Mexican rice

[Mudpuppie]

Mexican-style rice is one thing I've never mastered. (A future thread....) Can anyone help?

I'm talking about the rice that you get in mexican restaurants. Fluffy, vaguely red (tomato?), not a whole lot of flavor, but some.

Don't know why I can't get it right. It seems easy enough.

Thanks.

Edited February 6, 2004 by Mudpuppie (log)

[memesuze]

I can't help you with my personal method, but I was perusing Diana Kennedy's From My Mexican Kitchen: Techniques and Ingredients today, and there was a two-page spread complete with color pictures on the rice you want. Hie thee to the bookstore soonest!

[Mudpuppie]

Will check it out. Thanks!

[dano1]

I'm by no means adept at Mexican cooking so i definately defer to my cooks for this.

They will parch the rice first in the fryer to get color-like sauteeing in fat when starting a pilaf. This "bursts" the rice. In a sauce pan add chopped onion, rice, tomato juice, chix stock-or water and base-ground cumin, cilantro stalks, s&p. Bring to boil and toss in the oven covered until well done. Rest and fluff.

I try to make a pilaf, sweating out the aromatics, toasting rice, etc, but it just don't turn out the same.

hth, danny

[Cynthia G]

Mudpuppie, why would you want to cook something so flavorless when there are so many other options out there? (This is a serious question... I really want to know!)

[Mudpuppie]

Because I really like it. Don't know why, really -- you're right, there are many other things that have much more flavor.

But I already know how to make those. This one eludes me.

[Cynthia G]

Ah! The challenge beckons you. Now that I can understand!

Thanks!

[fifi]

Ummm... I consider myself a fairly accomplished cook of the Mexican cuisine. Oddly, I have never done the rice thing. I have no idea why. You are causing me to rethink the whole rice thing. You are correct. This is not a dish that assaults the taste buds but is a pleasant under dish that is like a calm in the middle of a storm of flavors. I will research my books (Bayless, Kennedy, Martinez) but I will bet that the answer will be the typical mild chicken stock and the addition of some tomato and not much else.

[chefrodrigo]

I usually start with uncooked rice in a couple tablespoons of oil on med high heat until it starts to brown slightly. Throw in about 1/3 as much finely chopped onion and saute until softened. Add some powdered cumin and salt to taste and stir briefly. Add 1 1/2 times as much chicken stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook 15 minutes. Turn off heat and rest 10 minutes. Fluff and serve.

A lot of Mexican rice gets its color from tomatoes but mine is just from the initial toasting.

Rodney

[ExtraMSG]

The best book I've found for Mexican-American cooking is Peyton's La Cocina de la Frontera ( http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=books&n=507846 ). His recipe is a good one:

1 1/2 C white rice

2 roma tomatoes

1/3 C chopped onions

2 large cloves garlic

2 1/3 C water or chicken broth

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 C oil

Broil the tomatoes until the skins are well charred. Place the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and salt in a blender and puree.

Brown the rice in the oil, then strain. Return to heat, add the salsa (puree), and cook on medium until the liquid has been absored and the rice grains don't stick together, about 7 minutes. Add the water/broth, bring to a boil, and turn to low and cover for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat and leave covered for 15 minutes.

The only way I'd change this is to add a little ground chile to the salsa, like ancho, New Mexico, or guajillo. Though I definitely don't stick too tightly to recipes. I might also fry the salsa first to deepen the flavor.

Edited to add rice in the recipe. Apparently Cynthia G needs everything spelled out for her.

Edited February 7, 2004 by ExtraMSG (log)

[Cynthia G]

How much rice, ExtraMSG?

[LBNoble]

Classic Red Tomato Rice (Arroz a la Mexicana) in Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen is great, a bit labor intensive, because the tomato, garlic , & onion are roasted/grilled, the rice is precooked a bit in oil as someone mentioned earlier. There's more kick than most restaurant rice, because of the jalapenos-it is wonderful...

[tejon]

I usually add some cumin and a bit of habanero sauce for a little kick (or Crystal if that's all I have on hand). Basically I start like a pilaf with chopped onions sauteed in oil, then add the rice and cook until it gets golden, then add broth and tomato sauce. Cook that down a little, then cover and cook like any other rice. Comes out subtle but a good contrast to more fiery foods.

[marie-louise]

I was also stumped by how to make that rice, until I found Jacqueline Higuera McMahan's recipe for Grandmama's rice.. (You need to scroll way down the article to find it.) She is a regular columnist in the San Francisco Chronicle, and her cookbook, Ranco Cooking, is a must-read for anyone interested in California history. You'll realize why our "Mexican food" is different in California-it is because of these ranchos (and why OUR chili always has beans!)

You'd think that rice has tomatoes in it, but it doesn't-the red is from chili powder. And it is cooked completely differently than other rice-uncovered until the last few minutes. The flavor comes from the toasted rice and spices, not chicken stock.

You should all try this recipe just for curiosity sake-it is such a differnet way of cooking rice, and your kitchen will smell incredible while you are toasting the rice!

Edited February 7, 2004 by marie-louise (log)

[Ladybug]

I have a friend who is Mexican and her mother makes this kind of rice. She sautees the rice in oil - 2 or 3 tablespoons - until it's definitely browning, then adds a small can of tomato sauce and water to make up the rest of the liquid. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. I like adding a clove or two of garlic (minced) toward the end of the saute. It is a bit bland, but in a comforting way. It's meant to be a side dish, a supporting player to the main. The funny thing is that this friend insists that no matter how much rice you're making, you only use one small can (8 oz?) of tomato sauce. She admits the rice turns out less "red" if you make more, but this is how her mother does it. I like it.

[Mudpuppie]

Okay, a couple of questions.

What kind of rice?

Are we all talking about the typical 2:1 liquid/rice ratio?

[Ladybug]

My Mexican friend used plain old Mahatma long grain, and she used the knuckle method of measuring water. I've never been comfortable with that method, so I laboriously measured my tomato sauce and water to 1 and 3/4 cup to 1 cup of rice. It turned out the same as hers, so I guess that's pretty close.

[ExtraMSG]

Long grain white rice.

btw, I sometimes toss the rice with squeezed citrus after it's done. Orange is really nice.

[rancho_gordo]

I'd like to go on record as some one who would be perfectly happy eating nothing but Mexican food for the rest of my life. But I think they miss the boat on rice. Plain long grain rice is my preference. It never competes and always satisfies. I also hate when people order fried rice with Chinese food. On their own, they're both fine, but with other dishes they strike me as overkill.

[flybottle]

Bayless, in Authentic Mexican, has a knock-down drag-out recipe. I nailed it on the first go, and I'm what you might call "rice challenged".

[ExtraMSG]

I don't think I've ever had Mexican rice in Mexico. Just in Tex-Mex and other Mexican-American restaurants. I found white rice way more common. Maybe it's just when I get that sort of thing it's at some cheap place serving comida corrida.

[Mudpuppie]

I don't think I've ever had Mexican rice in Mexico. Just in Tex-Mex and other Mexican-American restaurants. I found white rice way more common. Maybe it's just when I get that sort of thing it's at some cheap place serving comida corrida.

Honestly, I don't remember a single meal I ever had in Mexico.

Something to do with having to drink something other than the water.