Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Mexican Rice


As a continuation of my super bowl post, another item I cooked that day was Mexican rice.  Now, this may not be an authentic version but I believed it came out decent.  More importantly, the boys liked it.


Some recipes instruct you to saute the uncooked rice until it pops or splits.  I attempted to do that but because it was taking so much time and kick-off was coming close, I had to mock up my version to feed the hungry boys.  Some recipes also call for tomato sauce, but I decided to use fresh tomatoes.  Given that it was my first attempt at Mexican rice, I know I can still improve on it, but this was good enough.  In my opinion, it's all in the amount of cumin you put in there.


The Big Picture:

  • Saute the rice
  • Cook the rice in chicken stock
  • Season the rice

Ingredients:
Serves 4-5

3 cups long grain rice
About 3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
About 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
3 large tomatoes (diced)
About 3 cups chicken stock
ground cumin to taste
salt to taste

Procedure:

1.  Heat up the olive oil in a skillet.  Add uncooked rice until it browns and pops or split open.  As I mentioned earlier, I was not successful in making it pop, so don't despair if the same thing happens to you.

2.  Add the garlic and onion and saute until fragrant.  Add the chicken stock.  Cover the skillet and simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes.  Check the rice every 10 minutes to make sure it is not drying out before the rice is cooked.  If it does, add more stock or water a little bit at a time.

3.  Add the tomatoes and green bell pepper just before the rice gets cooked and incorporate well.  Mash the tomatoes in the skillet as you add them into the rice to let the juices out.  Cover again until the rice is cooked.  The liquid should dry up at the same time the rice is getting cooked.  If the rice is not cooked, add more stock or water.  The rice is cooked when it is soft all the way through the grain.

4.  Season with salt and cumin to taste.  The rice should be fluffy and dry.

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