Mexican fried rice – gosh there are a myriad ways of making this favorite Mexican dish. Here are a couple of recipes for Mexican fried rice – one with spices and one without. Give each of them a try and you may find you like them both.  One afternoon I was sharing a menu with my friend Iya for a quiet Friday night dinner with a plan to make Mexican rice and Mexican mashed pinto beans . Iya, who loves to cook was curious about my rice recipe and asked me how I make my Mexican rice. Honestly, I just came up with this recipe years ago and have been making it like this forever – I use taco seasoning in my Mexican fried rice. When Iya heard that I use taco seasoning she was surprised, she had never heard of that before.  I shared my recipe and since we were sharing recipes Iya shared her version as well and I decided to give both the recipes a try.

My Recipe for Mexican Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 cup long grain white rice cooked according to package directions
• 1/2 bell pepper finely chopped
• 1 stalk of celery finely chopped
• 1 medium onion finely cut
• 2 garlic cloves finely minced
• 1 tomato chopped
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp taco seasoning
• Salt
• Fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions:

• Cook 1 cup long grain rice and set aside.
• In a large pot heat 2 tbsp oil. Sauté onions and garlic until translucent about 5 minutes.
• Add taco seasoning and stir into the onions.  Next add the celery, tomatoes and bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes until the peppers and celery are tender.
• Add the cooked rice and salt and mix into the vegetables.  Cook covered for an additional 2-3 minutes.
• Mexican fried rice is done.
• Serve with garnish of fresh cilantro.

Iya’s Recipe for Mexican Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 cup long grain white rice
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper cut into small pieces
• 2 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 cup crushed or stewed canned tomatoes with their juices
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 1/2 cups water
• Salt
• Cilantro for garnish

Directions:

• Heat oil in a pot and lightly fry the rice in oil until the color changes to bright white. This will take no more than 1-2 minutes.

• Add the garlic, onions and green bell pepper and fry the veggies along with the rice for an additional 3 minutes until the the aroma of the veggies come through.

• Please be careful in this step as the water can splatter when it hits the hot rice and oil.  Add 2 cups water, 1 cup crushed tomatoes in their juices, salt and stir together.   Bring the rice mixture to a boil. Lower the heat. Cover the pot and cook rice on low heat for 15 minutes.

• After 15 minutes, turn the stove off.  Let the rice rest covered for an additional 15 minutes.
• Next uncover the pot and gently fluff the rice.  Mexican fried rice is ready.

• Serve rice with garnish of fresh cilantro.