Arroz Valenciana is a very festive Filipino rice dish that’s heavily influenced by Spanish Paella. This vegan Filipino Arroz Valenciana uses glutinous or sticky rice and is cooked with turmeric that gives it that distinct yellow colour.
It has bell peppers, raisins, peas, and richness from coconut cream. I also cooked this down with some vegan sausage/chorizo and some vegan “chicken” for a delicious meaty bite.
THIS ARROZ VALENCIANA IS:
- Packed full of different flavours and textures
- Perfect for sharing and celebrations!
- Easy to make! You just need 1 pan or pot
WHAT IS ARROZ VALENCIANA?
Arroz Valenciana is just one of the many Filipino dishes that’s heavily influenced by Spanish cuisine. After being a Spanish colony for over 300 years, a lot of Spanish influence has been ingrained in Filipino culture–from the Filipino language to the food.
Filipino Arroz Valenciana is distinct for its use of sticky glutinous rice or ‘malagkit na bigas’ in Filipino. As well as the use of coconut milk or ‘gata’ to add nice richness to the rice.
This dish is commonly enjoyed during the holiday season such as for Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) where families gather together over dinner, as well as during fiestas or festivals. Arroz Valenciana can also be a dish to make during a regular day because it uses one pan or pot. Plus, it’s great to make in big batches for sharing.
My earliest memory of trying Arroz Valenciana was from one of our family’s trusted office employees who is from the Bicol region so this recipe is derived from my memory of how they made it.
I really love sticky rice so this really hits the spot and makes the dish all the more hearty and so satisfying.
INGREDIENTS FOR ARROZ VALENCIANA
RICE
- glutinous rice or sticky rice (malagkit na bigas), soaked
For the rest of the dish
- vegan butter or neutral oil, for cooking
- diced onion
- minced garlic
- bell peppers
- sliced carrots
- green peas
- turmeric powder
- paprika powder
- raisins
- dried bay leaves optional
- salt to taste
Coconut Milk
- I used canned coconut milk. I highly recommend to purchase good quality coconut milk or cream that’s rich and not watery. There are a lot of Thai coconut milk brands of good quality that you can check in your local grocery or Asian store.
Vegetable Broth
- You can opt to use water and add a vegetable bouillon or powder to dilute in the water while cooking.
GLUTINOUS RICE
This for me is an essential. I used medium grain sticky rice.
- Can I use regular rice?
- Though I haven’t tried it for this recipe, you can but of course it won’t be as sticky as glutinous rice. You can try jasmine rice or any medium/long grain rice and start with 1/2 cup broth, since regular rice cooks faster than sticky/glutinous rice. I also recommend to soak regular rice for a shorter time, around 30 minutes to 1 hour.
PROTEIN: VEGAN SAUSAGES AND CHICK’N
- I used vegan ‘chicken’ chunks (from the brand Heura) and vegan sausages (from the brand UnMeat). I highly recommend to use vegan chorizo or sausages with spices for that extra flavour. Note that these came seasoned so I no longer seasoned my protein.
- You can also use other protein like seitan, smoked tofu, or mushrooms. If doing so, I recommend to season these with salt, pepper, paprika to taste especially if they’re plain.
HOW TO COOK THIS ARROZ VALENCIANA
- Wash your glutinous rice 3-4 times or until the water starts to run clear. Leave your rice to soaked in room temperature water for at least 2 hours or overnight. You can simple leave this in room temperature throughout. After soaking, drain the rice from the water.
- Heat a large skillet or cast iron pan with a large surface (a 12-inch pan would be great).
- Once hot, add in the butter or oil. Sauté the onion and garlic until aromatic.
- Add in the bell peppers and carrots. Cook down until half-cooked. You can add in your protein of choice and cook down as well. Remove the vegetables and protein from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, add in the soaked rice, turmeric and paprika. Mix to coat well.
- Over medium heat, pour in the coconut milk and 3/4 cup of broth. Add in the dried bay leaves (if using) and season with salt.
- Gently mix and leave to simmer over medium low heat.
- Cover your pan and leave the rice to cook. Once it boils, you can lower the heat to prevent bottom from cooking too fast and burning.
ADD BACK IN THE VEGETABLES AND PROTEIN
- Halfway through cooking, you can add back in the vegetables and protein. Fold the veg and protein in the rice. Be careful not to over mix the rice since they can turn mushy if mixed too much. I left some vegetables and protein for topping.
- If the rice still has a bite and needs more cooking, you can add additional broth and cover the pan. Allow to cook over low heat until so the rice can slowly cook in the heat until cooked through.
- Taste the rice and feel free to season with more salt, to taste, if needed.
- When the rice is almost cooked to your liking, remove the lid and allow any excess liquid to evaporate. When ready, turn off the heat.
SERVE AND ENJOY
- Serve the arroz valenciana while hot. You get that nice stickiness from the rice and richness form the coconut milk. I topped mine with the remaining vegetables and protein. You can also top yours with boiled egg (sliced in wedges) if vegetarian.
