Authentic Fluffy Mexican Red Rice (Arroz Rojo)
Mise en Place / Ingredients[10]
- 2 cups Long-grain white rice (Mahatma Extra Long Grain)
- 3 whole Ripe Roma tomatoes, chopped
- 0.25 whole White onion
- 2 cloves Garlic cloves
- 0.5 cup Warm water (for rinsing rice and blending tomato recaudo)
- 3 cups Hot chicken broth
- 1 cup Diced carrots and sweet green peas
- 4 tbsp Neutral vegetable oil
- 1 whole Whole green serrano chile
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
🛒 US Supermarket Brand Guide
High amylose grains maintain shape when fried. • 📍 Rice aisle.
Cooking Sequence & Checkpoints
Rinse rice in warm water until clear and drain thoroughly in a fine sieve. Blend chopped Roma tomatoes, white onion, garlic cloves, 0.5 cup water, and kosher salt until completely smooth.
✓ Checkpoint: Dry separated grains and smooth red recaudo.
Fry the drained rice in hot vegetable oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly until straw-golden and rattling like sand.
✓ Checkpoint: Amber-tinted grains that rattle like sand.
Pour the blended tomato puree over the toasted rice and fry for 3 minutes until thick and brick-red, then fold in the 1 cup of diced carrots and sweet green peas.
✓ Checkpoint: Deep red cooked tomato coating grains and vegetables.
Pour in the 3 cups hot chicken broth and float the whole serrano chile on top. Cover tightly over low heat for 14 minutes until liquid is absorbed, then rest covered off heat for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
✓ Checkpoint: Individual fluffy orange-red grains.
🔬 Why It Works:
Toasting to Straw-Blonde: Frying uncooked rice until it rattles like sand gelatinizes outer starches, preventing clumping.
⚠️ Troubleshooting:
Rice turned mushy: Never stir rice once liquid boils; let it rest covered off heat to fluff naturally.