Mexican Rice

Mexican Rice and Chicken Chilaquiles

When I decided I'd prepare chicken chilaquiles as the original recipe intended, rather than chilaquiles-spiced chicken tacos, I thought it was time to try a new rice recipe.  I looked around on Tastespotting and found a fairly simple rice recipe originating from a grandmother's recipe.  How could I go wrong with that?  I liked that it didn't call for gobs of tomatoes, which is always good for Rodney.

I didn't have tomato puree so used tomato sauce.  I always have tons of that.
 

Mexican Rice

adapted from Last Night's Dinner

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 c diced onion, 1 medium
1 tsp kosher salt
2 c long grain white rice
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 c tomato sauce
2 Knorr chicken flavored bouillon cubes, dissolved in 4 cups hot water*

I boiled water in my 2 cup measuring cup via microwave, poured off excess, dropped in two cubes and stirred until dissolved. Later when the recipe called for it, I added this solution as well as two cups of lukewarm water.

Warm oil over medium heat in a large skillet.


Add onion, season with salt, and cook until softened.


Add the rice, stirring to coat the grains with oil, and cook until toasted and beginning to turn translucent, approximately 5 minutes.

Add the garlic powder and black pepper and stir well.

Add tomato puree, bouillon solution and water, stirring well.

Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low.

Continue cooking until rice is tender and all liquid is absorbed, 20-30 minutes.

About 24 minutes in, I glanced at the rice through the cover and saw the rice in the center of the skillet was fluffed up quite nicely, surrounded by a pool of liquid.  Instead of allowing it to continue, I panicked.  The lid was popped off and the rice stirred.  Immediately, I realized my mistake.  Don't do this is as your potential for sticky rice increases by 10 fold. 

Fortunately, I regained my composure, stopped stirring and returned the lid to the skillet.

10 minutes later, the liquid was completely absorbed.  The rice however, was not quite as fluffy as it likely should have been.



Premature stirring aside, I thought this rice was excellent!  The rice was perfectly tender and the seasonings were fantastic.  The pepper, wow, the pepper was extraordinary, adding a delightful zing to each bite.  Rodney, not a pepper fanatic, didn't appreciate it and thought the pepper quantity overpowering.

I'll be making this again in the future, but for Rodney's sake, will reduce the pepper by half.  And I don't know if using the tomato sauce instead of puree made a difference. It didn't seem like it did. 

Cost:

• onion: $0.25
• rice: $0.50
• tomato sauce: $0.50
• Knorr bouillon cubes: $0.25

Total: $1.50 or $0.19 for each of eight 1-cup servings.  This makes a ton of rice!  

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