Rice is one of those staples that translates in any culture. Mexican rice isn’t any different here in this instance. Mexican Rice, here, is a long-grain rice seasoned with tomatoes, garlic, onion, cilantro, and chicken stock. The savory dish works well as a side dish as well as one of the components that goes into a burrito.
Here it will be used as a side dish for our Beef Chimichangas. However, Mexican rice in many recipes can also be a Vegetarian or vegan dish. Rice is filling enough to be used as a main meal. Remove the chicken stock, combine it with other vegetables, and you can use it as a taco filling.
If you substitute the long-grain rice for brown rice, you’ve got a healthier dish. That was pretty easy as well, we used a different rice in the same recipe. The fact that brown rice is a whole grain and offers stability and slow glucose release means you will feel full longer. Brown rice can be substituted in most rice dishes, with the only drawback that it takes longer to cook.
Mexican Rice with Vegetables could be Vegetarian or Vegan
Why not make this more of a dish? How about making Mexican Rice with Vegetables, or even making it Vegetarian or Vegan? If this is your way of eating rice, it is one of the most significant ways to do it. You can easily turn a side dish into a complete meal.
The first step is to remove the white long-grain rice and replace it with brown rice. The next thing you should do is think of which vegetables you would like to add. Some options for this would be peas, asparagus (which needs to be partially cooked), edamame, or lima beans (which need to be cooked).
When a vegetable is frozen, it is automatically blanched, or partially cooked, to preserve its nutritional value. When making this rice with the addition of vegetables, you could merely thaw them out under running cold water. This will thaw the vegetables out, and then you can fold them into your cooked rice dish at the final stage. The heat will heat them up, and they will hold their color. If you cook peas in the rice for the entire time, they will be overcooked and lose their bright, appealing color.
When making this style, you would use vegetable stock in place of chicken stock. Once you do this and omit any meat, you have a vegetarian or Vegan dish. If this is your desire, you have landed a satisfying filling dish.
Mexican Rice with Salsa
A quick, easy way to make Mexican rice is to add salsa to your rice before cooking. The salsa could have a variety of different flavors. You could take a traditional red salsa, a roasted corn and black bean tomatillo salsa, or a mango salsa, to name a few, and add them to your rice mixture. Then cook your rice with the salsa in it. This is one way to incorporate salsa into your Mexican rice.
Another way to enjoy Mexican Rice with Salsa is to add the salsa to your prepared Mexican Rice once it is finished. You would add this as a condiment to the rice. This will give your rice a different flavor without the flavors being affected by the cooking process. The Salsa adds a nice complement in contrasting flavor, texture, and temperature to your rice.
Salsa is also a low-fat way to add flavor to your food. The addition of rice provides excellent flavor. The concept of a burrito bowl or rice bowl allows for a prepared rice dish, such as our Mexican rice, to be enhanced with additional ingredients like meat, salsa, sour cream, cheese, and even guacamole. These make a great alternative to the wraps, which provide not only an option for fewer carbs, but also options to build your own.
By building your own, you could have a vegetarian option as well as an option loaded with meat and cheese. Whichever option you so choose, it certainly makes for an option-filled meal.
5 easy steps in this Mexican Rice step by step recipe
- Purchase ingredients
- You will want to ensure you have long-grain rice, chicken stock, diced tomatoes, cilantro, limes for juice or lime juice, onion or shallots, garlic, tomato juice, smoked paprika (optional), and chili powder.
- Do your vegetable preparations.
- You will want to measure out your ingredients and cut and chop vegetables according to your recipe instructions.
- Steps to getting your rice started.
- You will sauté your onions and diced tomatoes in a pan. If you add peppers, you would sauté them here as well.
- Cooking on the stovetop or in the oven
- Put all your ingredients in the sauce pot and simmer with the lid on for 45-60 minutes in a convectional oven or 90-120 minutes in a conventional oven. Cook until the rice is tender and the liquid stock is gone.
- Finishing your rice
- When your rice is cooked, remove it from the heat and stir with a large spoon. Place in a serving bowl and garnish with chopped cilantro and/or lime zest.
Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- 1 pint Rice, long grain converted
- 2/3 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 8 oz Tomato Juice
- 1 tsp Garlic minced
- 4 oz Onion finely chopped
- 1 oz Vegetable Oil
- 8 oz Tomato diced
- 24 oz Stock chicken
- 1.5 tsp Juice, Lime
- 2 T Cilantro chopped
Instructions
- In a skillet with oil, saute onion and tomato
- Combine rice, stock, tomato juice, onion, diced tomato, cilantro and lime juice in a small stock pot or rice cooker. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is gone
- Serve
