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Here’s another recipe y’all requested on Instagram: Simple Red Rice. I consider this to be really similar to Mexican rice, at least the kind you find at Mexican restaurants in my area – except sometimes those have carrots and peas in them and what?! don’t do that!! Anyway, my favorite thing to order is the ACP. I call it Tex-Mex Arroz Con Pollo, because it’s not made the traditional way, cooking the rice and chicken in the same pot. Instead, they’ll likely bring out a plate of red rice topped with fajita style strips of chicken breast, all smothered in queso. I’ve started recreating it myself using this rice and my queso recipe. Here’s a photo:
Simple Red Rice Ingredients
Feel free to jump to the full recipe, but here are useful notes about the ingredients you will need to make this Simple Red Rice recipe:
- Water: You can use chicken broth if you like; I was making this for myself and my mostly vegetarian child to eat, so I opted for water. I didn’t want the flavor that vegetable broth would impart.
- Long-grain rice: I use Uncle Ben’s parboiled enriched long-grain rice. If you use a different grain, or rice that isn’t parboiled, you likely will need to follow package instructions to get the best results. Making rice can seem finicky, but it almost always boils down to knowing how to cook the kind you’re using.
- Avocado oil: Any fat is fine, including butter.
- Strained tomatoes: If you can’t find strained tomatoes tomato sauce or tomato puree is fine. You could also use fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, or tomato bouillon, but any of those would require adjusting other ingredient amounts (especially the water) so take care if you decide to do that. Using fresh tomatoes is my least favorite method, as it can be difficult to find really flavorful tomatoes in the grocery store, so end up having to use more, or add another form of tomato anyway.
- Minced garlic, diced onion: Make sure you mince the garlic before you measure it. Three tablespoons of minced garlic is a lot, whereas three tablespoons of garlic, minced is not.
- Kosher salt, cracked black pepper: Keeping it simple on the seasonings front. We want the tomatoes and aromatics to be the star of this Simple Red Rice. If you’d like to be more adventurous you most definitely can. Toss in some cilantro, maybe a cinnamon stick while it simmers. Some cumin, whatever!
How to Make Simple Red Rice
Full instructions are included in the recipe below, but here is a basic overview of what you’ll need to do, along with some important tidbits to help you make the most of this Simple Red Rice recipe:
- Start on the Simple Red Rice. Add your oil to a medium-sized saucepan and place it over medium high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the diced onion. Stir and allow the onions to cook until they’re beginning to brown around the edges, about 5-6 minutes, then add in the minced garlic. Once you can smell the garlic, add the rice. Stir to coat in the melted butter, then allow to toast for 4-5 minutes, until most grains are lightly browned. Stir in the salt and pepper, then pour in the water. Stir to break up any clumps of rice, and allow to come to a boil.
- Let it Cook. Once boiling, cover with a tight-fitting lid and reduce the heat to low. Allow the rice to cook, undisturbed, for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, all of the liquid should be absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to steam, without lifting the lid if possible, for an additional 5 minutes.
- Finish the Simple Red Rice. After 5 minutes have passed, use a fork to fluff the rice. Be gentle, but thorough. Dassit!
Obligatory Pinterest Graphics –
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Simple Red Rice
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Mexican Rice, basically. The base of a favorite meal in my house: Tex-Mex Arroz con Pollo.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 C water
- 1 1/2 C long grain parboiled rice
- 1/4 C diced onion
- 1/4 C strained tomatoes or tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
-
- Add your oil to a medium-sized saucepan and place it over medium high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the diced onion. Stir and allow the onions to cook until they’re beginning to brown around the edges, about 5-6 minutes, then add in the minced garlic.
- Once you can smell the garlic, add the rice. Stir to coat in the melted butter, then allow to toast for 4-5 minutes, until most grains are lightly browned. Stir in the salt and pepper, then pour in the water. Stir to break up any clumps of rice, and allow to come to a boil.
-
- Once boiling, cover with a tight-fitting lid and reduce the heat to low. Allow the rice to cook, undisturbed, for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, all of the liquid should be absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to steam, without lifting the lid if possible, for an additional 5 minutes.
-
- After 5 minutes have passed, use a fork to fluff the rice. Be gentle, but thorough. Dassit!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
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