Few foods are as easy to prepare and as enjoyable as rice. However, even if you like it a lot, you might be a bit tired of eating plain old white rice every day. If so, then I have good news for you: with very few ingredients, you can easily transform that simple white rice into a tasty and versatile dish. I’m talking about Mexican rice or red rice. It could become your new favorite Mexican dish.
Ingredients
To make simple Mexican rice, all you need are these ingredients:
- One cup of rice (if you prefer, wash the grains beforehand).
- One cup of tomato juice or Mexican-style salsa.
- One cup of beef or chicken broth.
- Two tablespoons of chopped onion or pepper.
- Two tablespoons of oil.
- A pinch of salt.
Directions
Have you got the ingredients ready? Then, now you are going to follow these directions:
- Put a saucepan on the cooker over low heat and pour in the two tablespoons of oil.
- Now add the two tablespoons of chopped onion or pepper and sauté for a few minutes. If you prefer, you can add a spoonful of onion and a second spoonful of pepper to make the rice tastier.
- Once the seasonings are sautéed, add the cup of rice, the cup of tomato juice and the cup of broth. Stir a little and add the pinch of salt. Do you like your rice a little saltier? Then add another pinch of salt.
- Turn up the heat and wait a few minutes for the mixture to boil.
- When it comes to the boil, cover the saucepan and leave it to simmer for about twenty minutes.
- After 20 minutes, check the mixture. With the help of a spoon, stir the grains a little to check their texture, and try to look at the bottom of the saucepan. If it is completely dry, it is time to turn off the heat.
- Leave the rice to stand for a few minutes.
Your Mexican rice is now ready to serve at your table.
You’ll see that Mexican rice has a reddish appearance. This is due to the combined action of the tomato juice (or sauce) and the broth in which you have parboiled the grains. Now you know why Mexican rice is also called red rice. Want to see it a little redder? Just add a few splashes of ketchup to the cooked rice and stir.
Enrich your rice
You can enrich your Mexican rice in a very simple way by adding a little cheese, as shown in the delicious recipe you can find at https://minuterice.com/recipes/mexican-rice/.
Other ways to improve it is to add chunks of beef, pork or chicken, or a variety of vegetables—corn, beans, peas, carrots, red or green pepper strips… Some people even add boiled potatoes or hard-boiled eggs. Mexican rice is therefore a very versatile dish, which can be served as an accompaniment or as a main course.
Naturally, Mexican rice is the ideal side dish for your tacos, enchiladas or burritos. In this way, you can turn the stars of Tex-Mex fast food into a hearty and nutritious lunch.
Other tips for preparing rice
Do you prefer your rice loose and fluffy? Then you should do this:
If the rice is already cooked, run a long-tine fork through the grains, while they are still warm, several times and in several directions.
If you have not yet started cooking the rice, you can wash it with water running out of the tap. This will remove the excess starch that makes the rice grains stick together and form lumps. You can also use a little more oil when cooking rice, and fry the grains before adding the water or tomato juice or broth.
To wash rice, proceed as follows:
- Pour one cup of rice into a colander large enough to hold it. If you only have a small colander, you can wash half a cup or a quarter cup at a time.
- Run the water through the grains.
- Stir them continuously with your own bare hand, or with the help of a fork.
- Keep doing this until the water draining from the colander is no longer whitish. This may take several minutes, especially if you have bought fresh, unpackaged rice.
- If the draining water turns colorless again, the excess starch has been removed.
It is not necessary to dry the rice if you are going to cook it right away.