Another Delicious rice recipe for you is this Arroz Con Jamonilla. This is Puerto Rican-style spam rice with all the delicious flavor of Caribbean food!
In Puerto Rico, we are not short on rice recipes. Today, I’m bringing you the flavorful Arroz con Jamonilla.
This spam rice is delicious because it is fluffy, savory, and slightly salty from the spam. It is well-balanced; trust me, it is a must-try.
While arroz con jamonilla is technically a side dish, it is so good that you can have it as your main meal. It already has some meat, like the Puerto Rican style arroz con salchichas, the bacon with rice, or my rib rice.
But you can always serve this rice with a delicious Peruvian chicken.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It is another easy and delicious way to make rice.
- It is a one-pot recipe where you have your protein and side in one pan.
Recipe Ingredients
- Oil- I use vegetable oil, but you can use the oil you prefer. A good option is using achiote oil for flavor and color.
- Spam- I used spa,m but in reality, I use whatever canned luncheon meat that I have. The brand doesn’t make a big difference when making this rice.
- Puerto Rican cooking base- As always, good Puerto Rican rice has sofrito and tomato sauce.
- Water- I use 1 ¼ cups of water per cup of rice. This makes a fluffy and loose grain. but if you like rice on the more “wet” side, you can add more water.
- Seasonings- I used adobo for flavor, chicken bouillon as a base, and sazon to give the rice some color.
- Rice- I always use medium-grain rice because this is just what I prefer, but you can use long grain if you like.
How to Make Arroz Con Jamonilla
- Photo 1: The first step is to cut the spam. I like to cut it into big, 1-inch thick cubes. But you can cut as little or as big as you want.
- Photo 2: In a big caldero or pan, add your oil over high heat. Saute the spam for 5 minutes. Do this and stir a couple of times to avoid the spam from sticking to the bottom of your pan.
- Photo 3: Add your Puerto Rican base of the sofrito and tomato sauce and cook for 5 minutes. As always, stir everything while cooking so nothing burns.
- Photo 4: Add your water and seasonings. Wait for the water to boil and then add your rice. Stir and cover. Cook for about 8 minutes or until most of the water evaporates.
- Photo 5: Once there’s no more water left, lower your heat to medium. Stir your rice and make a dome shape with the rice. This is just a preference, but I always think rice cooks better this way.
- Photo 6: Cover your rice and finish cooking for 25 minutes.
Recipe Tip
- Make this in a rice cooker! The best part of this rice is that it can be made in a rice cooker. First, make sure you only use 1 cup of water per cup of rice. This will ensure the same grain consistency. Then, all you have to do is saute everything and preheat the water before adding it to the rice cooker.
Common Questions
Yes, you can! My favorite vegetable to add is corn. But you can also add small carrots and peas, just like if you were making a garden-style rice but with spam.
More Puerto Rican Rice Recipes
Arroz Con Jamonilla (Spam rice)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 spam 12 ounces
- 2 tablespoons sofrito
- 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
- 2 ½ cups water
- 1 ½ teaspoon sazon
- 1 ½ teaspoon adobo
- 1 ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon
- 2 cups medium grain rice
Instructions
- Cut the spam into 1-inch cubes. In a caldero over high heat add the oil. Saute the spam for 5 minutes. Stir while cooking to make sure the spam doesn't stick on the bottom of the pan and so it won't burn.
- Add the sofrito and tomato sauce and saute for 2 minutes. Add water, sazon, adobo and chicken bouillon. Once the water starts boiling add the rice. Stir and cover. Cook for 8 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Once there is no more liquid stir the rice and make a dome with the rice in the middle of the pan. Lower the heat to medium and finish cooking for 25 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
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Recipe Notes
- I used spam for this recipe but any off-brands are good in this recipe too.
- For a more wet or moist type of rice use 2 cups of water per cup of rice.
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