LaGasse - White rice Recipe - Arroz Blanco - Puerto Rico

Ingredients:

2 cups of long grain white rice
2 1/2 cups of water
1 ounce of Canola oil (or corn oil)
1 teaspoon of salt - (optional)

Procedure:

1- Rinse the rice in a strainer or colander.

2 - On high flame, bring the water, the oil, and the salt to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pot (olla or caldero).

3 - Add the rice and stir once, then lower the flame to medium-high.

4 - Let simmer to allow all of the water to evaporate- the water bubbles should almost stop coming up through the rice.

5 - Lower the flame to low heat and cover the rice.

6 - After 20 minutes, you can uncover the lid, careful not to let the water from the lid drip back onto the rice.

7 - Take a teaspoon of rice and try it for doneness- it should be only slightly firm, but not hard. If it's still a little hard, cover, and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.

8 - If the rice is done at this time, you can carefully spoon the rice away from the sides of the pot towards the center. Use a large serving spoon for this. This helps to even out any cooking inconsistencies there might have been.

9 - The rice is now ready to serve!

¡Buen Provecho!

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TIPS:
Tips for rice:

Use 1 + 1/4 cup of water for each cup of rice.

Make sure that, before you cover it to 'simmer', their are almost no water bubbles coming up through the rice. This means that almost all the water has been absorbed or evaporated before you lower the heat and cover the rice.

Another important detail is the saucepan, or pot (olla or caldero) that you use to cook the rice: the bottom of it should be heavy (thick), so that the rice does not burn. If you find that you keep burning the rice, no matter how low heat you simmer on, then the pot that you're using is too thin!

If your rice comes out too soggy (mogollao), you can let it simmer on very low heat, uncovered until the rice dries up somewhat. (From 10 - 30 minutes). It still won't come out perfect, but it will dry up somewhat.
(Once the rice grain has absorbed too much water, the grain itself splits lengthwise, exposing the starch inside, which then makes the rice 'gummy').


To make Yellow Rice:

1. Use 1 ounce (2 TBSP) of *achiote oil per cup of rice instead of the canola or corn oil.
2. On low flame, simmer 2 TBSP finely chopped onion in the oil for 5 minutes before adding the water.
3. Add 1 chicken bouillion cube to the recipe for flavor.
4. Proceed with instructions for white rice.


*achiote oil: Achiote (annato) imparts a reddish-golden color and a subtle flavor to foods. It is similar to azafran (saffron). It is used in several Puerto Rican dishes, and it is usually made before hand, and stored in the refrigerator after it cools.

To make achiote oil:
On low flame, simmer 4 TBSP (1/4 cup) of achiote seeds (annato seeds) per 1 cup of vegetable oil for 5 minutes. Strain seeds from the oil and discard seeds.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• rice
• recipe
• puerto
• rico
• rican
• arroz
• achiote
• lagasse
• white