Soy Chorizo, Beans, and Rice
Hello? Have you missed me? Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted. First it was my birthday, then Mark’s birthday, a visit to Mark’s family in Charleston…I’ve been very busy! And next up is our wedding anniversary! October is full of wonderful events, but they’ve all been keeping me out of the kitchen. Tonight I finally got to cook something decent.
I had purchased soy chorizo at Trader Joe’s before we went to Charleston and I decided that would be the basis of tonight’s meal. Basing meals around fake meat confounds me, though. Because I was vegetarian before I learned how to cook, I never had a repertoire of meat dishes I used to make or even that I miss, so when I, as I do every year or so, buy a bunch of fake meat from May Wah, for example, I’m at an absolute loss for what the heck to do with it. I found myself in a similar situation when confronted with the soy chorizo; in fact, it was exacerbated by the fact that I’ve never had real chorizo. I bought it because it seemed like something that would be right up Mark’s alley and would probably be the center of a pretty easy meal. But I have no idea what one does with chorizo. In the end I decided that you can’t go wrong adding it to beans and rice. And you certainly can’t go wrong wrapping the whole thing in a tortilla. So that’s what I did. Is it authentic? Who knows. Probably not. Is it good? Yes. So here you go:
Soy Chorizo, Beans, and Rice
1/2 large onion, diced
1/2 large green bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 anaheim chile, diced
1 dried pasilla oaxaca chile, rehydrated and chopped
2 links soy chorizo (remove casing if necessary)
1/2 can black beans, rinsed
1/2 can pinto beans, rinsed
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1 small can salsa verde
hot sauce to taste
4 cups cooked rice
First get the rice cooking (unless you are using leftover rice). I used to be able to make perfect rice back when I had a glorious gas stove, but when we moved into our current, otherwise wonderful, house, I was forced to use an electric stove and suddenly lost the ability to make rice. Enter my new best friend:
While the rice is cooking, prepare the veggies, etc. Rehydrate the pasilla oaxaca in boiling water. I had to stick a tiny saucer on top of the chile to keep it from floating.
If you don’t have a pasilla oaxacaca, substitute another smoky chile, such as chipoltes in adobo sauce, or maybe some smoked paprika. Or just omit entirely. If using, chop it up when it’s soft:
Dice the onions, …
… the green pepper, …
and the anaheim chile.
Mince or press the garlic.
Soy chorizo (as, I suppose, real chorizo) usually comes in an inedible casing:
Remove it from this casing:
Rinse the beans. Instead of using half a can of each kind, you can use an entire can of one or the other. I couldn’t decide which I wanted, but now I’m stuck having to find another use for the leftovers!
You can start cooking about 10 minutes before the rice is ready; my rice cooker starts counting down at 10 minutes. Add some olive oil to a large, hot cast iron pan and add the onions when the oil is hot:
Saute for 3 minutes, then add the green peppers, garlic, and pasilla oxacaca:
Saute for another 3 minutes, then add the chorizo:
Saute for another 3 minutes, then add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and water:
Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the beans, salsa verde, and hot sauce:
Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, then add the rice and heat through.
While the chorizo, beans, and rice mixture is cooking, whip up some optional guacamole. Since I was planning to shove it into a burrito, I didn’t make anything fancy: basically I just wanted to smush up the avocado. In a molcajete, I smashed about a tablespoon of minced onions and a clove of garlic:
Then I added the avocado:
Finally I added the juice of half a lime and some cilantro.
You can eat the soy chorizo, beans, and rice as is, but I’m a fan of carbalicious tortillas, so I decided to serve it in burrito form. I placed about 1/2 cup of the chorizo mixture in a neat line on a tortilla and topped it with some guac:
Then I rolled them up …
… which makes for an anti-climatic photo, but which was pretty darn tasty.
Brachtune watched me eat from her station on Mark’s laptop bag …
… until Tigger decided he wanted to sit there.
So then Brachtune went into her “Victorian lady” pose. I think it looks like she has a big bustle when she sits like this:
Then Tigger got in my face.
And I finished my burritos. The end.
Lisa Said,
October 29, 2008 @ 8:40 am
Your burritos looks awesome! I, for one, definitely missed your posts. Your meals are always inspiring, most likely because they are rarely ordinary.
