This week’s post is dedicated to this favorite Peruvian side. As my fellow countrymen and countrywomen know, white rice is the companion par excellence for Peruvian dishes such as Sauteed beef, Seco Stew and more. In fact, several of the recipes I’ve shared this year recommend serving “with rice”. It’s something like the fish is to the water as the Peruvian is to the rice. So, if you don’t know how to make rice, this is for you. Español aquí.

The history of rice in Peru begins in China, about nine thousand years ago. From there it traveled to Spain with the Arab migration, from where it was introduced to the new continent. Although the type of rice which is common in Peru is short grain, there are other varieties of long and medium rice. I emphasize this because during a visit to Texas I spent 15 minutes looking for rice. In the end, I learned about basmati rice, which is a long grain rice that can be prepared with Peruvian seasoning.



I recommend not helping yourself different types of carbohydrates in on plate as is customary here when served generously. Its best to choose one. Personally, I replace rice with fibrous carbohydrates like cooked vegetables such as broccoli. Or, when I do have it I like to measure half a cup to know how much I’m eating.

For the recipe we will make the rice on stovetop and with a rice cooker. I used a cup of rice with 1 ½ cup of water. If you make more rice, always use the same amount of water as rice + ½ cup of water. For example, for 3 cups rice, 3 ½ cup water. Some people rinse the rice with water before cooking. It’s a preference associated with washing off starch and other elements.

1. Stovetop

Ingredients
1 cup of rice
1 ½ cup of water
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil to taste

Preparation
Heat a greased pot. Brown the garlic and salt.


Pour in the water. Throw in the rice.


Cook over low heat for 12 to 15 minutes. Watch over so that the rice doesn’t burn.


2. Rice pot

Ingredients
1 cup of rice
1 ½ cup of water
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil to taste

Preparation
Grease the pot. Introduce the garlic and salt.


Add the rice. Incorporate water. I realized that I added water and rice in different order between the stovetop and rice pot preparations, but don’t worry about the order because it doesn’t matter.


Cover the pot and select the cook option. The rice will be ready when it changes from the cook option automatically. In my case it took about 20 minutes.


Thank you for reading. I hope you liked this post!