Arroz A La Mexicana Traditional Mexican Rice Food

MEXICAN RICE PUDDING ("ARROZ CON LECHE")

Steps:

• Put the water, rice, and cinnamon stick in a medium-size heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, uncovered, and cook until the rice is tender, about 18 minutes. Strain out the liquid, discard the cinnamon and reserve the rice. Return the rice to the saucepan. Stir in the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and whole milk. Continue cooking over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick, about 20 minutes. Add the raisins, and stir well. Transfer the pudding to a serving bowl. Dust the top of the pudding with ground cinnamon and serve.

MEXICAN RED RICE (ARROZ ROJO)

Steps:

• In a large heavy saucepan, heat the vegetable oil on medium-high heat. Add the rice, onions and garlic. Saute until the rice has an opaque color and is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, tomato paste and salt. Mix well to incorporate evenly. Then add in the chile and cilantro sprig. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until rice is ready, about 30 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve immediately.

ARROZ ROJO (MEXICAN RED RICE)

Steps:

• Grate tomatoes into a bowl using a box grater; discard tomato skins.
• Heat vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and cook onion until translucent, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Stir garlic into onion and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir rice into onion mixture and cook, stirring often, until rice is lightly toasted, about 3 more minutes. Stir grated tomato, chicken broth, and tomato sauce into the rice. Bring mixture to a boil.
• Mix in jalapeno pepper, cilantro, and salt; reduce heat to low. Cover skillet and simmer until rice has absorbed the liquid, about 15 minutes. Do not lift the cover while the rice is cooking.
• Turn off heat and let rice stand covered for 8 minutes. Fluff with a fork before transferring rice to a serving dish.

MEXICAN RICE - ARROZ A LA MEXICANA

Steps:

• For this quantity of rice you will need a flameproof pan about 4 inches (10 cm) deep and 9 inches (23 cm) across. Pour hot water to cover over the rice and let soak for about 5 minutes. Strain, rinse in cold water, and strain again. Be sure to shake the strainer well to remove the excess water. Do not do this step ahead of time or the rice will become too damp.
• Heat the oil in the pan and stir in the rice - it should sizzle as it touches the oil. Stir until the grains are evenly coated and continue frying over medium heat until they sound brittle and are just starting to turn golden, about 10 minutes. Tip the pan to one side and drain off the excess oil.
• Meanwhile, put the tomatoes, onion, and garlic into a blender jar and blend until smooth. Stir the puree into the rice and continue frying over fairly high heat, scraping the bottom of the pan to avoid sticking, until the mixture has been absorbed, about 5 minutes.
• Add the broth and the optional ingredients; stir the rice well, adjust the salt, cover the pan, and cook over medium heat until all the broth has been absorbed - air holes will probably form. Carefully dig to the bottom of the rice with a fork to see if any moisture remains; if so, then continue cooking over low heat for a few minutes more. Set aside, still `covered, to give the rice a chance to continue steaming evenly for about 15 minutes.
• When serving, gently stir the rice from the bottom with a fork.

FOOLPROOF MEXICAN RICE ("ARROZ MEXICANO")

Steps:

• Cut the tomatoes in half, and remove the seeds. Add the tomatoes and 2 cups of broth to a blender and puree. Strain into a bowl and reserve the liquid. Add enough extra broth to make 4 cups of liquid.
• In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrots and saute for 4 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Stir in the rice and cook until slightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato broth mixture, stir and bring to boil. Add the salt, bay leaf, and the serrano chile. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the pan from heat. Scatter the peas over the top of the rice, cover, and let the rice stand 5 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork, transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

ARROZ A LA MEXICANA (TRADITIONAL MEXICAN RICE)

Steps:

• Pour hot water to cover over the rice and let it stand for about 10 minutes. Drain the rice and rinse well in cold water, then shake the colander well and leave the rice to drain again. Put the tomatoes, onion, and garlic into a blender jar and blend until smooth. Set aside. Heat the oil. Give the rice a final shake and stir it into the oil until the grains are well covered, then fry until just the grains turn a light brown color. This process should take about 10 minutes. Tip the pan to one side and drain off any excess oil. Stir in the tomato puree and fry, scraping the bottom of the dish to prevent sticking, until the puree has been absorbed--about 8 minutes. Stir in the broth, vegetables and giblets (if used) add salt to taste and cook over fairly high heat, uncovered until all the both has been absorbed and air holes appear in the surface. Cover the surface of the rice with a towel and lid and continue cooking over very low heat for about 5 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and set aside in a warm place to allow the rice to absorb the rest of the moisture in the steam and swell--about 15 minutes. Dig gently to the bottom and test a grain of rice. If it is still damp, cook for a few minutes longer. If the top grains are not quite soft, sprinkle with a little hot broth, cover and cook for a few minutes longer. Before serving, turn the rice over carefully from the bottom so that the flavored juices will be distributed evenly.

ARROZ ROJO (MEXICAN STYLE RED RICE)

Steps:

• Cover the raw rice in very hot water and set aside to soak for 15 minutes.
• Drain the rice and rinse under cold water.
• Drain the rice thoroughly and spread out to dry on a towel or large baking sheet in a ventilated area.Let dry about an hour.
• Meanwhile,place the tomato,onion,garlic,and pepper in a blender and blend to a smooth puree,adding a little bit of the chicken broth if necessary.
• Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat.When the oil is hot,add the rice and cook,stirring,for a few minutes,lowering the heat slightly to keep it from burning.When the rice is well coated in oil and sounds like sand when stirred,add the tomato puree.Cook,stirring occasionally,until the puree is slightly thickened.
• Add the celery,parsley,broth,and lime juice.Add a little salt to tste ,if desired(you may want to omit the salt if the broth is well seasoned).
• Bring to a boil.Cover the pot,and lower the heat to low.Cook for 20 minutes,or until the rice is tender and has absorbed all of the liquid.
• Serve hot.

ARROZ A LA MEXICANA

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add the dry, unwashed rice, tossing or stirring constantly, until toasted and very brown and nutty, about 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a heatproof bowl.
• Place a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the schmaltz, garlic, carrots, onions and 5 teaspoons salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and just beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the skillet, until fragrant and brick red colored, about 1 minute. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, top with the peas and chile, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook undisturbed for 20 minutes. Check to see if all the liquid has been absorbed; if not, continue to cook and check again after 10 more minutes. Once the liquid has been absorbed, remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes before serving.

ARROZ MEXICANA (MEXICAN RICE)

Steps:

• Saute onion in oil until soft. Add garlic and carrot, cook for 3 minutes.
• Stir in rice, cook until light golden, sprinkle with chili powder and cumin. Cook for 5 minutes.
• Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, simmer over low for 20 minutes or until rice is tender.