awful recipe. Asopao is actually a very flavorful and great recipe. One of my favorites that my children absolutely love. The ingredients used are not good. Try this recipe instead. serve with a tomato, onion, and avocado salad and tostones (fried green plantains) for an authentic puertorican fare. Ingredients: 3 pounds chicken 8 cups water 1 onion 2 cloves of garlic 2 teaspoons of salt 2 bouillon cubes for the sofrito: 2 teaspoons olive oil 1 onion, chopped 5 cloves garlic, chopped 2 tablespoons salt 1/4 pound ham (cooked ham steak) 1 green pepper, chopped 1/2 cup tomato sauce 1 tablespoon capers 1/2 cup olives 1/8 teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons oregano 2 tablespoons vinegar for the asopao 1 cup rice 1 cup petit pois 4 roasted red peppers 1 cup parmesan cheese optional--2 yautias or taro roots cut the chicken into small pieces. cook with the 8 cups of water, 1 onion, and a couple of cloves of garlic. parta el pollo en presas. meanwhile put the rice in 1 cup of water set aside. also meanwhile prepare the sofrito by sweating the onions with the ham, green bell peppers, and garlic. once soft, you can put everything in the blender if you dont want those things floating in the soup, or add it to your chicken broth (remove the whole onion and the garlic that you used to poach the chicken with) add the tomato paste, capers and the rest of the ingredients in the sofrito list, cook for about 30 minutes. add the taro or yautia if using cook for 10 minutes. add the rice. simmer until rice is soft. when ready, serve hot adorned with a teaspoon of peas, strips of roasted red bell pepper and parmesan cheese.

• olgavargas

• Puerto Rico

• 3/3/2005

Not good!!!

• Anonymous

• Sands Point, NY

• 2/28/2005

My husband loved this--great comfort food. I used a yellow bell pepper, white wine in the marinade (no water) and Thai hot spice powder since I did not have achiote paste. YUM.

• CPaschen

• Iowa

• 2/25/2005

We did not enjoy this recipe. I followed the instructions and have been cooking for more years than I care to count, so I don't think I made a mistake. I'm hopeful that my husband, who will just about eat anything, will eat the leftovers as I just can't.

• Anonymous

• Alameda, CA

• 2/17/2005

Loved the rice but next time would put in half the amount of potato. Am considering trying carrots next time instead of potato (to add a bit of sweetness to balance the sour/hot flavors). The chicken was extremely tender but not at all flavorful. Perhaps it needs more than 2 hours to reall soak up the marinade?

• Anonymous

• Heidelberg, Germany

• 2/17/2005

This recipe was great. My in laws who normally eat bland and boring food loved it. But wondered why the chicken turned green.

• Anonymous

• St. Louis

• 2/16/2005

My husband raved about this. I thought it was okay. We both used a lot of hot sauce and cilantro garnish when eating it. I would prefer it without the potatoes and I cooked it longer than the recipe indicated.

• kryberg

• Bismarck, ND

• 2/13/2005

I'be been cooking for 53 years and the best I can say about this one is AWFUL!

• Anonymous

• Virginia Beach, VA

• 2/12/2005

Yuck!! I made this exactly as suggested and it turned out rather bland. Extra hot sauce was needed at the table to add flavor. I definitely won't make this one again.

• KG

• Pittsburgh, PA

• 2/11/2005

My gosh! I actually live in Puerto Rico. My mother is the best cook in the world, both gourmet and local and this recipe doesn't sound like our Asopao de Pollo. Cumin is not commonly used in puertorrican cooking, that is more a Cuban custom. Also that is not the way we make sofrito;there are a few ingredients missing. Also, we season the chicken first with our "adobo" homemade.

• jaimalia

• San Juan, Puerto Rico

• 2/10/2005

I have a doubt .After the puree you cook the sofrito or only after the marinade?

• arsanche

• bogota colombia

• 2/10/2005