I thought every child ate amazing fluffy, moist and delicious rice like we did. Well, I quickly discovered the truth when I went to college and friends invited me over to their home for the holidays. The first bite of traditional white rice cooked like they do in the n0n-Hispanic homes made me want to spit it out. I couldn’t believe the texture it was like mush and it had no flavor.
I realized why it turned out so bland when I watched someone cook a pot of rice. She just boiled it and then added salt and butter, that was it. Well, no wonder.
This recipe is pretty simple but don’t let that fool you because it’s amazing. Your palate will never again be content with bland white rice. Rice is an important component in our meals. I must say my mother has more added steps to making her white rice but I am happy with how this turned out using her basic recipe.
Authentic Mexican White Rice
- 4cps of water
- 2cps of rice
- 1tbspn of oil
- 1-2 tbl of butter
- 1/3 cp of chopped onions
- Cilantro for garnish
- optional:
- 2 Maggi Chicken bouillon cubes (if its not in the aisle w/ the rest of the bouillon cubes you may find it in the hispanic/Int’l section of grocery store)
1. In a pot place your butter and onions over med. heat. Add some oil to prevent scorching. Stir until onions are semi soft. Remove onions.
2. Add the dry rice to the onion pot and let it sauté in the oil. Move it around so rice doesn’t burn. You just want it lightly toasted. Then place the onion mixture on top.
4. Add water and bouillon cubes. If you’re cooking this in high altitude then add an extra 1/2 cup of water.
5. Bring to a boil and then on lower heat until water has been absorbed and rice is soft about 20 minutes but a bit longer about 30-40 minutes if cooking in high altitude.
My mother soaks the rice in water before cooking it and then rinses it. I’m not sure what this does but her rice is always perfect. I sometimes do this step but when I’m in a hurry I usually skip it and it turns out just fine.
