This is the rice that you get as a side dish for every meal you order in a Mexican restaurant with a nice smoky aroma. Brown rice is a great substitute for white rice in this recipe and it packs a bigger nutritional punch. Just take into account brown rice takes longer to cook, usually 35-40 minutes, so adding 10 minutes to the cooking time will ensure the brown rice is cooked all the way through. To reheat this rice, add a drizzle of water to the Mexican rice dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in a 300-degree oven for 20 minutes, or until the rice is heated through.

You can also spoon the rice into a microwave safe bowl, add a splash of water, cover with a damp paper towel, and heat in the microwave in 1-minute increments until heated through. If you cook Mexican rice with brown rice in a rice cooker, just select the “brown rice” button. It usually takes 50 to 55 minutes to cook. Start by getting the tomato sauce ready for our rice but chopping the onion and placing it on a blender jar, add garlic then potato paste and blend it until it is smooth. In a saucepan, add oil and let it heat then add long grain rice and cook over medium heat in the oil. Once the rice is golden brown, you can add the mixture of tomato paste and garlic that was blended and stir it to blend the rice.

Cook for around three minutes then add water and stir. Add the spices and salt and stir and bring it to boil. Once it has reached boiling point, set your heat to the lowest level and let it cook for 20 minutes. Once the 20 minutes are don, remove from the heat and let it sit for around ten minutes before opening it and serve.

Ingredients;

  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 250g long grain rice
  • 1 tsp chipotle paste, optional (more if you want it spicier)
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 750ml hot chicken or vegetable stock
  • small bunch of coriander, finely chopped

Instructions;

  1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and sizzle the onion for 5 mins until just starting to soften.
  2. Add the garlic and cook for a minute more, then stir in the chipotle paste and the tomato purée and cook for a minute.
  3. Add the tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes, then scatter the rice into the pan and stir, so it’s coated in the tomato mix.
  4. Pour over the hot stock, season, give everything another stir and bring to the boil, then cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat down to the lowest possible setting.
  5. Gently simmer for 15-20 mins until all the stock has been absorbed and the rice is cooked through.
  6. Leave the rice to sit for a few mins off the heat, then stir through the coriander and serve.