I enjoy cooking. I find it oddly relaxing to zone out while I frantically chop away at ingredients as I guide them in the process of becoming a dish. Making your own meals is also rewarding on both the sensory and financial fronts, plus you get to mess around with different ingredients and cooking methods thus you can make every cooking session a learning experience. At least that’s what I try to do. Sadly, lots of people still have no clue or interest in dabbling with this ancient practice of cookery, the one learned trait that separates us from the cockroaches. (Umm, there may be some others, but I’ve yet to see a roach pull out a mini-pan to fry up some vittles. At least not while I was sober.) So if you’re interested in some useful human habits other than opening up cans, unscrewing jars lids, or memorizing the microwave cooking time for your next boxed meal, I suggest you follow along with this next installment of my free cooking school: How to Make Mexican Rice!
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The use of tomato sauce from a can is a big NO NO. I prefer using all fresh ingredients. Boil fresh tomates until they are soft, then peel the skin off of the tomatoes and use the “real” tomatoes to make you sauce. You can use a blender of chop the tomatoes depending on whether you like to have small chunks of tomatoes in your rice.
The other variation is to use real chick stock instead of water, or even include small pieces of chicken for additional flavor.
Other wise a pretty good recipe.
Good point mm, using fresh tomatoes the way you describe would be optimal, especially if you have some growing in your garden during the summer. Or if you have a market that carries good fruit, instead of the mealy frozen tomatoes you most often find around these parts.
Yes, I agree, but there are other differences too… Cockroaches a) don’t know how to play golf; b) never fall asleep wearing contact lenses; and c) can’t say, “it’s Britney, bitch!”
Thanks. I wanted to take that opportunity to defend our evolutionary achievements. Gesundheit very much.
I suck at making any sort of rice; it always comes out like pudding or seared onto the bottom of the pan. I just can’t do it.
And I object to using dead chickens in my rice. Why? Why? Why?
I’ve seen some roaches that look like they might be pretty handy in the kitchen. I think they’re just laying low until we work ourselves out of the picture – then they’re gonna make a move on our frying pans and stuff.
Hey, you use what you have. Mom used to use ketchup when nothing else was available with “tomatoes” in it.
My mom also uses ketchup. She skips the tomato sauce and adds chopped tomatoes and a squirt of ketchup. Others have been known to add in a can of mixed vegetables too.
Well done. This post just inspired (and instructed) my gabacho spouse to make me some mexican rice. Thank you.
I’m used to the canned tomato sauce.
SO right on with the toasted rice advice! I always stress this part, too. And I love the toasty aroma.
Also SO right on with the Mexican rice vs. Spanish rice. I, too, use the same verbiage. Except for when I’m back home visiting my familia in Kansas City, where everyone has just always called it sopa. Why, I dunno. But by any name, it’s still yum.
Damn, now I want some.
Chimatli, my grandma always used to dump a can of Veg-all into the rice as well, I liked the peas but didn’t care for the other veggies. But that’s a decent variation.
Good point Regina, I hear it called sopa as well.
Oh. My. Gawd. You ~toast~! the rice first. I feel as if The Meaning Of Life has just been revealed to me. Thank you.
This is such a good basic recipe. You could be a guest chef on our food blog. I like using some El Pato tomato sauce for more of a bite. Now, whip of some chiliquiles and I’ll be a happy girl.
aside from the nutritional yeast, this is how my abuelita, my mom and myself make our rice. be careful with the comino, ‘cuz you can f*ck it up if you go over board. hmmm thanks for the inspiration. I think I’ll make some this weekend!
Mexican rice (Sopa) took me years to master after my wife & I moved in together. Can of tomatoe sauce, canned chikcen broth, garlic salt & pepper. I agree, part of the fun of mastering it has been tweeking the recipe to our taste over the years. I’ve also offered some of our own recipes on my blog. Orale.
its good with lil pieces of banana, you shold try it!!!
I tried out the recipe— or maybe it’s really a methodology— for the first time last night, with a few alterations. I used brown rice and fresh tomatoes, and I didn’t have a bouillon cube. (How can you tell if you’ve toasted brown rice correctly? Answer— not very easily.) Still, it came out pretty well, a little on the mushy side, but next time it’ll be perfect.
