# ISO Spanish (Mexican?) Rice Recipe



## passioncook (Feb 27, 2008)

I desperately need a GOOD Spanish/Mexican rice type recipe.  I'm not sure if it's officially called spanish or mexican but you know, just rice, tomatoes, seasonings, etc.  Everything we've tried has turned out dry and blah.  I'd like to find a recipe with a bit of moisture to it and not just dry white rice with a bunch of cumin in it, kwim?  

If you guys could help, I would be so appreciative!


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## AllenOK (Mar 2, 2008)

Allen’s Mexican Rice


Yields: about 3 c​

This stuff is absolutely amazing! I originally started work to perfect this recipe years ago, when I moved to Michigan for a few years, and didn’t have access to my favorite (at that time) Tex-Mex fast food chain.
Although most folks will serve this as a side dish for a plated meal, you can certainly spoon a little inside a Burrito, Chimichanga, or as part of a Taco.

2 T vegetable oil
½ c chopped onions
1 t minced garlic
½ c chopped green bell peppers
2 T frozen peas, optional
2 T frozen corn, optional
1 T Mexican Seasoning Mix
1 t cumin
½ t chili powder
½ t oregano
2 ½ t salt, or to taste
1 ¾ c rice
One 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 c chicken stock

In a saucepan, heat the oil. Make a _sofrito _with the onions and garlic, sweating them down until soft and caramelized. Add the bell peppers, peas, corn, Mexican Seasoning, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and salt. Sauté over medium heat until the for a couple minutes to toast the seasonings. Add the rice and sauté until the rice is toasty. Add the tomato sauce and stir until it’s fairly well blended. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook this mixture until the tomato sauce mixture begins to caramelize a bit. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Stir to make sure everything is mixed well. Check the seasoning and add more salt if needed. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 18 minutes. When done, fluff with a fork and serve.

Shoot.  I forgot this had the Mexican Seasoning mix in it.  Omit that ingredient.  Bump the chili powder and oregano up to 1 teaspoon.  Leave the cumin where it stands, or decrease it a bit, as you mentioned you don't want something with to much cumin in it.


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## DietitianInTraining (Mar 2, 2008)

Yum Allen!! I will try your recipe soon.. 

This thread got me thinkin about somethin..

I absolutely love the fried rice that chinese resteraunts have.. does anyone have a recipe for that kind of rice?.. Should I make another thread asking that?


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## kitchenelf (Mar 2, 2008)

Here's all I do.

Cooked ground beef if it's more of a meal.

Remove cooked beef and saute some onions and green or red pepper - I like mine caramelized.  Toss in my cooked and cooled white rice that I seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, sometimes a tad of chili powder.  Toss all that together (add back the ground beef if using) and throw in a can or two of Rotel and a can of drained diced tomatoes and the juice from a lime.  Stir and heat.  I always check the spices and usually end up adding more salt (add the Rotel and tomatoes first since they contain salt), I end up adding more cumin, and pepper.  I then top my rice with fresh cilantro, a wedge of lime, and some sour cream.  I have also been known to add some black beans at the end of the onions and peppers cooking too.


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## archiduc (Mar 2, 2008)

Hi Passioncook,
An intriguing question and I`m interested to know what you mean by Spanish Rice.

My interpretation would be that it is rice with vegetables and saffron, touch of thyme (leaves stripped of the sprig and add when the rice is cooking, a bayleaf or two added when the dish is being cooked and removed before serving and possibly a touch of smoked paprika. The dish would need to be more moist than boiled rice but less liquid than a rissotto. Now, if this is what you have in mind then the method you need to follow is similar to a rissotto. Boiling the rice and then adding ingredients won`t work out as well.

I don`t have a recipe but I could talk you through a method in the sense of exact quantities but have a read through of the following and see what you think. This should be sufficient for 4.

