Eat the Match: Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay

Kabsa and Chivito.

Group H · Miami · June 15, 2026 · Iris

Saudi Arabia: Kabsa

Kabsa is Saudi Arabia's national dish and one of the great rice preparations of the Arab world — a slow-cooked whole chicken or lamb braised in a spiced broth, then layered with long-grain rice that absorbs the broth as it cooks, topped with fried onions and raisins. It is closely related to biryani and machboos, distinguished by its particular spice blend (dried lemon, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves) and the toasted raisin and almond topping.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (400g) crushed tomatoes
• 2 dried black limes (loomi), pierced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 cardamom pods
• 4 cloves
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ¼ tsp saffron, steeped in 3 tbsp warm water
• 700ml chicken stock
• 400g basmati rice, rinsed and soaked 20 minutes
• 40g raisins, briefly sautéed in butter
• 30g toasted slivered almonds
• salt

Method

1. Brown chicken in oil, remove. Cook onion until soft, add garlic and spices, stir 1 minute. Add tomatoes, cook 3 minutes. Return chicken, add loomi, stock, and saffron. Simmer covered 35 minutes. Remove chicken, reserve broth. Measure 700ml broth into the pot (add water if needed), bring to boil, add rice. Reduce heat, cover tightly, cook 18 minutes. Lay chicken on top for last 5 minutes. Mound rice on a platter, arrange chicken on top, scatter raisins and almonds over everything.

Uruguay: Chivito

The chivito is Uruguay's national sandwich and one of the greatest sandwiches in the world by any reasonable measure — a toasted roll filled with thin-sliced churrasco (beef), mozzarella, ham, bacon, fried egg, lettuce, tomato, olives, and mayonnaise. The beef is the foundation. Everything else is architecture.

Ingredients

• 4 thin beef steaks (sirloin or rump), about 150g each, pounded thin
• 4 slices ham
• 4 slices mozzarella
• 4 slices bacon, cooked
• 4 eggs
• 4 sandwich rolls, split and toasted
• lettuce, tomato, pitted green olives, mayonnaise

Method

1. Season and cook steaks in a hot pan, 2 minutes per side. In the same pan, fry eggs. Build each sandwich: mayonnaise on both halves, lettuce, tomato, steak, ham, mozzarella (let it melt briefly over the hot steak), bacon, fried egg, olives. Press together. Serve immediately — the egg should still be runny.