Lauren’s Chicken and Shrimp Mozambique with Rice & Fries

Ingredients

• For the Mozambique sauce:
• -1 stick of butter/margarine
• - 4 tbsp of olive oil
• - 2 tbsp minced garlic
• - 1-2 tbsp (depends how spicy you like it) crushed red pepper
• - 1 can of Budweiser beer or 1 cup of white wine
• - 6-8 packets of Goya Sazon con Culantro y Achiote (cori
• - juice of 1 lemon
• - 2-3 tbsp of Goya Salsa Picante (depends how spicy you like
• - salt and pepper to taste
• - fresh parsley to garnish
• Meat/Seafood to add:
• - 1 pound chicken (or steak or pork) cut into small bite sized cubes
• - 1 pound shrimp (best to use raw unpeeled shrimp so it doesn’t overcook and it holds the sauce better)
• Rice:
• - Yellow rice (I mostly use a boxed version of yello some of my family members even use pasta)
• Fries:
• - 8-10 potatoes
• - enough oil (whatever your preference is to fry wit we need them to be authentic) to fill a skillet (preferably a cast iron skillet) h

Instructions

1. 1. First, we build the sauce in a large, deep skillet over medium-low heat. Start by adding the olive oil, butter, minced garlic, and hot pepper - let that all melt down and simmer for a few minutes once melted. Next, we add the beer or wine and stir - let that simmer for another few minutes. Next, we add the Sazon packets and stir very well until it is all dissolved. Then, comes the lemon juice and salsa picante. Add a dash or two of salt and black pepper to taste. Let sauce simmer for 3-5 minutes before adding your meat and seafood. Stir well and coat all meat and seafood with the sauce. Increase heat to medium, bring to a slow boil, let boil for 1-2 minutes. Put the cover on, reduce heat to low/simmer and let it hang out while you get the rice and fries ready.
2. 2. For the fries begin filling your skillet (ideally a cast iron skillet - Vavo says that is how they taste the best) halfway with whatever oil you use to fry. Let the oil heat up over medium heat. Next you move to washing, peeling, and rinsing all your potatoes, then you are ready to cut them up. The first key to Portuguese style fries is to cut the potato into all different sized and shaped pieces - making sure they are all around bite sized and not too big or small. Once your potatoes are cut, place them into the hot oil. The second key here is to not move them around for awhile. Keep the heat at medium and let the fries hang out. Once you start to see them browning up, you can occasionally stir them and flip them around in the oil to ensure even cooking on all sides. Once all sides are golden brown and crispy, remove from oil and put onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain some of the grease. Immediately add salt and pepper to taste while the fries are hot and greasy.
3. 3. For the rice you can honestly make any rice that you prefer using any method - my family usually just makes some basic yellow or white rice on the stove top or uses thin pasta such as angel hair or linguine. These days because I am short on time (and lazy lol) I use the boxed seasoned yellow rice I can make quickly on the stove top or in the microwave.
4. To serve you put a serving of rice down in the bowl, put a big heaping pile of fries on top of the rice, add of scoop or two of the meat and seafood with the sauce, and then an extra ladle full of the sauce on top. Some people prefer to have the fries on the side so they don’t get soggy - but I love them drowning in the sauce, personally. I always garnish with fresh chopped parsley, an olive or two, a sweet red pepper, and a lemon slice. Most people also stop at the Portuguese bakery and get a half dozen or a dozen papos secos (portuguese dinner rolls) to have on the side and to dip in the extra sauce. desfrute de sua refeição (enjoy your meal) (: