Mexican Fried Rice Two Ways

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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • Serve rice with garnish of fresh cilantro.

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11 thoughts on “Mexican Fried Rice Two Ways”

  1. Hi Kalpana, your Mexican fried recipe looks so good and quite easy to make it. I have made it before but without the celery. Will use the celery next time. Thanks for posting yet another great recipe.

  2. Hi Kalpana, this looks great. I notice you used long grain white rice. Is it okay to use basmati rice? Thanks.

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