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The art of the Mexican rice?

post #1 of 7
1/18/12 at 2:20pm
Thread Starter 

Tonight I'm making BDL's chile verde. At the end of the recipe BDL says The art of Mexican rice is something we’ll take up later. Unfortunately, later hasn't happened yet. smile.gif

 

So I was wondering, what is the art of Mexican rice? Up until now I've sauteed the rice in hot oil until the kernels break, then add some tomato paste and cook it, add garlic powder and cumin, water/chicken stock and simmer until cooked. But maybe there's a more proper/better way? Please enlighten me. Thanks! 

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post #2 of 7
1/18/12 at 3:44pm

I've moved away from tomato in the rice I serve with Mexican dishes and more into dried chiles, onion, garlic and so on. Control the heat with the chile, tweak the color as needed with paprika. Whole annatto cooked in the oil briefly is also fun for color and a mild flavor.

 

May not be on authentic/traditional path for mexican rice, but I've liked it better.

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post #3 of 7
1/18/12 at 3:47pm

Oh, the jarred Goya Sofrito or Recaito are both good for a quick latin style rice without a ton of work as well.

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post #4 of 7
1/18/12 at 6:43pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks Phatch. For tonight I decided to forego the tomatoes and use some spanish smoked paprika. I didn't have time to dice more onions/garlic so used some powdered garlic. Next time I'll try fresh garlic and onions. 

 

The chile smells amazing, the whole house smells amazing, my wife keeps saying "It smells good!" - thanks BDL. lol.gif

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post #5 of 7
1/18/12 at 8:23pm

I forget what I was going to say about the rice -- that was a long time ago.  One thing -- which is pretty typical around here -- is to use El Pato Salsa de Chile Fresco (aka "Hot Tomato Sauce") for both the tomato and chile contributions for the rice.   Okay, I use some extra chile.  So sue me.

 

YW for the Chile Verde recipe.  It was one of the easiest recipes I ever did in terms of "perfecting" or writing.  For one thing, the Mexican inspiration didn't take that much work; and for another, sometimes you get lucky.  The work on the recipe flowed like cheladas.

 

BDL

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post #6 of 7
1/18/12 at 10:16pm

I just got done making screamingly over-the-top chx/mango quesadillas for a lunch crowd tomorrow, and I'm feeling kinda big-headed sorta. You know, with my attitude and all. I'm gonna keep of my flame-retardant Lehigh work shoes, and tell you all about how I make rice that the Hispanic people I feed wipe out. 

 

1 big sized pkg. instant mixed rice. 

~ It's basically a general mix of all the rices that didn't get into the pkgs that they were supposed to. 

As much good jarred commercial salsa as needed for the liquid measure. 

~ I particularly like this one house brand that has black beans and white corn in it. 

1 bottle 'o' beer

~ Used to rinse out all the jars. 

 

Mix it all up in a pot. Crank up the heat to boil. Cover and turn off heat. Set the table. Stir and serve. Tasty. Never any left-overs. This aint'e rocket surgery. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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post #7 of 7
1/19/12 at 2:32pm
Thread Starter 

That Chile Verde is really good, I even keep my little bottle of "Yugo" in my fridge, and I pretty much only use it for that recipe. The good thing with that Chile is I now have a big pot full of it in my fridge so there won't be any dinner to prepare for the next 3 nights  - save for some rice and/or beans. 

 

Thanks for the tips on the rice, I'll keep an eye out for those products next time I'm at the store. 

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