Rice, Rice Baby

Rice (Mexican rice, Spanish rice-whatever) used to be my kryptonite. It was constantly coming out either overcooked or undercooked. I eventually got it but not after major trial and error. Burnt rice is one of the worst smells ever and the way it just permeates everything is nothing, absolutely nothing, short of amazing.

For my rice, I use the long grain version and fry it in olive oil.

Once the rice becomes this more opaque color, I add some freshly minced garlic combined with a couple of pinches of ground cumin. I have a molcajete, given to me by my mom, but I prefer to run the garlic in a microplane. If not, I would really have to give it to the garlic and the cumin seeds otherwise I'd run the risk of biting into some chunks and that flavor stays with you for a long while. In other words, no bueno.

I add a little water to the garlic/cumin mix and throw into my fried rice. In addition, a little tomato sauce, or paste, should be added here to add a little flavor and color.

Nicely fried.

I add some water, some Knorr chicken bouillon, in case the stock is not available, cover and boil. Right before the rice is cooked through though, I take it off the burner and leave it covered.

Voila!

So, I went to Target a while ago, and while I managed to buy some of the items on my list, I failed to summon the energy to return to a part of the store I passed up for the peppermill. No bumping and grinding tonight. I also failed to go back for a DVD player cleaner which means that my Batman DVD player (yes, I own one) sits idle and tempermental. If that doesn't work, off to eBay. Wish me luck.