Pabellón Criollo (Venezuelan Rice and Beans with Steak)
Pabellón criollo is Venezuela's national dish, and no visit to this South American country will be complete unless you try it. This flavorful dish consists of shredded flank steak, black beans, rice, plantains or bananas, onions, tomatoes, and spices. The end result and presentation should resemble the national flag, hence the name of the dish. It is traditionally served with plantains, black beans and rice.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
- 400 g (14 oz) tinned chopped tomatoes
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 900 g (2 lb) lean steak, (sirloin or rump), about 12 mm (½ inch) thick
Ingredients for 4 servings (1.5 kg) · the original recipe
Method
- 1
Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onions and garlic and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until the onions are soft and transparent.
Stovetop - 2
Add the tomatoes, cumin and salt, mix well, reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered, for about 30 minutes, stirring often, until the tomato juices evaporate and the sauce becomes thick.
- 3
15 minutes before the end of the cooking time, preheat the grill to hot, place the steak on the grill pan and cook under the grill for 5 minute on each side.
Grill or barbecue - 4
Remove from the grill and cut into pieces about 12mm/ ½-inch long and 6mm/ ¼-inch wide then add the strips of beef to the sauce, mixing well.
Grill or barbecue
Recipe from Wikibooks Cookbook, written by Wikibooks contributors. Used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence; the ingredient list and method on this page are taken from that page and edited (its notes, tips and variations are not reproduced), and are available under the same licence. The macros, equipment tags and scaling are Ma Kitchen’s own and are not the source’s figures. Ma Kitchen is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wikibooks Cookbook. Copied on 2026-11-12.
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