1. Sauté I medium/large finely diced onion in olive oil for 5-10 minutes without colouring. 2. Add 1-2 washed, peeled and finely diced carrots and 3-4 sticks of celery, finely diced and cook for 5 minutes and chopped garlic (how much depends upon your taste and preference) again without browning/colouring. Add 300 gms rice and stir well to coat each grain with oil - about 2 minutes. 
3. Turn up the heat, add 125mls/1 wineglass of wine and allow to reduce to almost nothing. 
4. Add 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper - all sliced or diced, a good pinch of smoked paprika and a good pinch of saffron stems, 1-2 bayleaves and the leaves from a sprig of fresh thyme. 
5. Stir well. Add enough chicken/vegetable stock to cover the rice by about 1 inch.
6. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes - add 4 oz sliced mushrooms and stir well.
7. Check and stir well whilst the rice is cooking and add more stock if necessary and cook for another 15 - 20 minutes until the rice has cooked
8. Season to taste and stir in some finely chopped flat leaved parsley at the end.

I reckon you would need between 1 and 1 1/2 pints of stock for this.

I hope this helps. Dare I suggest that to make a more Mexican version you add a good pinch of Chille powder or finely sliced chillies, a good pinch of cumin - maybe a dash of Tabasco. If you added can of drained red kidney beans you would have a great supper dish that would need no other protein - just a good green/mixed salad.

Finally, you could incorporate some tomatoes in either the Spanish rice or the Mexican rice, either skinned, diced fresh tomatoes or a can of chopped tomatoes. Add either  type of tomatoes after the wine and before the stock, stir in well. 

The pot needs to be watched to ensure that there is sufficient liquid for the rice to cook without sticking, but not so much that the rice is swimming in stock.

Hopefully, this helps - as I`ve said this is not an exact recipe - more an indication of ingredients and method. I think the critical point is that the rice should be cooked with the vegetable and spice ingredients.

Regards,
Archiduc


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## mbasiszta (May 14, 2008)

This post pertains to Mexican Rice, which is definitely different from Spanish Rice.

IMHO, the secret to a really genuine-flavored Mexicen Rice is browning the rice. The most important thing is to fry white rice in a vegetable oil. Olive oil will burn the rice. You use enough oil to coat each piece of rice. Stir frequently and cook for around 15 to 20 minutes. The rice will puff as it soaks up some oil, turn browner and browner. When it is almost carmel colored, throw in a finely chopped onion. It will give the rice some more liquid to absorb. When the onions are opaque, throw in chopped garlic for no more than a minute.

Okay, now you hit it with your liquid, preferably a clear home-made stock, but at least a nice store bought chicken stock. Normal 2 parts water to 1 part rice will do, since you are also going to pour in a full jar of chunky salsa, containing lots of good flavors for the rice. Mama Ruiz taught me to also sprinkle enough Tumeric in at this point so the rice has a nice yellow-gold color to it. Tumeric is healthy too.

Half way through cooking (about 10 minutes) with all the ingredients now in the pan, stir in cumin powder, oregano powder and fresh peas if you must. I leave them out, but they are traditional according to Mama Ruiz. 

Stir to fluff when all the moisture is absorbed. I usually have to add more moisture (I just use water at this juncture), in order to make sure the crunch is gone from the rice. Just experiment until you have the "al dente" feel of the rice you prefer.

This is a wonderful rice. The main thing is to thorougly frying the rice in the beginning.


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## CharlieD (May 14, 2008)

mbasiszta, that sounds like a great and very simple recipe. When do you add salsa?

And yes, please no peas.


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## MexicoKaren (May 14, 2008)

This is the type of rice that is served as a side dish in virtually every restaurant in our area. It's good, and is almost a risotto, because you cook it uncovered and add liquid of necessary. Also, the "long grain" rice you buy here in Mexico is not really long grain - much shorter, not arborio, but almost. I sometimes add a chopped serrano or some strips of poblano. Good in a tortilla, of course, along with whatever meat and beans you have.

*Mexican Red Rice:
*
1/4 C. oil
1 1/2 C. long-grain white rice
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 - 3 plum tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
3 1/4 C. water or chicken stock
1 C. frozen peas, carrots, corn or a mixture of all of these (optional)
Salt to taste
Preparation:   Clean rice, removing any stones or bad grains, place in a bowl and cover with hot water.  Set aside until cooled to room temperature, approximately 20 minutes. 
   Meanwhile, core tomato, cut into large chunks and place in a blender or food processor along with the garlic, blend until smooth and set aside. 
   Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear, then drain well. 
   Heat the oil in a 2 qt saucepan, add the rice stirring to coat each grain, then add the onion.  Sauté the rice and onion until the rice is golden and the onion soft, about 5 minutes.  Drain any excess oil, add the tomato mixture and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the tomato mixture is absorbed.  Add water or stock and adjust seasonings. 
   Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered until almost all the liquid has been absorbed, then add the frozen peas, lower the flame, cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and allow to sit, covered, for 20 minutes. 
   Fluff with a fork before serving.


