Chifrijo

Chifrijo is a contemporary Costa Rican dish, and has been known for its existence since the 1990s and whose origin stems from the bars of the capital San José in Costa Rica . It is very frequent in bars or canteens, as well as in restaurants. Its name comes from decomposing its main ingredients CHIcharrones + FRIJOles. Although it can be used as a main dish, its origin was as an appetizer or to “snack”. As in its composition the beans and the cooked rice enter where they are mixed with the fried pork rinds, agglutinated with the famous pico de gallo sauce. But pieces of tortillas are added and they include or do not include diced avocado.

Table of Contents

Summary

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1 Story
- 1 Origin
- 2 Complementation
2 recipes
- 1 Chifrijo I
- 2 Chifrijo II
- 3 Chifrijo III
3 External links
4 Sources

History

Origin

Its creator Miguel Ángel Cordero Araya, owner of a bar in San José in the capital of Costa Rica. He arrived one day at his bar with the desire to eat something different, so he continued on to the establishment’s kitchen where Odalia the Cook asked what there was to “snack on”. Without waiting for his answer, he began to prepare a dish, he used tender beans with his broth, cooked rice, chiles (chili peppers), chimichurri or pico de gallo, fried pork rinds, and other things. The cook tried it after him, and they decided to offer it to a regular customer, who approved it. From then on he continued in the rest of that decade of the last century, passing even to the other establishment on Cordero’s property. In this way this recipe became popular. Among the clientele of Cordero’s Restaurant, the slim figure of a woman who knew how to win the admiration, appreciation and sympathy of the Tico people stood out, from the different public positions that he held. It was the doctor Anna Gabriella Ross, who liked to come to that bar to have a couple of drinks of “chauite” and taste the delicious “Chifrijo”. It was Dr. Ross, who insisted over and over so that Cordero finally decided to patent his delicious invention, which was also achieved thanks to the mediation of attorney Miguel Solórzano, who was in charge of the legal procedures to then present said documents before the Land Registry. After Cordero’s “Chifrijo” was duly registered and patented, many copies have appeared, but none have the original recipe that can only be tasted at Cordero’s Bar No. 1 in Colima de Tibás. In this way from the beginning of this who liked to come to that bar to have a couple of drinks of “chauite” and taste the delicious “Chifrijo”. It was Dr. Ross, who insisted over and over so that Cordero finally decided to patent his delicious invention, which was also achieved thanks to the mediation of attorney Miguel Solórzano, who was in charge of the legal procedures to then present said documents before the Land Registry. After Cordero’s “Chifrijo” was duly registered and patented, many copies have appeared, but none have the original recipe that can only be tasted at Cordero’s Bar No. 1 in Colima de Tibás. In this way from the beginning of this who liked to come to that bar to have a couple of drinks of “chauite” and taste the delicious “Chifrijo”. It was Dr. Ross, who insisted over and over so that Cordero finally decided to patent his delicious invention, which was also achieved thanks to the mediation of attorney Miguel Solórzano, who was in charge of the legal procedures to then present said documents before the Land Registry. After Cordero’s “Chifrijo” was duly registered and patented, many copies have appeared, but none have the original recipe that can only be tasted at Cordero’s Bar N ° 1 in Colima de Tibás. In this way from the beginning of this he decided to patent his delicious invention, which was also achieved thanks to the mediation of Miguel Solórzano, who was in charge of the legal procedures and then presented these documents to the Property Registry. After Cordero’s “Chifrijo” was duly registered and patented, many copies have appeared, but none have the original recipe that can only be tasted at Cordero’s Bar N ° 1 in Colima de Tibás. In this way from the beginning of this he decided to patent his delicious invention, which was also achieved thanks to the mediation of Miguel Solórzano, who was in charge of the legal procedures and then presented these documents to the Property Registry. After Cordero’s “Chifrijo” was duly registered and patented, many copies have appeared, but none have the original recipe that can only be tasted at Cordero’s Bar No. 1 in Colima de Tibás. In this way from the beginning of this but none has the original recipe that can only be tasted at Cordero’s Bar N ° 1 in Colima de Tibás. In this way from the beginning of this but none has the original recipe that can only be tasted at Cordero’s Bar N ° 1 in Colima de Tibás. In this way from the beginning of thisXXI century , this recipe is included as one of the typical recipes of Costa Rica along with the Tamal de Cerdo y Ceviche and the Olla de Carne (specific variant of Sancocho from other Latin American countries), Arroz con pollo and others.

