Rice is the most commonly eaten cereal crop in the world, being the mainstay of the diet in much of east and southeast Asia, the Caribbean and central and South America. Of course, rice is eaten in literally every part of the world, including North America. Rice is grown in the United States and more apropos to this article, Mexico. After corn, rice is the most important grain in Mexican cuisine and there are too many different Mexican rice recipes to list in the space we have here.
Even though it may seem like rice has always been there, it is one of the more recent ingredients used in Mexican cuisine, having arrived in the new world with Spanish and Portuguese colonists, along with beef, cheese and old world spices like cumin - all of which are now part and parcel of the country's culinary heritage. Many of Mexico's traditional rice recipes date back to shortly after the first rice crops were grown in the country.
Authentic Mexican Rice Recipes
Arroz con pollo is both a classic Mexican rice dish and a classic Mexican chicken dish. From the Spanish for "rice with chicken," this is the Mexican take on this timeless comfort food and it is an incredibly satisfying one. This is one Mexican rice recipe you may want to try making at home - it is a great change of pace from the familiar American version with canned soup.
In Mexico, this chicken recipe incorporates some new world ingredients into this Spanish recipe such as tomatoes. Mexican cooks tend to prepare this dish with Mexican oregano rather than the Greek oregano, which would be used by cooks in Spain. The addition of this similar tasting but slightly more assertively flavored herb puts a Mexican spin on the dish, making arroz con pollo translate perfectly into a wonderful Mexican rice dish.
Spanish Cuisine In The New World
Once rice was introduced to the Americas, cooks began adapting Spanish recipes to the ingredients, which were locally available. Before long, many of these dishes became traditional Mexican rice recipes. For instance, paella. We usually think of this dish as being the epitome of Spanish cooking, but it is a certainty that in Mexico, cooks were making rice and seafood meals which predated its arrival in Valencia.
Not only is the tomato often featured in Spanish paella from the Americas, but also bell peppers, another new world crop are also often used. Here you have an example of the cuisines of Spain and Mexico having a sort of conversation with each other across the Atlantic Ocean, with European cooks finding the new vegetables and fruits from the Americas valuable additions to their own recipes and the people of Mexico making the ingredients and recipes of Europe their own.
Lightly seasoned Mexican rice is another of the better-known Mexican rice recipes. This rice is served as a complement to a wide variety of Mexican dishes, particularly beans. This is a dish, which is quite similar to Spanish rice; and just as with paella, this rice actually contains some new world ingredients.
An essential staple of the Mexican pantry and of the country's cuisine, rice has assumed the same status in Mexico as it holds in much of the outside world. Rice is just one example of an ingredient, which came over to Mexico from the old world and was made into a part of something new and different. Mexican rice recipes may not have as long of a history in the Mexican culinary tradition as say, salsa, but it is clearly an addition to Mexican food for which the country's cuisine is richer.
Even though it may seem like rice has always been there, it is one of the more recent ingredients used in Mexican cuisine, having arrived in the new world with Spanish and Portuguese colonists, along with beef, cheese and old world spices like cumin - all of which are now part and parcel of the country's culinary heritage. Many of Mexico's traditional rice recipes date back to shortly after the first rice crops were grown in the country.
Authentic Mexican Rice Recipes
Arroz con pollo is both a classic Mexican rice dish and a classic Mexican chicken dish. From the Spanish for "rice with chicken," this is the Mexican take on this timeless comfort food and it is an incredibly satisfying one. This is one Mexican rice recipe you may want to try making at home - it is a great change of pace from the familiar American version with canned soup.
In Mexico, this chicken recipe incorporates some new world ingredients into this Spanish recipe such as tomatoes. Mexican cooks tend to prepare this dish with Mexican oregano rather than the Greek oregano, which would be used by cooks in Spain. The addition of this similar tasting but slightly more assertively flavored herb puts a Mexican spin on the dish, making arroz con pollo translate perfectly into a wonderful Mexican rice dish.
Spanish Cuisine In The New World
Once rice was introduced to the Americas, cooks began adapting Spanish recipes to the ingredients, which were locally available. Before long, many of these dishes became traditional Mexican rice recipes. For instance, paella. We usually think of this dish as being the epitome of Spanish cooking, but it is a certainty that in Mexico, cooks were making rice and seafood meals which predated its arrival in Valencia.
Not only is the tomato often featured in Spanish paella from the Americas, but also bell peppers, another new world crop are also often used. Here you have an example of the cuisines of Spain and Mexico having a sort of conversation with each other across the Atlantic Ocean, with European cooks finding the new vegetables and fruits from the Americas valuable additions to their own recipes and the people of Mexico making the ingredients and recipes of Europe their own.
Lightly seasoned Mexican rice is another of the better-known Mexican rice recipes. This rice is served as a complement to a wide variety of Mexican dishes, particularly beans. This is a dish, which is quite similar to Spanish rice; and just as with paella, this rice actually contains some new world ingredients.
An essential staple of the Mexican pantry and of the country's cuisine, rice has assumed the same status in Mexico as it holds in much of the outside world. Rice is just one example of an ingredient, which came over to Mexico from the old world and was made into a part of something new and different. Mexican rice recipes may not have as long of a history in the Mexican culinary tradition as say, salsa, but it is clearly an addition to Mexican food for which the country's cuisine is richer.
About the Author:
Many people are under the false impression that all Mexican food is spicy but that couldn't be further from the truth. Mexican flavors range from mild to hot, as with many other cuisines. Whether you want to make a Mexican chicken recipe, soup or even tacos, you control how much chili goes into it.
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