Nope, that’s not true at all. Perfection is a myth.
The secret is not to stir the rice while it is boiling. If you constantly stir it you get mush. What I do is let the water boil the rice and watch it as it evaporates. The water level will drop and leave you with rice. Don’t let it frop too much or th e rice burns.
As a matter of fact I am going to make mexican rice right now
Thanks for posting this. I’m going to try to make it tomorrow. I never have gotten this kind of rice right. I wasn’t roasting the grains!
I even have some fresh jalapenos to use in it! Those are hard to find in London and super expensive but it’s worth it.
I found a store that sells canned tomatillos. And they’re not too expensive. Little by little I’m learning to cook the things I miss most.
This step-by-step explanation would have saved me five years of trial and error, peeking over my mother in law’s shoulder. I finally figured out that the toasting (way past the gringa comfort zone of lightly translucent into on-the-cusp-of burned) makes the rice come out ‘chino’ (very important in our family) Also, think the powdered consome is easier to adjust and I leave the garlic whole. Next, if at all possible, please demystify the process of creating perfectly tender, perfectly pink frijoles, with caldo that is not too black. Mil gracias!
WofM,
I do have a recipe for beans, check it out at this link http://chanfles.com/comida/beans/frijoles.htm
I hope to do some more cooking guides soon, I´m in Oaxaca at the moment picking up cookbooks and taking pics of the food, I plan to share some of what I´ve seen when I get back.
Great article. I cheat some though. I brown the rice in olive oil with some onion and garlic tossed in at the very end. Add chicken broth until almost cooked. Add in salsa fresca just at the end and finish the last 5 minutes of cooking. Just before serving I toss in chopped cilantro. I learned this from my friends wife, Petra some 20 years ago. They called it “mexican rice” and always called it that.
yum. yum.
My mom makes the best rice. It’s the BOMB. I have seen her make it a million times and it still doesn’t turn out the way her’s does. My kids say, “Grandmom’s rice is the best!” Traitors! She says its las manos. BTW, love your anti-spam words. LOL
Well this is off topic a bit…my Grandma made the best spanish rice and tortillas….she made food for a Tortilla Shop on Mercury street across from Glen Alta Elementary school. Chavo, do you know where I could find a picture of the old shop? Circa 1940-50?
Speaking of grandmothers, Teresa Martinez was my grandmother’s name.
Her photo is here:
http://chimatli.org/blog/?p=73
you should try using roasted tomatoes after browning your rice, onion, and garlic. during the time your letting it sit place a jalapenos on top, when its done the jalapenos are nice and soft.
Looks and sounds yummy!! I am a mexican rice lover! But, this will be my first time to actually make mexican rice. Every thing i have ever cooked in my life has always turned out the way it was supose to, so cooking it should be no problem. Big Thanks to EL CHAVO! For the hook up on how to make mexican rice!!
“And I object to using dead chickens in my rice. Why? Why? Why?”
true, i would much rather have live chicken in my rice….yum!
Mi M0M fUkEN KICKED MA ASS f0R MAkiN tHIS dUM SHYt…..iT tURNEd 0Ut ALL bLACk l00kiN lYk SHYt–PiNCHE bEANER. –> dNT kN0 h0W t0 MAkE >REAL< RiCE….tHEN MA SiStER SH0WED Mi h0W..EVEN Mi d0q kNEW h0W…
bUT Mi CAT WAz PR0UD 0F ME CUz HE ENDEd UP EATiN iT!
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In mi familia we call this “yellow rice”. I know, it doesn’t really make sense. Yum, so delicious!!! Great recipe! Pretty much just how we make it but I don’t use jalapeno (but it sounds good) and we use tomato paste instead of sauce.
Your blog is awesome!
The way to prevent mushy rice and rice that will always be
fluffy, is to rince the rice thoroughly with cold water before cooking. Rince it in a strainer, and rince it until the water is clear…about 1 1/2 minutes or so.
This recipe is very good and I’m sure I will make it many times in the future.
Good tips, my rice always turns out mushy!!! I am going to try it now for diner at family night at my moms, I will let you know tomorrow how it turns out. Thanks!
i really want to let it be known that this receipe what just what i wanted….you really help me out……..i am a single black male in my early 30’s and i am just starting to cook full course meals….i started reading different meals on the computer and i have been doing well……my mexican rice came out perfect and look just like yours in the pictures you have displayed…….i would really love if you can send some receipes to my email of different dishes you love and i will try them out and let you know……thanx again……
DIOS SANTO!
