Spanish Rice or Mexican Rice, Various Methods
The mister and I LOVE Spanish rice. Like, on an equal level to our love of fried rice, yellow rice, and buttered white rice. And Uncle Ben's 90-second microwave packet of brown and wild rice (OMG, yum). Seeing Spanish rice or Mexican rice on a menu sets my heart a flutter. I love it. And so, I've done QUITE a bit of experimenting to try to achieve that perfect Spanish rice awesomeness. I have probably read at least 283 "Spanish rice" or "Mexican rice" recipes (sadly, that's a lower estimate), and I've gained a BUNCH of info on the basics that make up an awesome recipe. For me, it's come down to 3 basic recipes that are the absolute best, and are each used accordingly when time, patience, and general exhaustion allows.
**I should note here, though, lately I've taken to rinsing my rice before cooking. I've noticed that it produces a fluffier, less-sticky texture. I plan on trying out each of these Spanish rice recipes using my new rinse technique, as I'm sure it'll improve the recipe. And yes, I've done the whole "browning" or "toasting" the dry rice thing, and yes it's good, but ehhhh. I'm not sure. I guess I'll try it out along with my rinsing method, just to see what happens.
Method 1: Salsa Dump and Go
For this method, I rinsed my 1/2 cup of rice in a bowl about 5 times (I'm not fancy, I don't have a sieve). I tossed about two tablespoons of salsa into a one-cup measuring cup, then topped off the rest with water. Add it all to a saucepan, add a teaspoon of chicken bouillon, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to "low"-ish to simmer for about 19 minutes, Then, turn off the heat and set aside for 5 minutes or so. Fork mix it all up and done! Sometimes when I'm bored I might shake in a few extra seasonings during the pre-boil process, such as chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and/or cumin, but the salsa usually holds up to the flavor on it's own. Quick and easy, this is one of my favorite methods. As long as you like the way your salsa tastes, you'll love this rice.
Method 2: I Care, But Not SUPER Much...
This above picture was made by browning the rice first, but included extra ingredients. A can of tomatoes, diced onion, minced garlic, some jalapeno if you're feeling spicy. Throw your rice and the mentioned ingredients into about a tablespoon of olive oil, let everything brown up nicely, and THEN add your water, bring to a boil, and then simmer for the 19 minutes plus 5 minutes resting time.
Method 3: You Love Spanish Rice and Want It To Be Awesome
The above picture was taken before I started rinsing my rice, so I'm sure that it will be even more awesome and separate-y when I make this recipe again. For this one, I used my food processor to blend up the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and a bit of jalapeno before adding to the rice and water mixture. It was probably the absolute best, since the mister hates any kind of chunks, and will be less mushy looking once I've done my rinse & exact measurement method. Oh, yessss. Spanish rice for all!!