MORE VEGAN FILIPINO RECIPES YOU MIGHT LOVE:
- Adobo
- Tokwa’t Baboy
- Filipino Kaldereta or ‘Meat’ Stew
- Mushroom Tocino
- Fried Garlic Rice
- Lumpiang Gulay or Fried Vegetable Spring Rolls
- Filipino “Pork” Barbecue
- Crispy Tofu Sisig
- Tofu and Mushroom Salpicao
- Bola-Bola (Filipino Meatballs)
Vegan Arroz Valenciana
Arroz Valenciana is a very festive Filipino rice dish that’s heavily influenced by Spanish Paella. This dish uses glutinous or sticky rice and is cooked with turmeric that gives it that distinct yellow colour. It has bell peppers, raisins, peas, and richness from coconut cream. I also cooked this down with some vegan sausage/chorizo and some vegan “chicken” for a delicious meaty bite.This is a one-pan (or pot) dish, that's perfect for sharing and celebrations!
Ingredients
Rice
- 1.5 cups dry glutinous rice or sticky rice (malagkit na bigas), soaked
Arroz Valenciana
- 1.5 tbsp vegan butter or neutral oil
- 1 small onion , diced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 small green bell pepper , sliced
- 1 small red bell pepper , sliced
- 1 small carrot , peeled and sliced
- 1 cup vegan chicken chunks (see notes)
- 1 cup sliced vegan sausages or chorizo (see notes)
- 1/2 cup green peas
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp paprika powder
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 cup coconut cream or milk
- 1 to 1.5 cups vegetable broth (see notes)
- 2 dried bay leaves optional
- 1/2-1 tsp salt adjust to taste
Instructions
- Wash your glutinous rice 3-4 times or until the water starts to run clear. Leave your rice to soaked in room temperature water for at least 2 hours or overnight. You can simply leave this in room temperature throughout. After soaking, drain the rice from the water.
- Heat a large skillet or cast iron pan with a large surface (a 12-inch pan would be great).
- Once hot, add in the butter or oil. Sauté the onion and garlic until aromatic. Add in the bell peppers and carrots. Cook down until half-cooked. You can add in your protein of choice and cook down as well. Remove the vegetables and protein from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, add in the soaked rice, turmeric and paprika. Mix to coat well.
- Over medium heat, pour in the coconut milk and 1 cup first of broth. Add in the dried bay leaves (if using) and season with salt. Gently mix and leave to simmer over medium low heat.
- Cover your pan and leave the rice to cook.
- Once it boils, you can lower the heat to prevent bottom from cooking too fast and burning. Halfway through cooking, you can add in the raisins and peas. Add back in the vegetables and protein.
- Fold the veg and protein in the rice. Be careful not to over mix the rice since they can turn mushy if mixed too much. I left some vegetables and protein for topping.
- If the rice still has a bite and needs more cooking, you can add additional broth and cover the pan. Allow to cook over low heat until so the rice can slowly cook in the heat until cooked through.
- Taste the rice and feel free to season with more salt, to taste, if needed.
- When the rice is almost cooked to your liking, remove the lid and allow any excess liquid to evaporate. When ready, turn off the heat.
- Serve the arroz valenciana while hot. You get that nice stickiness from the rice and richness form the coconut milk. I topped mine with the remaining vegetables and protein. You can also top yours with boiled egg (sliced in wedges) if vegetarian.
Notes
Rice
- Can I use regular rice?
- Though I haven’t tried it for this recipe, you can but of course it won’t be as sticky as glutinous rice. You can try jasmine rice or any medium/long grain rice and start with 1/2 cup broth, since regular rice cooks faster than sticky/glutinous rice. I also recommend to soak regular rice for a shorter time, around 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Coconut Milk/Cream
- I used canned coconut milk. I highly recommend to purchase good quality coconut milk or cream that’s rich and not watery. There are a lot of Thai coconut milk brands of good quality that you can check in your local grocery or Asian store.
Vegetable Broth
- You can opt to use water and add a vegetable bouillon or powder to dilute in the water while cooking.
Protein
- I used vegan ‘chicken’ chunks (from the brand Heura) and vegan sausages (from the brand UnMeat). I highly recommend to use vegan chorizo or sausages with spices for that extra flavour. Note that these came seasoned so I no longer seasoned my protein.
- You can also use other protein like seitan, smoked tofu, or mushrooms. If doing so, I recommend to season these with salt, pepper, paprika to taste especially if they’re plain.
Storage Tips
- Arroz valenciana is best enjoyed freshly made. You can store leftovers in the fridge but I find that the grains tends to become a bit mushy when reheated and become a lot more sticky because of the starch. If course if you don’t mind, it shouldn’t be a problem!
- To reheat, I recommend to simply place the leftovers on a pan and cook down until hot.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 511kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 424mg | Potassium: 569mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 3878IU | Vitamin C: 72mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 4mg
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