Dominican rice-and-chicken soup-stew — sofrito base, chicken pieces, more liquid than locrio so the rice stays loose and the dish is spooned like soup. Sopa-meets-locrio territory. Rainy-day comfort food across the island; the rice acts as both bulk and thickener.
Caribbean-Spanish soupy-rice tradition: the name comes from the Spanish 'asopado' ('soup-like'), and it descends from arroz caldoso, the brothy, almost porridge-like rice cooked in Spain and its former colonies, which fused with local ingredients and criollo taste in the Caribbean. Shared across the Hispanic Caribbean rather than owned by one place — both the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (where it's often called the national soup) make it, with differences in rice, seasoning, and how much broth they leave. A comfort dish: when someone's sick or it's raining, this is what's on the stove. Less ceremonious than locrio.
Spoon goes in and you scoop broth + a few grains of rice + a piece of chicken at once. The broth is rich from chicken bone, bright from tomato, salty from olive and caper. Rice has gone tender but still in shape — not mushy. Heat from chicken-and-broth steams your face on a cold rainy day. Lime over top before each bite.
Uncovered cook with stirring keeps the rice grains separate (vs covered for concón). The 1.5-cup rice in 6 cups liquid ratio (1:4) is the Dominican asopao standard; locrio uses 1:1.6. Olives and capers go in late so they keep their texture; their brine adds salt without adding fresh water.
Variations
Asopao de camarones uses shrimp instead of chicken (made for Friday Catholic-fasting nights). Asopao de gandules adds pigeon peas. Some Santo Domingo cooks throw in a chunk of pumpkin for sweetness; rural northern variants add salted pork.
On the Palate
Where Asopao de Pollo sits in the Dominican flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
7 steps · 35 min active + 40 min waiting
- 18 min
Cut 1 kg bone-in chicken into pieces. Season with garlic powder, oregano, salt.
- 29 min
Heat 2 tbsp oil. Brown chicken 4 min per side. Remove.
Watch outLet each piece sit undisturbed until the underside is deep brown and lets go of the pan on its own — that fond is where the broth's color comes from.
- 35 min
Sauté sofrito (1 onion + 1 bell pepper + 4 garlic + cilantro all chopped) 5 min.
- 44 min
Add 2 tbsp tomato paste, cook 2 min. Add chicken back, 6 cups stock, 1 bay leaf, 1 sprig oregano.
- 523 min
Bring to simmer. Add 1.5 cups long-grain rice. Cook uncovered 22 min, stirring occasionally.
Watch outKeep the lid off and give it a stir now and then so the rice grains stay loose — cover it and it clumps and drinks up all the liquid.
- 66 min
Add ½ cup pitted olives, 1 tbsp capers, ½ cup peas. Cook 5 more min. Liquid should be soupy, not dry.
Watch outPull it while it's still soupy enough to slosh in the bowl — asopao keeps drinking liquid off the heat, so err loose, not dry.
- 73 min
Adjust salt. Serve in deep bowls with avocado wedge and lime on the side.
