Description
Fluffy and savory with a hint of tomato richness, this rice cooks up with beautifully separate grains. Rinsing, toasting until pale gold, and sticking to a 1½-to-1 liquid ratio ensure that ideal texture.
Ingredients
🍚 Rice
- 1½ cups / 285 g long-grain white rice
- 2 tbsp / 30 ml neutral oil
🍅 Tomato Base
- 2 medium Roma tomatoes
- ¼ medium white onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp / 16 g tomato paste
- 2 cups / 480 ml low-sodium chicken broth, plus up to ¼ cup / 60 ml water if needed
- 1 tsp / 6 g kosher salt
🌿 Finish
- 2 tbsp / 8 g chopped cilantro
- 1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)
Instructions
Blend the tomato base
- Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh strainer under cold water, moving it around with your fingers, until the water runs mostly clear. Shake it very well so the rice is damp but not dripping.
- In a blender, combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, tomato paste, and chicken broth. Blend until completely smooth. You want 2¼ cups / 540 ml total liquid; add a splash of water if needed to reach that amount.
Toast and simmer
- Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the rinsed rice and cook, stirring often, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the grains look opaque and pale gold, with a few just starting to deepen in color.
- Carefully pour in the tomato mixture and add the salt. Stir once, scraping up any grains from the bottom, and bring it to a steady boil over medium-high heat.
- As soon as it boils, lower the heat to very low and cover tightly. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed, small steam holes appear across the surface, and the rice smells savory rather than raw.
Rest and finish
- Turn off the heat and leave the pot covered for 10 minutes. This helps the rice finish steaming and keeps the grains from turning mushy when you fluff them.
- Uncover and fluff gently with a fork. Fold in the cilantro, then serve with lime wedges if you like. Success looks like separate, tender grains with no pool of liquid at the bottom and a warm red color that coats the rice evenly.
Notes
- Shake the rinsed rice very well before it hits the oil, because excess water slows the toasting and can start the pot off gummy.
- Toasting is not just for flavor here; it helps the grains stay separate once the tomato liquid goes in.
- Once the pot is covered, leave it alone, because lifting the lid lets out the steam the rice needs to finish evenly.
- If your tomatoes are especially juicy, measure the blended mixture and keep the total liquid right where the recipe wants it.
- A fork is better than a spoon for fluffing, because it separates the grains without pressing them into a soft mass.
- Let the rice rest even if it already looks done, because that quiet steaming time is what evens out the texture.
- Fresh lime at the table makes the tomato flavor taste brighter without changing the cozy character of the rice.
- This rice reheats best with a splash of water and a cover, which brings back some softness without making it soggy.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Cuisine: Mexican