How do you make Mexican Rice well?

no! i have the same problem every single time i try to make it! i just tried again on thursday and it was so awful, i was terribly embarassed.

I love my rice cooker.

You have to use an exact amount of water. If you use even a slight bit more then you should, your rice will be sticky. If you’re cooking one cup of rice, use two cups of water. Also, let it cook on low heat and cover it.

@kheredia It’s not that it gets sticky, it doesn’t seem to absorb water at all! It’s still hard and seems uncooked. I do let it cook on low heat, covered. Is it maybe that I’ve not added enough water beyond the tomato sauce? (I figured it would absorb the water that exists in the sauce)

Just wondering if your mom or someone you know is around to ask maybe they could should you it’s nothing like getting it directly from the source to help make something right.

@Beta_Orionis, from just a process point of view, browning the rice in oil could stop it from absorbing liquid. I don’t really have a recipe, but what I do is sautee onion in olive oil, and add diced tomatoes to it, along with a can of chopped green chilis, cumin, garlic, chili powder and red pepper flakes. I use the same 2 parts water to one part rice formula, only the water is half tomato juice and half water. Bring the liquid to boil, toss in the rice, add the tomato/onion mixture, put the lid on and turn the heat down. Cook until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, fluff rice with a fork and let stand 10 minutes with the lid on the pot.

@mponochie Although she’s not around (She’s in CA and I’m in pgh, PA) I did call her, and I’ve seen her do it, but I still can’t master it. I guess I lack her magical cooking skills.

@PandoraBoxx I’ve considered that I may have over browned it. Usually it works though. There’s another dish we make, called Sopa (not soup) that involves browning pasta, and then cooking it in tomato sauce and chicken broth. Although the thoroughly browned pasta looks like it would never absorb liquid again, it actually does the opposite, and causes it to expand more than usual cooking. It changes the flavor quite a bit. I know that un-browned Mexican Rice does not taste the same at all. Thanks though! Also, green chiles are made of win.

Hmm. Maybe it’s the amount of the oil, or the heat. Will experiment and report back.

I’ve made dishes with browned pasta that have turned out quite well. It adds a nutty flavor that’s fun.

@PandoraBoxx I’ll keep trying, but I’m interested in your results.

Also, feel free to try Sopa! (works best with medium shells)

-brown 8 oz pasta of choice in olive oil along with 2 green onions (most of the length cut away) and a clove or two of garlic
-add 16 oz. of tomato sauce and (12 oz. of chicken+4oz. beef) or (16 oz. of veggie) stock/broth
-bring to a boil and then let simmer for 15 minutes.
-garnish with cheese and sour cream as desired.

I will be eating rice until the cows come home. I used Lundberg’s short brown rice, but I wonder if it does better with a long grain white. I had to add more water, because at 20 minutes, all the water was absorbed and it was still hard. At 50 minutes it cooked, but was gooey. It’s gotten better since it’s been sitting, but I’m underwhelmed by the results. The gooeyness would be the starch in the rice.

@PandoraBoxx oh dear! So I refused to let our rice die a dignified death, and continued to cook it and add more water. It ended up cooking for 1:45, and we used a little over 4 cups of water (for 1.5 cups rice) but it ended up decently well. Some of the grains were still a little undercooked, but this is promising! Not the time though, thats ridiculous.

@sandystrachan I’ll have you know you’ve addressed your comment to a Mexican. I really don’t appreciate it.

@Beta_Orionis Then whats your problem , you should be able to make it . Clearly you cannot have a laugh , maybe if you stated you were Mexican then .
Wow a cap on free speech , maybe i do not appreciate being moderated . You can never please everyone , sit back and have a joke for christ sake .
If you have a problem with cooking rice , ask the elders in your family they are more able to help than we can . To properly help someone with a cookery problem its best to see what they do , that way you can be informed straight away during the cooking .

[Mod Says] Racially insensitive remarks will be removed.

First, your water to rice ratio should be exact (For every one cup of rice use 2 cups of water). I use canola or veggie oil rather than olive, about a tbsp per cup of dried rice to brown it in. Once the rice is slightly browned I add what ever chopped veggies I like such as minced garlic, diced onion, and diced tomato (occasionally I like to add gandules too). I also like to add my seasonings at this point such as salt, cumin, and a packet of Sazon (1 packet per 2 cups of dried rice). Next, I add BOILING water to my rice. Its very important that you add already boiling water (or chicken broth, or water with chicken bullion cubes). Otherwise, your rice will come out hard or soggy depending on how you manipulate the temperature on the stove. Turn the heat up high until the liquid and rice comes to a roiling boil while uncovered. Once it’s at a roiling boil, cover the pot and put heat on a low simmer. It should take about 20–25 minutes before all the water has cooked through. But don’t just walk away from it. Come back every 10 mins or so to check on it. Sometimes living in certain elevations makes the water evaporate sooner or later. DO NOT stir either. Leave the top on and don’t mess with it. Once the rice is done, let it sit with the cover on for about 5 mins before fluffing and serving. Hope this works for you. I’ve been cooking my spanish rice like this since I started cooking as a little girl. This is the way mother and my grandmother did it and it always works like a charm. =)

@SuckaFreeCitizen Ah! I’ve never heard about adding already boiling water. I’ll also try using canola oil. Thanks!!

My mom makes fabulous mexican rice, and even I (who am not the greatest cook) can get it to come out great every time when I use her recipe. It’s baked in the oven, rather than boiled, and somehow that makes it nice and fluffy, and the rice soaks up all the juices perfectly. Here it is:

1 medium onion, chipped
3 tbsp. butter
2 cups uncooked rice, preferably basmati rice
15 oz. can whole tomatoes
juice from tomatoes, plus enough water to make 2 cups
1 tsp. paprika
pinch of oregano
pinch of basil
½ green pepper, chopped
1½ cups boiling water
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Saute onion and butter in a casserole that can go both on stove and in oven. When onions are soft, add rice, and saute until translucent. Chop tomatoes, and put them aside. Add tomato juice, water and spices to the rice and bring it to a boil. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Stir rise, then add green pepper, tomatoes, boiling water, salt and pepper. Bake 15 minutes more. Fluff with fork before serving.

@sdeutsch Baked sounds nifty! I’m definitely going to try that.

@sdeutsch, that sounds wonderful. I used to have a really great baked rice recipe that used beef broth and a whole onion in the middle of it. I will have to try this, too.
I think in my case, it was the type of rice…

@Beta_Orionis @PandoraBoxx It’s so easy – I love it! Let me know how yours turns out!

Okay, I’m making round 3 of spanish rice tonight with Uncle Ben’s converted rice. It’s looking pretty good so far…not @sdeutsch‘s recipe. I’m saving that for later in the week.

I fried onion in canola oil, added uncle ben’s and sauteed it for 6 minute, added boiling water, small can of tomato sauce, and a can of undrained diced tomatoes. Garlic, cumin, chili powder, sazon seasioning, red pepper flakes, cilantro. I had to let it simmer an extra 5 minutes to get the liquid absorbed. Now I’m letting it set 10 minutes off heat to steam.

@SuckaFreeCitizen We just tested out your directions and they were spot on! I think the already boiling water did a lot for it. Delicious! Thanks so much!

@PandoraBoxx, @sdeutsch, I still plan to test the others out in the near future though!

I know I“m late on this but the best I’ve ever had is from Pot Scrubber on Recipezaar…
I’m at work, so I can’t provde you the link, but if you go to the site, look up Spanish Rice and sort by rating, I believe his is the highest rated… or search member names for Pot scrubber and find his recipe… you will not be let down!

@christine215 Thanks! I’ll check it out!