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## CharlieD (May 15, 2008)

beginner_chef said:


> Yum Allen!! I will try your recipe soon..
> 
> This thread got me thinkin about somethin..
> 
> I absolutely love the fried rice that chinese resteraunts have.. does anyone have a recipe for that kind of rice?.. Should I make another thread asking that?


 

I believe there were threads on fried rice before. Did you try to search for it? If you can't find then start the new thread, by all means. I know there will be few good sugestions.


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## mbasiszta (May 15, 2008)

CharlieD said:


> mbasiszta, that sounds like a great and very simple recipe. When do you add salsa?
> And yes, please no peas.


Sorry I was unclear. As soon as the sauted rice is the way you want it, you add all the liquid and the salsa at the same time. Cook about 10 minutes or so and then add the spices. Mmmmmmmmm


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## mbasiszta (May 15, 2008)

beginner_chef said:


> Yum Allen!! I will try your recipe soon..
> This thread got me thinkin about somethin..
> I absolutely love the fried rice that chinese resteraunts have.. does anyone have a recipe for that kind of rice?.. Should I make another thread asking that?


Yes, you should start another thread. Chinese fried rice deserves a special treatment all to itself. It can be wonderful.

One of the neat things about it is you can basically throw whatever you happen to have in your fridge that you want to otherwise get rid of - just put it all into the rice after you have browned and crisped up the old rice you also had leftover. Makes my mouth water to just think about it.


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## AllenOK (May 15, 2008)

kitchenelf said:


> Here's all I do.
> 
> Cooked ground beef if it's more of a meal.
> 
> Remove cooked beef and saute some onions and green or red pepper - I like mine caramelized.  Toss in my cooked and cooled white rice that I seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, sometimes a tad of chili powder.  Toss all that together (add back the ground beef if using) and throw in a can or two of Rotel and a can of drained diced tomatoes and the juice from a lime.  Stir and heat.  I always check the spices and usually end up adding more salt (add the Rotel and tomatoes first since they contain salt), I end up adding more cumin, and pepper.  I then top my rice with fresh cilantro, a wedge of lime, and some sour cream.  I have also been known to add some black beans at the end of the onions and peppers cooking too.




KE, have you tried using chorizo, or a mix of hamburger and chorizo?


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## mbasiszta (May 15, 2008)

kitchenelf said:


> Here's all I do.
> Cooked ground beef if it's more of a meal.
> Remove cooked beef and saute some onions and green or red pepper - I like mine caramelized. Toss in my cooked and cooled white rice that I seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, sometimes a tad of chili powder. Toss all that together (add back the ground beef if using) and throw in a can or two of Rotel and a can of drained diced tomatoes and the juice from a lime. Stir and heat. I always check the spices and usually end up adding more salt (add the Rotel and tomatoes first since they contain salt), I end up adding more cumin, and pepper. I then top my rice with fresh cilantro, a wedge of lime, and some sour cream. I have also been known to add some black beans at the end of the onions and peppers cooking too.


Allen, this dish would be wonderful. It is kind of a Mexican "sloppy joe". I use ground beef as the base of a lot of Mexican dishes with different types of beans (the ones I have on hand.) In addition to all your stuff, try some pickled, sliced jalapeños.

I usually serve over rice, or have the rice on the side, but you certainly could add it right in as well. I will give it a try and see what the powers to be think. 

Thanks for the idea. BW loves 'one pot' meals.


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## CharlieD (May 15, 2008)

Thank you.


