Colombian Deviled Rice (arroz endiablado) is a seafood rice from Colombia’s Pacific coast. The rice is cooked in the broth released by clams, shrimp, squid, and fish, colored with achiote, and then mixed with a sauté of onion, hot chili peppers, and tomato with the chopped seafood.
It is a dish of the Chocó kitchen that has been presented as a showcase of the San Pacho Festival in Quibdó, and it is traditionally served with plantain tostadas.
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Colombian Deviled Rice
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 12
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Colombian
Ingredients
- 10 cups water
- 500 g clams
- Piangua (optional, alongside the clams)
- 500 g tiger shrimp
- 250 g squid, cleaned and cut into pieces
- 500 g fish (traditionally sábalo), cleaned and cut into pieces
- 4 cups rice
- 1 tablespoon achiote
- 4 tablespoons oil
- 2 white onions, chopped
- 4 hot Creole chili peppers, chopped
- ½ cup tomato purée
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
- Cook the clams, bring the 10 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the well-washed clams (and the piangua, if using) and cook for 10 minutes. Strain, reserving the broth and the shellfish separately; discard any clams that did not open and shell the rest.
- Cook the shrimp, squid, and fish, return the broth to the heat and cook the shrimp in it for 2 minutes; remove, peel, and set aside. Then add the squid and fish to the broth, cook for 10 minutes more, strain the broth, and set the squid and fish aside.
- Cook the rice, add the rice and achiote to the strained broth and cook until the rice is tender.
- Make the seafood sauté, while the rice cooks, heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the onion, chili peppers, and tomato purée for 5 minutes. Chop the fish, removing any bones, and the shellfish; add them to the sauté and cook for 5 minutes.
- Combine and serve, stir the sauté into the rice and cook until done. Adjust the salt and pepper and serve hot.
Chef’s Tips
- Wash the clams and piangua very well before cooking and strain the broth to remove any sand.
- Discard any clams that do not open during cooking.
- Remove all bones from the fish before chopping it.
Traditional Variations
Piangua, a mollusk typical of the Pacific mangroves, is optional: some versions include it with the clams and others do not.
How to Serve
Serve the deviled rice hot, with plantain tostadas.
Recommended Side Dishes
- Plantain tostadas
- Avocado
- Fresh salad
Fun Fact
Its name is associated with the intense red color that achiote gives the rice. It is one of the dishes that have been presented as a showcase of the food of the San Pacho Festival in Quibdó.
Frequently Asked Questions
The name is associated with the intense red color that achiote gives the rice. The sauté also includes hot Creole chili peppers.
Clams, tiger shrimp, squid, and fish; piangua is optional. All are first cooked in water to make the broth in which the rice is later cooked.
It is traditionally served with plantain tostadas.
With 4 cups of rice and 1.75 kg of seafood and fish, the recipe makes about 12 servings.
