Side Dishes

Arroz Blanco

White Rice

* 1 cup of rice
1 lemon
1/4 onion finely chopped
1 garlic finely chopped
** 2 cups of chicken stock
a sprig of parsley
salt
oil

I prepare my rice almost always in a pan or in a saucepan, because it needs room to grow. There are some recipes that ask you to put the rice in warm water for 15 min. before you fry it. I don't do it, since I cook with little amount of oil, and when it is dry, there is no problem of having your rice stuck in the pan. So fry your rice uniformly until light golden, with medium low heat.

When the rice is ready, add the onion and garlic finely chopped and fry just few minutes, don't let the rice to get burnt, stir constantly, add 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock and reserve the rest if it is needed, add salt few drop of lemon and the parsley. Reduce to the minimum your heat and cover with the lid, this is very important, since the rice must be cooked slowly.

Check it in 15 min, add the rest of the stock if the rice needs more liquid to cook. Don't stir with spoon, do it with a fork, this way you don't break the rice. It will be ready when the rice is soft and dry.

Optional: At the time you add the stock you may add one carrot chopped and some green peas, or some corn. If you used canned vegetables, just put them at the end to get warm.

Notes:
* It is better if you don't use precooked rice.
** It is a well known rule that you must use the double amount of liquid from the amount of rice you use, so if you do it with cups you can measure your liquids better.
If you want to keep the leftover for next day, keep it in a hermetic recipient, so it won't lose its humidity, when you want to reheat it again, do it in the microwave or bain marie.