Chifrijo

Ingredients

Beans

• 300 gdried red beans
• or 2 tins red beans with their liquid
• 1onion, halved
• 3garlic cloves
• 1 sprigcoriander
• 1 teaspoonsalt

Chicharrón

• 600 gpork belly, in cubes
• juice of 2 limes
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 1 teaspoonblack pepper
• 1 teaspoonground cumin
• 200 mlwater
• oil, for frying

Rice

• 300 gcooked white rice

Pico de gallo

• 4tomatoes, diced small
• 1red onion, diced small
• a handful of coriander, chopped
• juice of 2 limes
• salt to taste

To serve

• 1avocado, sliced
• tortilla chips
• Salsa Lizano or hot sauce
• lime wedges

Directions

1. Soak the dried beans overnight in cold water. Drain and rinse them thoroughly. They must be boiled hard for ten minutes. Put the soaked beans in a large pot. Cover them with fresh cold water. Boil them hard for ten minutes.
2. Let them cook for about ninety minutes. Add the salt only once they are soft. They should be tender but hold their shape.
3. Keep plenty of the cooking liquid. Cut the pork belly into small cubes. Aim for pieces about two centimetres. Rub them with lime juice and crushed garlic. Add the salt, pepper and cumin. Let them sit for thirty minutes.
4. Put the pork in a wide heavy pan. Add the water and set it over a medium heat. Let the water simmer away entirely. That takes about twenty minutes. Add a little oil if the pork is lean. Let it fry in its own rendered fat. Keep the heat at a steady medium. Give it about fifteen minutes.
5. Turn the pieces over regularly. The cubes should be deep golden and crisp. Lift them out onto kitchen paper. Dice the tomatoes and onion very small. Chop the fresh coriander finely.
6. Squeeze the lime juice over everything. Season it well with salt to taste. Mix it together and let it sit. Make it fresh, since it goes watery on standing. Take a wide shallow bowl for each person. Spoon warm rice into the bottom.
7. Ladle beans over it with plenty of liquid. The bean liquid should soak into the rice. Pile the hot chicharron on top of the beans. Spoon pico de gallo over everything. Lay slices of avocado around the edge. Serving it is done immediately while hot. Put Salsa Lizano on the table. Cold beer is the fixed accompaniment.

Technique

• The dish was created in a San Jose bar in the nineteen nineties by Miguel Cordero, who later registered the name as a trademark, and that registration has been legally disputed.
• The name joins chicharron and frijoles, the pork and the beans that form the heart of the bowl.
• Dried red kidney beans must be boiled hard for ten minutes to destroy the lectin they contain.

Substitutions

• Tinned red beans with their liquid save the long soaking and boiling entirely.
• Any hot sauce stands in for Salsa Lizano, though the flavour is quite different.

Variations

• Some bars add a fried egg on top.
• A version with more avocado is served in some places.
• Gallo pinto is the other great Costa Rican rice and bean dish.

History

Created in a San Jose bar in the 1990s by Miguel Cordero, who layered rice, beans, chicharron and pico de gallo and later trademarked the name.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chifrijo?

Chifrijo is a snack from Costa Rica: bar bowl of rice, beans, chicharrón, pico de gallo. Created in a San Jose bar in the 1990s by Miguel Cordero, who layered rice, beans, chicharron and pico de gallo and later trademarked the name.

How long does Chifrijo take to make?

Chifrijo takes 30 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Chifrijo?

Yes, within limits. Tinned red beans with their liquid save the long soaking and boiling entirely. Any hot sauce stands in for Salsa Lizano, though the flavour is quite different.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chifrijo?

Soak the dried beans overnight in cold water. Drain and rinse them thoroughly. They must be boiled hard for ten minutes. Put the soaked beans in a large pot. Cover them with fresh cold water. Boil them hard for ten minutes.