Pabellón criollo

Pabellón criollo

Pabellón criollo, this is the pabellón con barandas variation (has fried plantain slices).
Course	Meal
Place of origin	Venezuela
Region or state	Latin America
Serving temperature	2-3 hours
Main ingredients	rice and beans, shredded beef in stew and stewed

Pabellón criollo is a traditional Venezuelan dish, the local version of the rice and beans combination found throughout the Caribbean. It is a plate of rice, shredded beef in stew and stewed black beans that is considered by many to be the Venezuelan national dish.

Common additions include tajadas (fried plantain slices) or a fried egg. Both of these variants have acquired slang names. A pabellón con barandas (baranda is Spanish for guard rail) is served with tajadas because the long plantain slices placed on the sides are humorously considered to be keeping the food from falling off from the plate.

A pabellón a caballo (a caballo is Spanish for horseback riding) means with a fried egg on top, as though the egg were "riding" the dish. Most waiters in Venezuela understand immediately what is meant by Pabellón con barandas y a caballo (a Pabellon with both egg and fried plantain). Besides the two main variants, people also add other things to the dish, like granulated sugar on the beans, Queso Palmita over the beans or hot sauce over the meat.

The shredded beef can be replaced by chigüire (capybara), caiman shredded meat or even freshwater fish, depending on particular tastes, region or time of the year (beef consumption is prohibited by the Roman Catholic Church during Lent, however capybara and fish are approved).