Mexican rice is an everyday staple typically enjoyed with beans, avocado, eggs or your favorite protein. Add a subtle nudge of heat by dropping in a whole jalapeno while the rice is cooking!
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Prep: | 10 min |
| Cook: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Instructions
- Saute 1 chopped onion in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 1 cup white rice and cook until toasted, 3 minutes. Add 1 2/3 cups water, 1 chopped plum tomato, 2 teaspoons tomato paste and 1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt and cumin; bring to a boil. Add 1 whole jalapeno. Cover; simmer 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit 5 minutes. Discard the jalapeno. Top with cilantro.
Reviews
Super bland. Not worth the time. I actually tried with the below reviewer’s modifications, and it was much tastier. Kudos to you! FNK, I suggest you change the recipe to the below modifications. You might get better reviews! Anyway, recipe as written is a waste of time and good rice.
I took Sam Daharsh’s advice but I had some leftover Anaheim and Poblano peppers, which I roasted for 4 minutes at 400 degrees and chopped finely. Instead of his garlic powder, II used fresh garlic. I also took his advice about heat to heart by slitting, lengthwise, opposing sides of the jalapeno almost from end to end to allow the liquid to extract some heat from inside the jalapeno. It came out nicely heated and very flavorful with the exact flavor profile that a dish like this should have (I omitted the cilantro because, ick!).
This is my modified recipe:
Oven-roast 3 peppers, any combination of poblanos and anaheims, for 4 minutes (or longer, but don’t allow to char). After removing the seeds and ribs from the peppers, chop them finely and saute with 1 chopped onion in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat until fairly softened. Add a decent sized clove of garlic that has either been minced or run through a garlic press, 2 chopped plum tomatoes, 2 teaspoons tomato paste and 1/2 teaspoon each chilli powder, kosher salt and cumin. Cook until fragrant, between 30 and 60 seconds (don’t burn the spices) and transfer to a saucepan. Add another tablespoon of oil and 1 cup white rice to the now-empty skillet and cook the rice until toasted, about 3 minutes. Add the toasted rice to the saucepan along with a whole jalapeno which has been slit lengthwise on each side- the longer the slits, the more heat will be developed; I slit mine most of the length. Add 1 2/3 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes
Great, simple dish. I used a red chilli (chopped and left in the dish.) I also added a teaspoon of turmeric. Yum!
One word: Bland! I even made alterations to it and it still turned out bland. If I make this again, I will use chicken stock instead of water, and up the spices. I added the spices it called for, plus chili powder, and garlic powder. I also don’t know in what universe a cup of rice is equal to four servings, so I doubled the amount of rice and tailored the recipe accordingly. There was a hint of heat to this, sort of like a back heat, but if you want more, you’ll have to add more to it. Finally, babysit the rice, the variety I used cooked faster than twenty minutes. The saving grace to this recipe is how easy it is, and the fact that you really can’t ruin it since more spices can be added after it’s cooked.