All of these diverse influences have turned Puerto Rican food into an exciting, deeply-rooted cuisine. Techniques and knowledge from all around the world, combined with a mollejas de pollo climate that’s great for growing many different ingredients, have produced an array of delicious dishes that you absolutely need to try.
This list goes over some of the most popular Puerto Rican foods, but you could spend a lifetime eating in the territory without running out of foods to try. Pernil is the Boricua version of lechon, Latin American-style roast pork. According to The Sofrito Project, pernil is a staple on Puerto Rican tables at Christmas, but you can also get it from restaurants and food stalls throughout the year. Pernil also shows up as an ingredient in other dishes, like sandwiches.
The key to pernil’s addictive flavor is a marinade called mojo that’s made out of minced garlic, oregano, oil, adobo seasoning, and sazón. These last two ingredients are spice mixes that are ubiquitous in Puerto Rican cooking. You can make them yourself if you have the time, but there’s no shame in the store-bought versions, which are used by legions of home cooks. Once the pig is roasted, the most desirable part is the crispy skin, known as cuerito. Almost every culture has some kind of rice and beans dish. Whether it’s South Asian pilaf, Cajun red beans, or Central American gallo pinto, this comforting combo has won over fans across the globe.
Puerto Rico is a country that has endured several waves of colonization over the centuries, with each new group of people adding their own ingredients and techniques to the island’s cuisine. Mofongo originated among slaves of African descent brought to Puerto Rico by the Spanish colonizers. Mofongo trades African ingredients for ones that were available in Puerto Rico, swapping out plantain for the yam and adding pork and garlic. Although it is a starchy side dish eaten to accompany other foods, it brings a lot of flavor and richness in and of itself, combining fried plantains, pork skin or bacon, and garlic into a rich mash.
It seems like there is a universal human need for chicken soup. Puerto Rican chicken soup, asopao de pollo, hits all those comforting notes while also packing some serious flavor. Asopao plays a starring role in a Puerto Rican form of partying called a parranda. It’s somewhat similar to the English traditions of caroling or wassailing, in that groups of singers go from door to door begging for refreshments. Unlike the tamer wassailing, however, parrandas happen late at night, and the group of singers, or parranderos, ritualistically “kidnaps” each household they visit, bringing them along to harass the next house.