The Puerto Rican component to this dish acknowledges my teen years in Ponce, PR. I fell in love with some of the rich flavors of the island while growing up down there. Sofrito was the sauce for red beans, hands down. The Peruvian component is completely experimental. I saw this jar of pepper sauce / paste in the market, and had to try it. The pepper paste has medium heat, and a sweet, rich, earthy flavor. I thought it would be a great extra layer or dimension to the rich flavor of the sofrito. I was surprised at how well they play together.
Ingredient List (serves 2 - 4, depending on appetite):
1 Can of Kidney Beans
2 Cooked Chicken Breasts
2 Tablespoons of Aji Panca (I used Inca Foods brand)
2 Tablespoons of Sofrito (I used Goya brand)
Water
I rinsed the kidney beans (the liquid it's packed in has way too much sodium) and put them in a medium saucepan. I added the Aji Panca paste and Sofrito, and enough water to cover the beans, and put them on medium heat. I chopped up the cooked chicken breast into 1 inch cubes and dropped them into the pot. I added a bit more water to make sure everything was covered in liquid and brought it to a boil. After a few minutes, I took a wooden spoon and started mashing up the chicken cubes. This is optional, of course, but when I saw they were starting to fall apart, I couldn't help myself. I love shredded chicken as a taco filling. Once the chicken was shredded pretty well (leave it a bit chunky), I removed it from the heat and let it cool a bit while I heated up some corn tortillas.
The Stats:
| Calories | Fat (sat) | Cholest | Sodium | Carbs | Fiber | |
| Chicken (8 oz) | 380 | 8 g (2 g) | 200 mg | 170 mg | 0 | 0 |
| Beans (15 oz) | 315 | 1.5 g (0) | 0 | 1330 mg* | 18 g | 7 g |
| Sofrito and Aji | 50** | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 745 | 9.5 g (2 g) | 200 mg | 1500 mg* | 18 g | 7 g |
| Per Serving (2) | 373 | 5 g | 100 mg | 750 mg* | 9 g | 3.5 g |
| Per serving (4) | 186 | 2.5 g | 50 mg | 375 mg* | 5 g | 2 g |
* The bean’s sodium level is very high. This is because of the liquid it was packed with. I rinsed the beans off to reduce the sodium, but I left the high counts in to remind people what it is if you save the liquid. In future, I’ll look for beans with less sodium.
** Sofrito and Aji - the labels indicate very little, but add about 50 cal to be safe since we use a good amount.
Bottom line: This was a great way to not only use up left-over chicken, but to add a bit of fiber in with the main protein dish. My WW points counting friends will be happy to know that a small serving (4 serving count) is only 4 points, while a larger portion (2 serving count) is only 7 points.
