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When you visit Denise Torres at her home in Waipahu, she tells you to “leave your diet at the mailbox!” She wants you to enjoy her cooking.
She is of American Indian-German- Polish-Italian-Portuguese-Puerto Rican ancestry and loves to cook Puerto Rican food in memory of her mother, Linda Guzman Torres. Cook she does — pasteles; pernil, the Puerto Rican marinated, roasted and shredded pork; and her out-of-this-world arroz con gandules, rice with pigeon peas, commonly known as Puerto Rican rice.
She begins by browning bits of pork belly, then combines it with a “sofrito” (base) of chopped green onions, cilantro and green bell pepper sauteed with tomato sauce. Every family has their own version of what comprises their sofrito – some include garlic and white onions, but not Torres. To it, she adds achiote powder (in Hawaii, we call this the lipstick plant) and packets of Goya brand culantro and achiote seasoning. She prefers using medium-grain rice.
The colors of the dish are attractive, with the pigeon peas adding a soft texture and brown hue, and black olives that contrast with the yellow-red rice. Finishing seasonings are soy sauce, garlic salt and pepper. Dinner is complete after baking in the oven for 50 minutes.
The Hawaii mark on the dish is the inclusion of soy sauce.
“That must have been a local touch from my mother,” said Torres.
Contrary to popular belief, Puerto Rican rice is not spicy. “Other dishes can be spicy, but not the rice,” she said. Her version is drier than most, and she likes it that way. Her rice is tasty and addictive, as the bits of pork belly melt into the rice and meld with a perfect combination of spices.
“It smells like my mom’s recipe,” Torres said. “People always ask me to make it for them.”
She cooks this dish once or twice a week, so frequently that she keeps bags of chopped green onions, cilantro and green bell pepper in her freezer, ready to be cooked. She usually makes batches so large that she cooks the rice in the oven. Small batches can be cooked on the stove, but why not make the full recipe? The rice freezes well and can be reheated in the microwave.
A guest services manager at a Waikiki hotel, Torres is known in the industry for her cooking. For the Visitor Industry Charity Walk, she is often asked to cook her arroz con gandules.
“If I put a photo of the rice on Facebook, I am asked to make trays of it,” she said.
Cooking is her hobby and has been especially therapeutic since her 36-year-old daughter, Tiffany Rosario, died in a car crash last October in Texas.
“I love to cook and it keeps me busy,” Torres said. “I like to keep the Puerto Rican food traditions alive, and I like to make people happy.”
ARROZ CON GANDULES (PUERTO RICAN RICE)
By Denise Torres
1 pound belly pork, cut into 1/4-by-1-inch strips
1 bunch green onions, chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 bunch cilantro, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped (about 2 cups)
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15-ounce) can gandules (pigeon peas), liquid reserved
3 (0.17-ounce) packets Goya brand Sazon Con Culantro y Achiote seasoning
1 (1/3-ounce) package achiote powder (annatto)
1 (6-ounce) can large black olives, drained
2 tablespoons soy sauce
6 rice-cooker cups uncooked medium-grain rice
4 cups water
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon pepper
More garlic salt and pepper, to taste
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet or pot that can go in the oven, brown pork about 6 to 8 minutes over medium-high heat. Add green onions, cilantro and bell pepper. Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add tomato sauce and enough water to fill the can, beans with liquid, Goya seasoning, achiote powder, olives and soy sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
While mixture is simmering, wash the rice and drain. Add rice to meat mixture with water. Mix thoroughly.
If the pot you use cannot go in the oven, transfer rice to a large casserole dish or pan. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven, stir, cover and cook another 20 minutes. Stir again and check rice. Continue cooking until rice is done. Add garlic salt and pepper, then taste and adjust seasonings. Serves about 12 people as a main dish, more as a side dish.
>> Tip: For easier slicing, put pork belly in freezer for 15 minutes before slicing.
Approximate nutritional information, per main-dish serving (not including more garlic salt to taste): 600 calories, 23 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 1,200 mg sodium, 84 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 13 g protein.
Lynette Lo Tom, author of “The Chinese Kitchen,” is fascinated by old-fashioned foods. Contact her at 275-3004 or via Instagram at @brightlightcookery. Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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