I just burned my rice.
Mom is in Mexico, thought I’d cook some rice to eat. PERO no!!
Ugh, i got to wash some plates now! /=
your article was very helpfull.
Thanks.
i’m a mexican (that dunno how 2 cook mexican food) married 2 a mexican (that loves mexican food). so what do i do? i could ask my mom but eh she’s 2 busy. she never taught me cuz i didn’t have the time (always busy with school)… i guess we coulda made the time….mmh anyway, that’s not the point. i go online and come 2 find out, there’s various ways 2 make everything!!! grrr, of course. conclusion? i decided 2 try the same recepie made differently a few times n just stick 2 the 1 my man likes the most. genius, i know. so thx 4 this 1, i’m bout 2 go try it.
Well… since I am a Mexican who is blessed enough to live in Mexico (not that I don´t like the US or anyother country, it is just that in Mexico it is easier to get all the ingredients) I would like to share a little bit of what we do here in Chihuahua (the largest state of Mexico in case someone didnt know) We usually toast the rice first and then add the chopped garlic, onion AND diced tomatoes. We kinda stir fry the latter and then add the water or chicken broth with the salt and pepper. At the end before we put it to boil we add a little cilantro, which gives it a great Mexican flavor! If you want you can add corn either canned or fresh, and there you go you have Mexican rice, northern style!! Hasta luego!
Hi El Chavo! I’ve been MIA for far too long. Just wanted to say hola and that I LOVE how this blog post continues to receive responses, 1+ years later. I giggle every time I receive an email notifying me of a followup comment.
You have most certainly done this world a great service. You are such a giver. 🙂
thanks so much the rice turned out great it was my first time. thank you
Thank you SO much for the PICTURES that accompany your recipe!! This is really the key, because words can’t show you what the rice should look like during toasting. As another poster mentioned, this could save people so many really bad batches/attempts!! 🙂
A Mexicana friend of mine showed me how to make rice once years ago and because I didn’t need to practice it until I moved away, I forgot the details…it really does take practice.
Not only do you help with the pictures, but your sense of humor makes it fun and not scary. You really are la bomba!! 🙂
Keep it up, OK?
great recipe I myself use canned tomatoe sauce I see nothing wrong with that, you made it look simple and great I always added the tomatoe sauce last and my rice would be runny Im trying this recipe today.
Thank you so much for your recipe and photos. Plus, your enthusiasm comforted me as I embarked on making Mexican rice for the first time, with a recipe! I never had one before, and I always messed it up. Thanks to you, I know to fry the rice first and to use cumin.
Tell me, how is it that your rice (in the photo) looks so red when done? Mine looks more like a red-brown? I used 2 cupts of rice, 8oz of tomato sauce, and 3.5 cups of water. Yours looks more tomato-y.
This recipe is very simple and easy. About adding bananas to my rice, I don’t think I would try that with mexican rice maybe arroz con leche?…and your right when you add too much comino, its tastes nasty. I like to add vegetables, although I am not fond of the peas, the lima beans taste good (potatoe-like). I have never thought of adding yeast to my food but when I looked it up it sounds like a really good option to eating healthier. Thanks for your awesome recipe!
Great meal!!
This article on how to make Mexican rice helped me a lot.! Having
the illutrations also helped.! Thanks..:)
Well i love the pics…..altered the recipe all little but other than that was great….thanks for the info
hey Chavo do you have any recipis for great mexican pork tamales! i was looking up how to make mexican fried rice and i think i found it nov 25 2008 preicesa chhuense great work CHAVO KEEP IT UP MAN
It’s hard for me to make any type of Mexican dish. My husband is from Mexico and i am from Guatemala. As of right now i have my rice on the pot hopefully it comes out as fluffly and good as how he wants it and as how i want it to come out. It kind of looks mushy.
I thought I’d try your recipe with the nutritional yeast. I’m newish to LA and just found El Pato tomato sauce w/ chiles pureed in it, so it’s on the stove right now. Smells good! I did add in the nutritional yeast, yum.