Arroz Rojo (Mexican Crimson Rice) Recipe

As a child rising up within the Midwest, I first encountered arroz rojo, purple rice, in lackluster Mexican eating places as an unassuming facet dish that I’d eat alongside tinga de pollo and refried beans. I’d take a couple of bites, however the greasy, not significantly flavorful rice largely went unnoticed on my plate. Then in faculty in Los Angeles, arroz rojo was an inexpensive and filling facet in my faculty cafeteria and at many fast-food joints. These variations of the tomato-based rice dish had been extra palatable, however I nonetheless didn’t pay a lot consideration to it. In my thoughts, it was nonetheless primarily plate filler. It wasn’t till I moved to Mexico as an grownup that I realized to totally respect this straightforward facet dish that I eat with pals and in-laws at my dwelling in Sinaloa. 

What’s Arroz Rojo?

Nice arroz rojo consists of fluffy, completely cooked singular grains of rice cooked in a flavorful puréed tomato and hen inventory combination. It’s properly seasoned, fragrant, and wealthy with out being heavy or greasy. It’s is a well-known Mexican staple, and it’s straightforward to see why. It’s comparatively fast to make and reheats properly within the microwave or on the range with just a little broth, making it handy fare for each day meals in addition to for get-togethers of all sizes. It pairs properly with virtually something: chiles rellenos, grilled hen, barbacoa, mole, albóndigas, or a easy pot of beans, to call only a few dishes. 

It’s a dish filled with taste, however provided that it’s ready with care. The rice dish is pretty easy: Softened onion and garlic are blended with tomatoes to kind the flavorful base. The rice is toasted in oil, then cooked within the blended sauce with hen broth. After that, serrano chile is added, together with carrots and peas for a basic mixture that provides shade, texture, and sweetness.

Arroz rojo may be made with nearly any vegetable as an alternative of the peas and carrots—suppose corn, inexperienced beans, potato, and squash, to call a couple of. It will also be prepped with any kind of broth. In Sinaloa, considered one of my favourite variations entails shrimp broth and contemporary or dried shrimp; this dish is usually eaten as a major course throughout Semana Santa when purple meat is forbidden. With so many variations to select from, I made a decision to concentrate on one of the crucial basic variations of arroz rojo. This model is flavorful and versatile—simply the rice with the everyday additions of peas and carrots. Right here’s tips on how to prepare dinner it completely at dwelling each time.

Forestall Gummy Rice

As talked about above, nice arroz rojo options plump and fluffy singular grains of cooked rice. Like with many rice dishes, the primary query is that if and tips on how to eliminate additional starch, which may flip the ultimate product right into a gummy block. For plain white rice, the usual is to rinse the starch off, again and again (and over). As soon as the water runs clear, the rice is able to prepare dinner up into completely fluffy, separate grains.

However I knew that not all cooks rinse their rice earlier than making arroz rojo. So does it actually make a distinction? I ready batches with the rice rinsed 5 instances, like I normally do for white rice, and in contrast it to batches rinsed as soon as or under no circumstances. The distinction between unrinsed and once-rinsed rice was smaller than I anticipated (although the flavour appeared a bit cleaner on the rinsed rice). The rice grains I’d rinsed 5 instances had been barely extra outlined than the once-rinsed batch, although I may see loads of milky white starch operating off within the repeated rinses. But when one rinse left a lot starch behind, why didn’t extra rinses make extra of a distinction?

After investigating (and re-reading Tim Chin’s deep dive into the science of cooking white rice), I lastly related the dots to one thing an acquaintance had talked about about how toasting the rice grains improved the ultimate texture. Frying the dry rice grains in oil truly destroys a lot of the floor starch (to not point out the nice and cozy toasted-grain taste it provides). That’s why one rinse is a lot for this dish.

Use Simply Sufficient Oil for Wealthy, However Not Heavy, Rice

One other concern was the quantity of oil. How may I make a tasty, hearty arroz rojo with out it turning greasy? A certain quantity of oil is required to stop sticking and permit the flavors to bloom to their full potential as you fry up the onions and garlic and toast the rice. For this recipe, I discovered {that a} tablespoon of oil was enough to melt the onions and garlic earlier than transferring them to the blender to mix with the tomatoes. Including one other tablespoon of oil to what was left within the pan was sufficient to completely coat the rice to make sure it toasted evenly.

These two tablespoons of oil plus the fats content material of a wealthy, do-it-yourself hen inventory or high-quality store-bought inventory resulted in rice that was flavorful however not heavy.

Construct Wealthy, Savory Taste in Arroz Rojo

After a few dozen batches, I had the feel excellent however the taste wasn’t the place I had hoped. My first intuition was to extra deeply brown the rice, onions, and garlic earlier than including liquid to construct savory taste. The higher the impact of the Maillard reaction, the higher the consequence, proper?

Fallacious. After the rice handed golden and had began to brown, it started to crumble into little items. As an alternative of fluffy particular person grains, I ended up with a paste of cooked rice crumbs. I additionally discovered that the flavors of the onion and garlic mellowed and sweetened a lot after I cooked them for an prolonged time that the ensuing arroz rojo was insipid. I discovered success stepping into the wrong way. I lower off the rice-toasting course of when it simply turned golden and solely simply softened the onion and garlic. Within the ensuing dish, just a little sharpness from the alliums balanced the umami of the hen broth and the sweetness of the peas and carrots.

For cooking arroz rojo, a mix of blended contemporary tomato and hen inventory are normal. I typically favor the extra nuanced, balanced taste of do-it-yourself inventory and that’s what I favor to make use of on this recipe, however store-bought hen broth additionally works. Many cooks in Sinaloa, the place I dwell, put together the rice with water and a spoonful of bouillon powder. Bouillon is a standard and acquainted ingredient in Mexico and there’s something comforting concerning the bouillon taste that additionally works properly with this dish, in my view.

Cues for Completely Cooked Rice

The opposite key to attaining these fluffy, completely cooked rice grains is utilizing the correct quantity of water. Theoretically, a one-to-one ratio of rice to water is sufficient to prepare dinner rice, however in follow a few of that water at all times escapes the pan within the type of steam. This recipe features a ratio of 1 half rice to 1 and a half components water (or on this case, broth), plus no matter quantity of water is contained within the blended tomatoes and onions. With this amount of water, my rice cooked in about 12 minutes with out turning into pasty.

The exact cooking time can differ significantly based mostly on small variations just like the pot used, the match of the pot lid, and the precise warmth degree of the burner you employ at dwelling. Fortunately, there are different clues that may assist decide when the rice is completed. By peeking beneath the lid, you possibly can see if the broth is visibly boiling. If that’s the case, you continue to have at the very least a pair minutes earlier than the liquid is totally absorbed and it’s time to show off the warmth. The opposite main clue is the steam: When the rice is prepared, the quantity of steam coming off the pot decreases and the scent of cooked meals turns into extra concentrated. If it smells toasted or burnt, that’s a reasonably clear sign that it has gone too far (although it’s nonetheless edible when you don’t combine within the toasted components on the backside).

After cooking the rice, it’s essential to go away it lined for at the very least 10 minutes to complete cooking and absorbing the steam. Fluff the rice to combine it, after which serve it as a facet, garnished with cilantro if desired. The cooked chile may be discarded or thinly sliced and served on prime of the rice for extra warmth.

And there you may have it: In nearly 40 minutes, you may make arroz rojo that no person will merely push round their plate. It is a great facet for myriad dinners, and after cooking arroz rojo dozens of instances over a pair weeks, I can say that, reheated after which topped with a beneficiant portion of avocado and just a little scorching sauce, it additionally makes an incredible lunch.