"ropa vieja?"
Why are rice and beans called "ropa vieja?"
6 Answers
funny, thiis is what we call ropa vieja, we have the same word, different use
Because this are usually mixed with leftovers to make a new dish using an old one (ropa vieja = old clothes - old food) My mom does it with the cickpeas from her world famous "Cocido Madrileño"
I have never heard rice and beans called this. When I've been served "ropa viejo" it has always been shredded flank steak, and it is so called because it appears to be ragged like old clothes. 
My mom makes the best ropa vieja
It is shredded flank (steak)
usually served with rice and beans
That is particularly what I know it as.
Oh wow! (Looking at the picture that Heidita posted as "ropa vieja").
- I Thought that "ropa vieja" was strictly a Latin American dish! Love to learn new things!
- That picture looks nothing like what I have ever seen as "ropa vieja".
This is what I know as ropa vieja:
In Venezuela it is called "carne mechada" or "carne esmechada".
It's because it tastes like old clothing. Yum yum, ¡delicioso!
