Chofan (Dominican Chow Fan Fried Rice)

Chofan (Dominican Chow Fan) is the Dominican version of the Chinese fried rice, an example of the influence of the Chinese community on our cuisine.

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From Chow Fan to Chofán

An estimated 30,000 people of Chinese origin live in the Dominican Republic. Migration from China began in the second half of the 19^th century and continues to this day. Many Chinese immigrants also came to the DR from other parts of the region like Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Peru, and Ecuador.

The early Chinese immigrants to Latin America and the Caribbean came or were brought over to work as laborers in the sugar plantations in the English and Spanish colonies and former colonies after the slave trade became illegal in the 19^th century. The ones who followed tended to be entrepreneurs: they opened businesses like laundries, bakeries, supermarkets, and hotels and restaurants.

Chinese immigrants to the DR opened popular eateries known as ‘Pica Pollo’ all over the country, selling fried chicken and a combination of Dominican and Chinese food. They also opened more upscale Chinese restaurants in the main cities, and these soon became popular with the locals.

In this way, Dominicans of all socio-economic levels got to know and love Chinese food, going as far to make some dishes their own, including chop suey, chofán (chow fan) -- fried rice with chicken -- and chicharrón de pollo.

"Los chinos de Bonao"

One such restaurant in the DR was the Chinese-owned Sang Lee Lung roadside stop near Bonao on the highway between Santo Domingo and Santiago, during the Trujillo dictatorship in the mid-20^th century. It was especially famous for its chicharrones de pollo. In those days the road was bad and the journey took several hours.

Travelers who stopped at the restaurant included high-ranking government and military officials, and possibly also the dictator himself. As the story goes, the restaurant owners would overhear them discussing their business, and were said to be aware of sensitive information and government plans before anything was made public. It is said to be the origin of the popular Dominican saying “Eso lo saben hasta los chinos de Bonao” (even the Chinese from Bonao know this), which is told to someone who is the last to hear about something.

An article in a Taiwanese magazine in Spanish explains it as follows:

“To avoid problems in those uncertain times, the Chinese who worked in the restaurant would keep firmly silent about what they heard. For this reason, whenever asked, they would say they knew nothing. But really, they knew everything. [The saying] also shows the level of affinity between the Chinese presence and Dominican identity.”

Chinese-Dominican culture

Chinese culture in the DR has received formal recognition with the opening of Santo Domingo’s Chinatown as a cultural and tourist attraction in the old Chinese business district in the capital, in the Avenida Duarte area. As well as the site of several popular Chinese restaurants and supermarkets, it is also where the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations are held.

About our recipe

Like all dishes that have been aplatanados (dominicanized), this chofan recipe has differences from the original Chinese fried rice recipe. The first thing is that even in the restaurants of Chinese-Dominican owners there is no "authentic" or standard way to do it. Different versions can be found with different meats, vegetables, or seafood, and there are also different ways to make homemade "Chinese rice".

In this recipe for Dominican chofán, Tía Clara has tried to recreate her favorite of the Chinese restaurants of La Duarte and La Mella avenues (in Sto. Dgo.), which she frequented in her years as a university student with little budget to eat out. If you have a favorite chofan, we'd love to hear it.

[Recipe + Video] Chofan (Dominican Chow Fan)

By: Clara Gonzalez

Chofan (Dominican Chow Fan) Video: the Dominican version of the Chinese fried rice, an example of the influence of the Chinese community on our cuisine.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 35 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Asian, Dominican

Servings 6 servings

Calories 482 kcal

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons of oil, (peanut, corn or soy)
• 1 lb of boneless smoked pork chops, , diced
• 1 large carrot, , diced
• 1 celery stalk, , sliced
• 1 bell pepper, , diced
• 1 large red onion, , diced
• 8 cups leftover arroz blanco, made with our recipe (see notes)
• ¼ cup of blanched green peas [petit pois - may be canned], (optional)
• ¼ cup of soy sauce, , or to taste
• ¼ cup of chives diced finely

Instructions

 

• 
  Cook vegetables: Heat the oil over high heat in a wok (or a big pot, if you don't have a wok). Add the pork chops and cook and stir till they brown. Add the carrots and cook and stir for 30 seconds. Add the celery and cook and stir for another 30 seconds. Add bell pepper and onion and cook and stir for 30 seconds.
• 
  Cook rice: Add rice and peas (if you use them) and mix well until all there are no clumps of rice left. Add soy sauce to taste and mix well.

  Remove from the heat and serve. Garnish with the chives.
• 
  Serving: You can serve it topped with scrambled eggs, as it is often found in our restaurants.

Video

Notes and Tips

The 8 cups are of cooked rice. Keep an eye on the salt content, as the soy sauce contains a lot of it, I prefer to use low-salt soy sauce.

To make Chofán de Pollo (Chicken Fried Rice), just use rotisserie chicken in lieu of pork chops.

Chofán is one of our favorite dishes to reuse leftovers.

Nutrition

Calories: 482kcalCarbohydrates: 64gProtein: 23gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 592mgPotassium: 509mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 2470IUVitamin C: 30.9mgCalcium: 39mgIron: 1.3mg

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References:

• Various articles from the DR Chinese community’s Fundación Flor Para Todos.
• Chong, Luis M. "República Dominicana: de los 'chinos de Bonao' a la cooperación." Noticias: boletín informativo sobre Taiwan 44.14 (2014): http://noticias.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=168914&CtNode=1697.