The easiest Mexican rice that tastes authentic and delicious!
First, add some oil (I use generic Kroger brand Olive Oil) to a pan at high heat – sometimes I use a pot, sometimes I use a skillet… it works in either one, but I do think it turns out slightly better when cooked in a skillet.
Once the pan and oil is hot, add the rice. I like using Golden Star Jasmine Rice – I always have jasmine rice in my pantry for quick and easy, filling meals… and this brand is the cheapest. (I have to add here, some of these Amazon links are outrageously priced… I don’t usually grocery shop on Amazon 😬, but I want you guys to be able to see the product I use. And of course, if you decide to buy on Amazon, it only helps my wallet 😄. Some of the links are good prices, just not necessarily the grocery ones!)
Stir to coat the rice in the oil, and keep stirring to prevent burning the rice. Browning rice is good, blackened stinky rice is bad 😄. Sometimes during this phase, I add green chiles or tomatoes and green chiles and let them cook/brown I guess a little bit with the rice.
Once the rice is just about done browning – it usually only takes a couple minutes if the pan and oil are hot enough – I add tomato chicken bouillon. I think some people use tomato paste and chicken broth instead… but I just like to use the powder stuff (beware, it does contain MSG… but I don’t care enough yet to find a different powder that works…). They do make a box of tomato chicken bouillon cubes, but I don’t like using these because they don’t mix into the rice well enough for my liking. Moving on – add tomato chicken bouillon – I just sprinkle some on top and then mix it in with the rice.
Once the dry rice, oil, bouillon, chiles, etc. are all mixed together and hot, measure and pour twice as much water as rice into the pan. It should still be on high heat, and will start to boil instantly. Quickly stir the rice and water, then cover the pan with something like this or just a simple lid for your pan, and then reduce the heat to just under the halfway mark between medium and low… if that makes sense haha. The goal is to not completely kill the boil so the rice will simmer. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes, then I like to stir it to make sure the green chiles and bouillon aren’t just sitting in one spot. Then cover it back up and let it simmer for another 10 ish minutes. I usually start checking it after like 15 total minutes of simmering, because I don’t like mushy rice, but I also don’t want it to be crunchy or wet still. The water should all be absorbed without the rice being sticky or mushy.
When I have it on hand, I like to top this Mexican rice off with some cilantro leaves. I rip them off the stem and circle them around the edge of the rice in the pan and put the lid on for a minute. It adds color and flavor, and makes me feel a little fancier for using fresh herbs!
{If you like to measure, the proportions I use are 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, about 1 tablespoon olive oil, about 1 tablespoon tomato chicken bouillon, about 1/8 – 1/4 cup green chiles or tomatoes and green chiles.}
P.S. I feel that I should add that I make most of my rice using this method. Unless I want sticky white rice for an asian-type meal, I brown my rice first in oil before simmering. Then I cook it with chicken bouillon and water, or just chicken broth. Onions browned with the rice and oil makes the rice taste delicious (and I HATE onions usually). I’ve also added grape tomatoes to my rice at the end of simmering, and that is delicious as well.