Mexican Restaurant Style Rice

Ever wish that you could replicate the delicious rice you’re served at Mexican restaurants? This Mexican restaurant style rice can be the star of your taco night! 

Earlier this week, I posted a recipe for Shrimp and Avocado Ceviche, inspired by my favorite place on earth, Isla Mujeres. This recipe is also inspired by first visit to the island, in 2011. We were wandering the streets, and I saw a local family eating their lunch. Many of the homes on Isla are open air, and they had their front window (a garage door) pulled wide open to let in the breeze. 

As we walked by, I peeked in and saw the family sharing their lunch. A few kiddos and mama were sharing a rotisserie chicken, rice, and tortillas. They were tearing off pieces of the juicy chicken, and scooping up rice and then chicken with tortillas. 

I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, we really over-complicate meals back home.” Their meal was so simple, but looked so good. In Isla, small roticerias dot the streets. You can pick up a delicious roasted chicken from these little food stands very inexpensively. Pair with rice, beans and tortillas and you have a simple, tasty meal. We also frequent the few barbecue stands that serve ribs, barbecued pork and carnitas and eat them much the same way as the chicken.

This rice can be the star of your meal. In this picture below, I rubbed some red snapper with chili paste and lime juice then broiled it, heated up tortillas, heated up canned black beans (with squeezed lime juice and cilantro), and made the rice. The rice was the most labor intensive part of the meal. We made little roll ups with the fish, rice and tortillas, and all three of us were very happy. Excuse the pots and kitchen towels I used as potholders, we are obviously very fancy people around here! 

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Mexican Restaurant Style Yellow Rice

Yield: Serves 3-4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1.5 cups white rice (long grain)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and rice. Sauté, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes until the onions are softened and the rice is starting to toast.
2. Add garlic for 30 seconds. Be careful that the garlic doesn't burn.
3. Add chicken broth to the skillet. Bring to a gentle boil, cover and simmer on low-medium heat for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is starting to get fluffy.
4. Add tomatoes and cayenne pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring until tomatoes are heated through, about three minutes. Taste and salt if needed, sometimes the chicken broth adds enough salt.
5. Remove from heat and fluff the rice. Serve warm.

Notes

For more nutrition, add 1 cup corn or frozen mixed vegetables. Add the veggies at the same time as the fresh tomatoes.

Nutrition Information

Yield 3 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 262Total Fat 15gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 5mgSodium 928mgCarbohydrates 29gFiber 1gSugar 4gProtein 5g

The nutrition for this recipe is calculated by an app and may be incorrect.

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