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## archiduc (May 18, 2008)

mbasiszta said:


> This post pertains to Mexican Rice, which is definitely different from Spanish Rice.
> 
> IMHO, the secret to a really genuine-flavored Mexicen Rice is browning the rice. The most important thing is to fry white rice in a vegetable oil. Olive oil will burn the rice. You use enough oil to coat each piece of rice. Stir frequently and cook for around 15 to 20 minutes. The rice will puff as it soaks up some oil, turn browner and browner. When it is almost carmel colored, throw in a finely chopped onion. It will give the rice some more liquid to absorb. When the onions are opaque, throw in chopped garlic for no more than a minute.
> 
> ...


 
Hi  Mbasiszta,
I hate to disagree with you, but one of the points that you make is that, and I quote: "Olive oil will burn the rice".

Not so, olive oil is not a sentient being capabale of doing anything. Olive oil cannot burn, cook, brown or do anything to any ingredient other than that which you require it to do! Only humans, using oil derived from olives may affect any ingredients. In general, when cooking and using a fat which may be animal or plant based, heat is required. You, as a sentient and human being control the heat. If the rice burns it does so as a result of you failing to control the heat applied - thus olive oil cannot burn the rice!

Question - what`s the difference between Mexican and Spanish rice?

Answer - too many to pin it down to one and maybe too similar to separate!

Archiduc


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## mbasiszta (May 19, 2008)

archiduc said:


> Hi Mbasiszta,
> I hate to disagree with you, but one of the points that you make is that, and I quote: "Olive oil will burn the rice".
> 
> Not so, olive oil is not a sentient being capabale of doing anything. Olive oil cannot burn, cook, brown or do anything to any ingredient other than that which you require it to do! Only humans, using oil derived from olives may affect any ingredients. In general, when cooking and using a fat which may be animal or plant based, heat is required. You, as a sentient and human being control the heat. If the rice burns it does so as a result of you failing to control the heat applied - thus olive oil cannot burn the rice!
> ...


Geez, I posted an opinion, not a commandment. Lighten up, please.


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## AllenOK (May 19, 2008)

I've always thought of "Spanish" Rice as being Paella, or something very similar.

"Mexican" Rice is the highly seasoned, yellow or red rice side dish that you get with Tex-Mex food.

I've developed my own recipe for "Mexican" Rice, as well as the "Fiesta" rice recipe which is more of a one-pot meal.

I haven't done any work towards developing my own "Paella" or "Spanish" rice recipe, as I usually don't have a lot of seafood to use for that.

Now, my other half insists that "Spanish" rice is nothing but rice (cooked in a separate pan), browned hamburger, onions, garlic, tomato sauce, and some Broiled Steak Seasoning.


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## mbasiszta (May 19, 2008)

AllenOK said:


> I've always thought of "Spanish" Rice as being Paella, or something very similar.
> 
> "Mexican" Rice is the highly seasoned, yellow or red rice side dish that you get with Tex-Mex food.
> 
> ...


That is one of the wonderful things about cooking in general, isn't it? There are so many ways to make the "same thing". There are as many types of Mexican Rice as there are Spanish Rice. If I find a recipe I either made or tried and it works for me, then I try to repeat it.

I love to make Paella with lots of seafood. Hmmm, where is that picture of mine???


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## MexicoKaren (May 19, 2008)

"Mexican" Rice is the highly seasoned, yellow or red rice side dish that you get with Tex-Mex food. " - AllenOK

In fact, (surprise!) it is also the rice that you get in Mexico with Mexican food. But it is made differently in each restaurant...sometimes it is red, sometimes white, sometimes yellow. It always has onion, garlic and other vegetables in it, often peas and/or carrots. But the real difference is the broth it is cooked in - here, we can buy Knorr's good instant broth in several flavors, including chicken and beef and...(drum roll) TOMATO! It is a little spicy - I don't know what they put in it, but it is so good for cooking rice. If you have a Mexican grocery store near you, take a look for it. It is worth the search.


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## mbasiszta (May 19, 2008)

MexicoKaren said:


> "Mexican" Rice is the highly seasoned, yellow or red rice side dish that you get with Tex-Mex food. " - AllenOK
> 
> In fact, (surprise!) it is also the rice that you get in Mexico with Mexican food. But it is made differently in each restaurant...sometimes it is red, sometimes white, sometimes yellow. It always has onion, garlic and other vegetables in it, often peas and/or carrots. But the real difference is the broth it is cooked in - here, we can buy Knorr's good instant broth in several flavors, including chicken and beef and...(drum roll) TOMATO! It is a little spicy - I don't know what they put in it, but it is so good for cooking rice. If you have a Mexican grocery store near you, take a look for it. It is worth the search.


