DISH RESEARCH · Dish
Arroz de Cangrejo
Colombian Caribbean island rice cooked in coconut milk with black crab, vegetables and basil.
About Arroz de Cangrejo
Arroz de cangrejo, or crab rice, is a traditional Raizal dish of Colombia's San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina archipelago. This profile follows the island formula documented by ORFA Organisieshan and presented as a complete recipe by Mesa Colombiana.
Black crab and coconut milk give the rice a sweet, savoury island character. A soft base of carrot, onion and bell pepper adds colour and depth, while basil and pepper bring a fresh, gently aromatic finish.
The finished rice is moist from coconut milk but the grains remain separate, with strands of crab and small pieces of vegetables distributed throughout. The crab and basil finish under cover, leaving the dish steamy, lightly creamy and visibly flecked with seafood and herbs.
Allergens in this recipe
Contains: Crustaceans.
Other allergen details are unconfirmed.
Ingredients vary by restaurant. Confirm your allergens with staff before ordering.
Ingredients in Arroz de Cangrejo
San Andres and Providencia island crab rice documented from the ORFA formula.
- Black crabMain seafood
- RiceMain grain
- Coconut milkCooking liquid
- CarrotSofrito vegetable
- OnionSofrito aromatic
- Bell pepperSofrito vegetable
- Vegetable oilCooking fat
- BasilIsland herb
- SaltSeasoning
- Black pepperSeasoning
Ingredient details & uncertainties
Allergen information is incomplete. Unconfirmed details do not establish that an allergen is absent.
- Black crab: . The Ministry of Culture identifies black crab as the archipelago ingredient used for crab rice; the active generic crab mapping is retained.
- Rice:
- Coconut milk: . The selected recipe uses fresh coconut milk; the active coconut-milk mapping is retained without implying a packaged formula.
- Carrot:
- Onion: . The underlying island formula says onion, while the editorial recipe permits bulb or spring onion; the generic approved onion mapping preserves that unresolved variety.
- Bell pepper: . The recipe does not specify the pepper colour.
- Vegetable oil: . The source does not identify the plant oil.
- Basil:
- Salt:
- Black pepper: . The complete recipe says pepper without a colour; the black-pepper mapping follows the traditional island documentation's explicit black pepper usage, but the exact variety in this formula remains unresolved.
Origins & food traditions
Colombia's Ministry of Culture identifies crab rice among the established black-crab preparations of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina. The selected formula comes from ORFA Organisieshan's documentation of Raizal gastronomy and is rendered as a complete recipe by Mesa Colombiana. This profile names that island version without claiming it is the only Colombian crab-rice tradition.
Countries
- Colombia
- ColombiaCatalogue link pending review
Cuisines & regions
- Colombian Caribbean Cuisine
- Raizal cuisine
- San Andres and Providencia
- Colombian Caribbean CuisineCatalogue link pending review
AI-generated illustration of one possible presentation. Recipes and ingredients vary; the image does not establish allergen content.