You’re having a Mexican-style dinner party today.
You have guests for dinner and you want to impress them with more than just well-done tacos or enchiladas. Are you looking for the perfect side dish?
Then you’ll want to serve Mexican rice on your table.
What is Mexican rice?
Mexican-style rice, or simply Mexican rice, is rice cooked with tomato. This gives it its characteristic reddish color, which is why it is also called arroz rojo —‘red rice’ in Spanish.
Tomato juice or tomato paste is often used, but salsa —tomato sauce with spices— can also be used, as in the tasty recipe you will find at https://minuterice.com/recipes/mexican-rice/.
Here we will teach you the most basic and easiest recipe for Mexican rice, so that you can serve it as a side dish not only for Mexican-style dishes, but also for dishes from other national and international cuisines.
In addition, you can use it as a starting point to prepare a more elaborate and substantial meal, as we will tell you later on.
Is Mexican rice the same as Spanish rice?
In many parts of the United States, Mexican rice is also called Spanish rice.
However, if you are a true lover of international cuisine, and especially of Mexican cuisine, you should know that they are not the same.
In addition to tomato, Mexican rice usually contains another ingredient: cumin. Authentic Spanish rice, on the other hand, has neither tomato nor cumin, but saffron, which gives it its characteristic yellowish color.
Now, hands on to the kitchen. To cook your homemade Mexican rice, you will need the following:
Ingredients
- One cup of rice.
- One cup of tomato juice.
- One cup of water.
- One tablespoon of chopped onion.
- One tablespoon of chopped bell pepper.
- Two tablespoons of vegetable oil.
- A pinch of salt.
- A pinch of cumin.
Directions
Step 1:
Place a saucepan over a low heat.
Step 2:
Pour the two tablespoons of vegetable oil into the pan. Wait for it to heat up.
Step 3:
Add the tablespoon of chopped onion and the tablespoon of chopped bell pepper. Sauté and stir a little.
Step 4:
Pour the cup of rice, the cup of water and the cup of tomato juice over the sautéed vegetables. Stir a little.
Step 5:
Add the pinch of salt and the pinch of cumin. Stir a little.
Step 6:
Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil.
Step 7:
When the mixture comes to a boil, cover the saucepan and simmer for about twenty minutes.
Step 8:
After 20 minutes, check the mixture to see if it’s all cooked. If it is, you can turn off the heat. If not, let it cook for a few more minutes.
How can you tell if your rice is fully cooked?
Since the rice cooks more quickly at the bottom of the saucepan, to know if all your rice has cooked enough, you can check the bottom by digging into the center of the mixture with a blunt knife, a thin spoon or a fork.
If you see that the bottom of the pan is dry, it is time to turn off the heat.
However, if the rice on top seems to need a little more cooking, just cover the pan again and leave it covered for another five to ten minutes, without removing it from the stove.
The rest of the rice will finish cooking with the heat of concentrated steam.
How can you easily enrich your Mexican rice dish?
If your basic Mexican rice is ready, you can serve it right away in a serving dish to take it directly to the table… or you can enrich it previously.
The easiest way to enrich your Mexican rice, once it is cooked, is to add a little shredded cheese. You can also mix it with ready-to-eat canned vegetables—corn, peas or mixed vegetables.
How can you turn your Mexican rice side dish into a main dish?
To turn your Mexican rice side dish into a delicious and easy-to-make main dish, you can add chunks of cooked meat or pieces of sausage.
The more generous the amount of meat, the more suitable your Mexican rice will be to serve as a main dish.
Mixed with a little tuna, Mexican rice will be a perfect filling for tomatoes or red peppers.
Trick: Are you a vegetarian? Substitute the meat for a mixed vegetable stew or chopped mushrooms.