You have the makings of an expert, being in Mexico. In the law business, the definition of an expert is "anyone testifying over 50 miles from home". hahaha

My Mexican Rice is never the same. But if I remember to take my time and sauté the rice until it is nice and dark, the rice is usually good. It has that certain flavor this I remember from a real Mexican Chef, Mama Ruiz.

You are right about the broth. She preferred her homemade chicken broth, but she also used others - sometimes a neighbor brought some by for her, for instance. Her rice was always wonderful.

Thanks for your input.


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## MexicoKaren (May 19, 2008)

Thanks for the compliment,  but I realize every day that, the longer I live here, the less I know. The subtle flavors of Mexican sauces are almost always the result of unique combinations of dried chiles, fresh vegetables and fresh herbs/spices. Nobody writes anything down, and my spanish is now good enough to ask "how did you make this?" but not always good enough to understand the answer. I am having a wonderful time learning to cook the food I love.


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## mbasiszta (May 19, 2008)

MexicoKaren said:


> Thanks for the compliment, but I realize every day that, the longer I live here, the less I know. The subtle flavors of Mexican sauces are almost always the result of unique combinations of dried chiles, fresh vegetables and fresh herbs/spices. Nobody writes anything down, and my Spanish is now good enough to ask "how did you make this?" but not always good enough to understand the answer. I am having a wonderful time learning to cook the food I love.


Hola Karecita, you gave me a good laugh. I too am learning Latin Spanish, in Panamá. I also have that reaction after asking a question in Panamanian: I am never ready for the machine-gun response. Sometimes I am helped by someone, but usually I work out what the answer is - albeit very slowly.

I envy you the cuisine you can eat every day. I love Panama, but the cuisine is fried, breaded and fried, and creole with garlic. I do not want to insult their food, but it is just no where near the wonder of Mexican food. There is no authentic Mexican restaurant in the entire country. Well, at least I haven't found one. I am lucky to have learned how to cook some of the basic dishes, having been born and raised a block from a Mexican Barrio. I lived most of my young life in California, which has a large Mexican influence.

Mexican Rice is difficult to make, but IMHO it is worth the effort. I am going to try Allen's version of making it into a meal unto itself. I frequently add a mixture of ground beef and ground pork into various bean recipes. So now I am going to try it with Mexican Rice. Sounds like I want to add corn to this one, which I never do with my rice - maybe peas, at the most goes into my rice.

Share one of your genuine Mexican recipes, please. Thanks Karen.

Saludos, Martín


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## AllenOK (May 20, 2008)

I prefer to use my own homemade broth as well.  Usually it's chicken broth.

Karen, I has several Supermercados near where we used to live in Tulsa.  One of those is close to the Asian grocery store that I get shrimp from.  I need to go there and replenish my supply of shrimp anyway, so I might just go to the Mexican place as well.

I'm not sure if I still have it, but for awhile, I had a small package of pumpkin bouillon cubes.  All the labeling was in Spanish.  I asked around (up in Michigan) after I got it, and a Mexican-American co-worker told me that it's usually added to beans.


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## mbasiszta (May 20, 2008)

But Allen, cooking with anything pumpkin brings slimy and sweet flavor. Let's hear it for a nice, serious sauteing or frying of any "squash". hahaha'

Marty (knowing I am going to incur the wrath of squash lovers. Pero no para mi (but not for me). 

Remember, cooking is loving and wonderful (when you reply - haha again.)


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## abecedarian (Jun 24, 2008)

After being awol from this forum for far too long(just ask my family!), I wandered back just now to try to find a good empanada recipe, when this thread caught my eye..see, I've also been looking for a great Mexican Red Rice recipe-something to ease my cravings for the rice from On The Borders...thanks to you folks, I've found some wonderful ideas to play with(who says we shouldn't play with our food?)...thanks!

Now, I'll wander over to the seach function for that empanada recipe....


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