There’s an art to making Mexican rice. It’s where technique and tradition meet superstition familial custom; long held recipes passed down from the sages of Mexican cooking: Las Abuelas. Maybe your Mom taught it to you; or a Tia showed you a secret to do it better. If you grew up like me, you wouldn’t be remiss to hear a rice ‘war story’ every now and again – that time when the world seemed to hinge on el arroz and someone didn’t put enough water or they didn’t fry the rice long enough. And the only one that could save it was your grandmother.  

Arroz a la Mexican or Mexican rice is easy to make but at times difficult to get right. It requires patience, a general know-how and timing. Many a cultures’ history is intertwined with rice; how it’s made and the particularities attached. For Italians it’s risotto; for the Japanese it’s sushi rice. For Mexicans, its Arroz a la Mexicana – sometimes referred to as Spanish Rice (or Mexican rice). 

In my family when we spoke of rice it was our default. Every other rice was qualified by it’s color. (White Rice, Yellow Rice, etc.). For us, rice was rice and it was always Arroz a la Mexicana.  

Let’s get this out of the way now: No method for making rice is full-proof (and this can be said for any recipe, really) because of heating variables. No two gas (or electric) stoves will produce the same results because so much hinges on just how much heat. The important thing to remember is to watch the liquid level of the rice. Keep your rice covered as much as possible but don’t be afraid to lift the lid to have a peek. Or use a glass lid – that’s what I do. Just take a spoon and pull from the side to see where you stand liquid-wise and you’ll be fine.  Just don’t stir.

I use achiote* powder in both my broth and my ‘tomato mixture’ to give my rice that familiar red hue; it imparts only a nominal flavor (in small quantities) and it’s optional but I always use it. Sometimes it can be hard to find and that’s understandable.

Note: Some cooks swear by a can of tomato sauce or chile de pato as their tomato component of the dish but I always (at least in this instance) go for fresh tomatoes because it gives it a fresh pop and I try to use fresh as much as possible.

Before we get started: