Restaurant-Style Mexican Rice
My daughter is in Mexico with my grandparents, living it up
poolside in Puerto Vallarta, so this recipe is in her honor! Of course, it’s
nowhere close to authentic Mexican food, but it tastes just like the rice
served alongside entrees in my favorite local Mexican restaurants. And by
golly, that’s good enough for me!
Before sharing how this recipe came about, I have to make a
confession. I loooove dining out. My parents went out to eat several times a
week when I was a kid, so I thought that was normal. As a single adult, my
budget for restaurants was $400 a month, and I frequently exceeded it! Then I
married my husband, whose family only eats at restaurants infrequently to
celebrate birthdays. I knew my habits were not going to be sustainable as my
new hubby and I started a family and had house payments to make. I started to
figure out how to copycat my favorite restaurant meals at home, but it took me
many attempts to master this restaurant-style Mexican rice. I tried so many
recipes online and none of them satisfied my craving. They were gluey, mushy,
bland, or one-dimensional. Then I thought, “If the best way to make fried rice
is starting with pre-cooked rice, maybe the same is true for Mexican rice!”. Using
cold, cooked rice keeps each grain distinct and prevents the final result from
being too starchy. A little oil in the pan helps crisp it up, and broth and
salsa add amazing flavor and color. There ya have it. Easy, tasty,
restaurant-style Mexican rice.
3 Tablespoons olive or canola oil
6 cups cold, cooked white rice* (I often use basmati)
½ cup salsa
½ cup vegetable or chicken broth
salt to taste
1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat.
When the pan is hot, add the rice. Fry for 7-8 minutes, stirring not-too-frequently to prevent burning**.
2. Pour in the salsa and broth and stir just enough to
distribute. Fry another 5 minutes.
3. Add salt or more salsa to taste.
**When stirring this recipe or any fried rice, use more of a
flipping/folding motion rather than mashing the rice. This keeps the grains
intact.
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