Arroz Blanco

This is how Mexican rice is actually supposed to be cooked. Not boiled, not steamed from raw — soaked first to remove surface starch, then fried dry in hot oil until pale gold, which gives the finished rice a nutty depth and keeps every grain separate rather than sticky and clumped.

The technique is specific and worth following closely. Hot water soak for 10 minutes, drain and rinse cold, then the rice goes into hot oil and gets stirred almost constantly for about 8 minutes until it turns a pale, even gold with the onion and garlic. Then in goes the chicken broth, all at once.

From there: cook uncovered on fairly high heat until the broth absorbs and air holes appear on the surface. That’s your cue. Then the towel goes on — a kitchen towel draped between the rice and the lid to catch the steam rather than letting it drip back down. Low heat for 5 more minutes, then off the heat for 15 minutes of resting.

That rest is where the magic happens. The rice finishes cooking in its own steam and the grains swell to their fullest.

Pro Tips

• The initial hot water soak removes surface starch; don’t skip it or the rice will cook sticky
• Fry the rice until it smells nutty and toasty, not just warm — that’s the flavor base for the whole dish
• The cloth-under-lid trick is the real key to dry, fluffy rice: the cloth absorbs condensation before it drips back on the rice
• Taste a grain from the bottom before declaring it done — top and bottom can cook at different rates

Variations

• Add a handful of frozen peas or corn in with the broth for color and sweetness
• Use vegetable broth to make this vegetarian