I also look forward to your cats’ photos! Brachtune is beautiful, and Tigger is quite a ham for the camera!
Jes Said,
October 29, 2008 @ 10:23 am
Those burritos look amazing. I haven’t been able to pick up any soy chorizo yet from Trader Joe’s, but I might have to soon, considering how tasty those look! And the cat pictures are great!
mark Said,
October 29, 2008 @ 11:40 am
These things were awesome. I wish I could live with you so I could get this food every night!
Lenora Said,
October 29, 2008 @ 5:09 pm
Happy everything 😀
I love TJ’s soy chorizo… and am also experimenting with it! Last time I made a white bean and yam chili with it! Yummmm! Go figure! Thanks for another great dinner idea!
Alexis Said,
October 29, 2008 @ 6:34 pm
I didn’t know you could get soyrizo at TJs, I only ever see the Tofurkey sausages at mine. Where do they hide it?
This looks so good. Perfect for this time of year, simple and hearty.
renae Said,
October 29, 2008 @ 11:29 pm
Lisa and Jes – thank you!
Lenora, I like the white bean and yam chili idea…I might have to steal that the next time I buy the soy chorizo!
Alexis, I’m pretty sure I got it from the refrigerated case in the produce department; probably the same place you find the Torfurkey stuff. It’s Trader Joe’s brand, so if your store doesn’t carry it maybe you can ask?
And Mark…you DO live with me and there are a ton of leftovers: EAT THEM!
Alexis Said,
November 2, 2008 @ 4:39 pm
I found Soy Chorizo today, marked New Item! Very exciting, I will have to try this recipe.
renae Said,
November 3, 2008 @ 2:39 pm
Great! I was flipping through Simply Heavenly! this weekend and there were many recipes calling for their version of chorizo as well, so I’m inspired to go get more myself.
guzman Said,
December 26, 2009 @ 2:11 pm
I am Mexican so I am very familiar with chorizo. We normally eat chorizo for breakfast. Soy chorizo is very close to the really taste(much more healthier). Next time just mix in one egg and 3 inches of soy chorizo and eat it with corn tortilla. Wow! Taste Great!
Adam Said,
March 16, 2011 @ 5:42 pm
About to make this tonight, sans the burritos, although i might throw them in taco shells and forgo the rice.
The burritos might look more picturesque if you sliced them in half and topped with freshly diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro, but I doubt they’d last that long
:D Said,
July 3, 2011 @ 12:29 am
Where can you purchase Pasilla Oaxaca? What if you use regular dried pasilla chili?
renae Said,
July 3, 2011 @ 6:37 pm
It’s been a while since I made this post, but I’m pretty sure I got the Pasilla Oaxaca from World Spice Merchants. I think I was going for a smoky flavor the Pasilla Oaxaca that a regular pasilla chile may not have, but I was just throwing things together when I made this – I encourage you to use whatever type of chile you think might taste good.
laurie Said,
September 6, 2011 @ 9:43 pm
So happy to have found your blog, typed “soy chorizo” into the finder and this recipe came up! I had most but not all of the ingredients, so I changed it into more of a chili. Had only 1 soy chorizo from TJ’s, didn’t have the pasilla or oaxaca chiles but had everything else; so I added chili powder and chipotle and both cans of beans to make up for it. Also had TJ’s microwave brown rice (which we can’t live without) and squeezed a little lime juice in at the end. Served in bowls with cilantro, avocado slices, “cheese” sprinkles, and a lime wedge, with steamed corn tortillas on the side for dipping, or rudimentary taco making, and a salad. YUM! Thanks so much.
renae Said,
September 8, 2011 @ 10:28 am
Laurie, glad you liked it! Your version sounds delicious!
Eljay Said,
February 19, 2012 @ 8:20 pm
I love the Trader Joe’s soyrizo and am always looking for new recipes. I was thrilled to happen across yours… it reads like a little picturebook story, complete with my favorite kinds of listeners, Tigger and Brachtune! I’ve always got two little devils, Jack and Malcolm, keeping an eye on things when I’m cooking too!! Thanks so much for the great idea and for bringing a smile 🙂