Red Rice

Whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant, I always order double rice, no beans on the side. This isn’t because I have anything against legumes—I actually adore them, and I cook them often at home. (Yes! From scratch. It’s easier than you think.) No, I always order double rice because it’s something I haven’t been able to cook at home with any amount of success.

Until I checked out Pati’s Mexican Table: The Secrets of Real Mexican Home Cooking by Pati Jinich from the library.

Not only did I discover some answers to perplexing questions I’ve had—what, for example, really is masa? queso fresco? cajeta? (All Mexican food terms I’d heard but never really understood.) Does mole really require 37 different ingredients and 23 hours to prepare, like I read on a restaurant menu in Cabo? (Only mole poblano, although moles are never simple sauces.) How do you spell “chilaquiles”? (A dish I’ve wanted to make since learning about it on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives—but Guy never spells it.) But I also collected some delicious recipes. It even teaches you how to cook beans. And my favorite thing?

The secret to making Mexican rice.

No more gluey, sticky, vaguely-tomato-flavored Mexican rice (the result of all my previous attempts), but flavorful and, yes! fluffy rice. Turns out that the sticky Calrose rice that makes a perfect bed for chicken curry, spicy Asian meatballs, and beef stroganoff? So not the right choice for Mexican rice!

Here is my adapted version of Pati’s Red Rice recipe (changed to A—make the preparation just a little bit easier and B—please my uber-picky children). Check out the book to see the original recipe (it’s on page 224) and find the Mexican-cuisine secrets you’ve been searching for.

Red Rice

2 cups long-grain, extra-long grain, or Jasmine rice
2 10-ounce cans Rotel original diced tomatoes (with green chiles)
1/3 cup onion, given a quick rough dice
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp salt
about 3 cups chicken broth
3 T olive oil
1 tsp dried parsley
¾ cup carrots, peeled and diced small
¾ cup fresh or frozen corn
extra water or chicken broth as needed

Cover the rice with hot water and let it soak for about five minutes. Drain in a sieve and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear; drain well.

In a blender, puree the canned tomatoes, diced onion, garlic cloves, and salt until smooth. Measure this and then, in a different glass measuring cup, pour enough chicken broth that the two liquids equal four cups. (Keep them separate.)

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the rice and cook, stirring often, until the rice becomes milky white, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour in the tomato puree, stir, and cook until it has been mostly absorbed by the rice, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the chicken broth, then add the parsley, carrots, and corn. Bring to a rolling boil, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed but there is still some moisture in the pan. The rice should be cooked and tender; if it is not but all the liquid has been absorbed, add extra water or chicken broth, two tablespoons at a time; cover and cook for 2 more minutes.

Remove from the heat and let the rice rest, covered, for at least five minutes.