Spanish Rice

Aloha e komo mai oukou! Mahalo nui loa na ho’olaule’a me la kaua i ka Coach Kawamoto.

This is a pretty basic Spanish Rice and is cooked with oil prior to adding all of the goodies and steaming. This step makes the rice “unsociable”, as my dear friend Victoria at The Halau says.

Spanish Rice

1 cup rice
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt to taste
½ cup diced onion
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
1 teaspoon freshly ground coriander
½ teaspoon freshly ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
tiny pinch cayenne pepper
4 ounces tomato sauce
1 ½ cup water
1 cup diced tomatoes

Preheat saucepan to medium heat. Stir oil, rice and a teaspoon salt together. Cook, stirring frequently, until rice begins to brown.

Stir in to coat coriander, cumin, paprika, chili powder and cayenne. Cook, stirring constantly, around one minute or until fragrant.

Stir in onion, garlic and cilantro and cook until onions are barely translucent. Quickly stir in water, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.

When mixture simmers, taste the liquid. If it needs more salt, adjust to taste. Let mixture come to boil, stirring frequently. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, stir several more times, then place lid on top. Cook on low for around 15 minutes. Once done, stir rice, remove from heat and let rest, partially covered, stirring occasionally. Serve.