Complementation

This recipe is a product of the crossbreeding of products originating in Central America with those brought in by the Conquerors. However, this mixture, fundamental of beans with greaves and adding something else (sauces), has many variants throughout the entire area of the region. That is why there is the version of the beans with greaves from Guatemala , declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of that nation. There is the Machuquillo de Cuba , where they mix ground pork rinds with cooked plantains. On the other hand, there is the use of pico de gallo, a sauce whose ingredients have fewer variants than the names from the Rio Bravo until after the Isthmus of Panama.. And the same goes for tortillas, which receive this name for this area and then change it to Arepas in South America . Of course, in the latter case they receive support from the Old World, with a little wheat flour. Therefore, it can be considered as very logical that the Lamb’s patent for this recipe arose, since the Mexican Tacos have spread to the north and south of their place of origin. We include the bean culture with the indigenous crops of them on both continents and their different ways of making and consuming them.

Recipes

As we have already mentioned, Miguel Ángel Cordero’s original recipe only consisted of:

Beans with their broth (preferably tender and red cubaces)
Rice (preferably well popped)
Chopped pork rinds (pork, can be “shell” or fried skin.)
Pico de gallo (tomato, cucumber, garlic, coriander, chopped onion and lemon juice)
Tortillitas ( Tortillas cut into triangular pieces and fried)
Species to taste

However, as this recipe became popular and extended by the population and even as part of the luggage of some emigrants, it has undergone some variations, of which we will expose some.

Chifrijo I

One of the versions of the Chifrijo served.

Ingredients, for 10 servings:

1 kilo red beans or cubaces
5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 Panamanian chili
2 cups chopped onion
2 teaspoons oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 chopped celery stick
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon coriander, chopped
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
5 cups boiled white rice with water, smells and minimal oil
6 cutlets sautéed with cooking spray, thick and diced
3 1/3 cups pico de gallo (prepared with diced tomato, chopped onion, finely chopped coriander, salt and lemon)
20 fat-free toasted tortillas

Preparation: To prepare the beans: Put all the ingredients in a pot over low heat for two hours or until the beans are soft. Remove the chili when they are ready, being careful not to break it. To prepare the sauce: Sauté the onion until golden, add the garlic, celery, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, coriander and thyme. Then add the beans with the broth and bring everything to a boil so that the flavors are concentrated. To assemble the chifrijo for each individual portion: 1/2 cup beans, 1/2 cup rice, 1/3 cup pico de gallo and several pieces of the wedge-cut tortillas

Chifrijo II

Another version of the Chifrijo served, where the pieces of avocado are visible.

Ingredients for 8-10 servings

1 kilo of tender beans
5 cups of water
1/2 tsp. of sugar
1 whole Panamanian chili.

Sofrito

2 cups chopped onion
2 tablespoons of oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 kilo of pork rinds.

Pico de gallo

3 cups of chopped tomato
1 cup of finely chopped onion
1/2 cup coriander, finely chopped
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of pepper.

Preparation of the Beans : In a pot, put all the ingredients, cook on low heat for 2 hours or until the beans are softened. Take care that the Panamanian chili does not open, since it is very spicy. Stir-fried : In another pot, fry the onion in the oil, until it is dark brown, add the garlic, celery, Worcestershire sauce and oregano, finally add the beans cooked with their broth, bring to a boil to concentrate flavors. Greaves: Cut pork rinds into thin pieces. In a frying pan, bring them to the heat to brown them. Note: Although the greaves are already prepared, it is important to brown them, to maintain a rich texture. Pico de gallo: In a bowl, mix all the ingredients. Others: toasted tortillas, diced avocado (optional)

To serve: In a deep soup plate, serve the beans then the greaves and lastly the pico de gallo. Accompany with toasted omelettes and avocado.

Chifrijo III

Another version of the Chifrijo served.

Ingredients:

2 pounds red or red beans
1/2 pound pork skin rinds in small pieces
1 large white onion
1 sprig of fresh coriander
2 large ripe tomatoes
3 teaspoons of salt
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1/4 of lemon juice
4 large raw jalapeño peppers

Preparation : For the beans : Wash the beans and put them in a pot with 2 liters of water and let them cook over medium high heat for an hour or until they are soft but inside their skin. Add very hot water as needed. When they are cooked remove them from the fire discard the excess broth (in another container) and add the Pico de Gallo sauce to the beans and stir carefully not to break them. For the sauce: Peel and chop the onion into small squares. Cut, clean the chili peppers from seeds and veins under running cold water and chop very finely. Cut and chop the tomatoes into 1/2 inch pieces or 1.27 cm. Leaf off the whole coriander sprig and take the leaves by making a fist on the cutting board and chop very finely repeatedly. In a bowl or bowl, add the onion, the chopped tomatoes, the chopped coriander, a teaspoon of salt and the vegetable oil. By Serving Finally, to serve, add the pieces of pork skin rinds to the cooked beans mixed with the Pico de Gallo sauce and serve them in small bowls or bowls to be consumed hot. Try that the greaves do not remain long in the liquid of the beans because they would soften and this will change their crispy texture. Substitutions : You can replace fried pork rinds with pieces of pork rinds with meat. You can also place patacones or plantain plantains as a garnish. When serving you can also present the Pico de Gallo sauce separately without having mixed it with the beans and fried pork if you wish.