Mexican Rice
Mahalo Chicos,
Mexican rice is a wonderful accompaniment not just for Latin inspired dishes, but almost any kind of dish; South Asian, Asian, and even North American, there are a lot of possibilities.
What I find helpful is do make the simple rice a day or so ahead, then create a larger batch, finally freeze some of the rice in smaller size zip lock baggies for a later time.
So that if you want to have some rice for lunch or a much rather lighter meal, simply take the individual zip lock packets out and re-heat.
I found this very helpful if my other half decides to invite someone over for a meal, I could easily take out three individual containers and create a stir fry dish or even roasted vegetables as a main with the rice as a side.
See what you can come up with…
Prep time: A day ahead for the basic rice and less than ten minutes the day off cooking
Cook time: Less than ten minutes the day off cooking
Serves: If larger batches up to 6 people
What you’ll need:
1. A rice cooker
2. 6 c of long grain white or brown parboiled rice
3. 8 c of home made vegetable broth-click here for my recipe- or salted water
4. 2 mashed garlic cloves
5. 1/2 yellow onion-diced
6. 1 fresh or dried bay leaf
7. 1 T cumin powder
8. 1 c tomato paste
9. A couple dashes of dried red hot chili pepper-depending on your tastes-
10. Freshly ground sea salt and black and white peppercorns
What to do:
For the day ahead:
1. Thoroughly clean the rice
2. Place in the rice cooker with the 8 c of broth or water
3. Add the bay leaf
4. Once done, store in one container in the fridge
For the day off cooking:
1. Heat- in medium- a large deep pan with safflower, grape seed, or any mild flavored oil you have in hand.
2. Saute the onions until it becomes clear. Add the tomato paste and some of the salt and pepper.
3. Add the already cooked basic rice without the bay leaf and ensure that the rice is coated with the onion-tomato base-.
4. Add the garlic, cumin, and dried chili flakes and incorporate into the rice.
5. Turn off heat and let cool before storing in the freezer. If serving that day, serve warm or room temp.
Enjoy!
Ciao,
Odeliza Jacoba
Odeliza