Eating on the road is a difficult thing to get right, especially if you want to be careful with what you eat. It is too easy to live off filling station snacks and roadside burgers. Convenient? Yes. But certainly not cheap and not a healthy way to live.
Depending on your level of touring, your food preparation facilities may vary. Still, even with a bigger budget behind you, it is likely that any on-the-road snack needs to be easily prepared with a limited kitchen setup.
The answer lies in quick, easy, affordable, and healthy options such as minuterice.com/recipes/mexican-rice/ which bridge the gap perfectly between ready meals and homemade. These flavored rice packs quickly become rich, nutritious, and flavorsome; they need only a pan to boil them and a few additional common ingredients. Of course, you can add all manner of other flavors and components if you have them, but as an essential meal, they are perfect for when preparation space is limited, and people are hungry.
Whether you want something spicy and Mexican, an oriental buzz with Jasmine Rice, Thai Pad Kra Pao, or anything in between, Minute Rice is the perfect addition to the catering bag when living on the road. Just because you are stuck in a van with limited facilities for making meals doesn’t mean you can’t eat well.
Everything You Need To Know About Mexican Rice & Its Preparation
Also known as red rice in Tex-Mex cuisine, Mexican rice is treated as a side dish. This scrumptious rice dish is prepared from white rice, onion, tomato, garlic, and other ingredients. It’s widely served with rotisserie chicken, fried fish, chiles rellenos, vegetable soup, fried chicken, and mole. Mexican rice is popular in Northern and Central Mexico and is one of the most prepared dishes.
However, many people still aren’t aware of the rather fascinating history of Mexican rice and the right way of preparing the rice. So, are you ready to find out some interesting details?
History Of Mexican Rice
Rice isn’t a native grain in Mexico and was first brought to the region in the 1500s when Spain started the invasion. In addition, they imported chickens, cattle, goats, and pigs. As they started to travel around the world, they also went to Asia, from where they brought rice and wheat to Mexico. Since Spanish people brought rice to Mexico, they are still known as Spanish rice.
Preparation Of Mexican Rice
The authentic Mexican rice recipe is hard to come by, but we have got you covered. So, if you are ready to lick your fingers, we are sharing how to make Mexican rice. The ingredients to cook Mexican rice include;
- Oil
- Long-grain white rice
- Water
- Tomato sauce
- Caldo de tomate – it’s a tomato bouillon that’s available in Mexican stores
- Garlic
- Chili powder
Once you’ve these ingredients, it’s time for some real action, so follow the below-mentioned cooking instructions;
- First of all, you’ve to brown the rice by cooking it with oil at high heat. As the rice starts to become bright white and golden, you have to add all other ingredients, including tomato sauce, caldo de tomate, chili powder, water, and garlic
- Once everything is mixed, wait for them to boil. When the rice starts boiling, cover the pan and reduce the heat. It’s recommended that you use a clear lid to keep an eye on the lid, but it usually takes 20 minutes. In fact, you can also cook until the water is fully absorbed
- When the water is absorbed, cover the rice for a few minutes and fluff them up in a pan with a wooden spoon and serve
Additional Tips
Preparing Mexican rice for the first time can be a gamble for many people because either the rice turns too brown or the taste doesn’t seem authentic. So, to prevent these issues, follow the below-mentioned tips;
- Always use a nonstick pan to brown and cook the rice. In addition, it’s better to look for a pan with higher sides to prevent spilling
- Do not lift the lid too much because rice depends on steam to fluff up
- It’s better to start with four ounces of tomato sauce to make sure the rice doesn’t come out too saucy
- Once the rice is prepared, add some chopped Roma tomato for more freshness and color
So, are you ready to cook something Mexican?