 In the Cuban cuisine of Miami, Florida, it is typical for ropa vieja to have a sweet undertone.While this is traditionally intended to be due to the use of fully ripe red bell peppers, it is not uncommon for recipes to include some quantity of sugar as a means to achieve the correct level of sweetness in the finished dish.The Canary Islands in Spain have a version of the dish, where instead of rice on the side they put potato in the pot to cook with the beef and vegetables.