Easy and Authentic Mexican Rice

Everyone always raves about my mother-in-law's Mexican rice. Everyone also always wants her recipe for it. The thing is, she doesn't use a recipe. I decided I would pick up what I can from her (mostly by asking my husband a ton of questions about what she does) and create a recipe for Mexican rice. Mexican rice could be made differently of course, but this is really what my mother-in-law uses and does. I also like it because it is simple and easy. I present to you an easy and authentic way to make Mexican rice!  

Easy and Authentic Mexican Rice

Ingredients

• About 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cups long grain white rice
• About 2 tsp. minced garlic (or 4 cloves, minced)
• 2 caldo de tomate bouillon cubes
• Salt to taste 
• Optional: 1 tsp onion powder 
• 5 cups of water*

Instructions

1. Rinse rice with water until water runs clear
2. Heat oil in skillet, add rice. 
3. Cook and stir occasionally until rice starts to brown. 
4. Add minced garlic to rice and sautee for about 30 seconds until fragrant. 
5. Add caldo de tomate, salt, onion powder (if using) and water to skillet. Stir. 
6. Cover skillet and bring to boil. Then cook (covered) for about 20 minutes, or until water is evaporated and rice is tender. Stir occasionally to disperse the caldo de tomate. 
7. Serve and enjoy! 

*If all the water evaporates before the rice is cooked through, add more water in order to cook the rice longer.

Additional Tips  
You could add to this recipe by adding small pieces of onion, tomato, and/or jalapeno. You could use some broth instead of all water. You could also use more caldo de tomate cubes if you want to strengthen the flavor. 

For a treat, put chicken and queso blanco on top of a bed of this rice for what some call "chicken on the beach"!

For another treat, make "chicken on the beach" fajita style!