Cilantro Lime Rice

I cook cilantro lime rice primarily as a side for Mexican and Spanish dishes. It compliments the food. Plain rice can be somewhat boring, so I add a little citrus to it, makes it so much better.

Cilantro

Cilantro is actually the leaves of the coriander plant, also known as Chinese parsley. It grows all over the world and has been cultivated for thousands of years. The seeds are ground and used as a spice, coriander can be found in a lot of dishes. The leaves have a light citrusy taste, and pair well with a lot of different types of foods as a garnish or as an ingredient. Adding the lime zest and juice gives the rice a bit of a bite. This acidity can offset some of the heaviness of a dish. It works well as a bed for my stuffed poblanos

Jasmine rice

For this recipe, I’ll use white Jasmine Rice, it’s my go-to rice because it cooks quickly, and has a sticky rice quality. Jasmine rice is primarily grown in Thailand and Cambodia. It gets it name from the scent produced when first processed. That scent will last a few months before dissipating, it’s barely noticeable in store bought rice. Some smaller markets may have fresher rice, that has more of its signature aroma.

The instructions

Cooking rice is one of those two ingredient dishes that can prove challenging sometimes. The secret is to leave it alone, and only use the correct amount of liquid. Rice will absorb as much liquid as you add, but that won’t give you the texture that you want. Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil. While that’s heating up, rinse one cup of rice ( I always rinse my ingredients, please read this post about safe food prep) when the water boils, put the rice into the water, stir, bring back to a boil, lower to simmer, cover and set the timer for 15 mins. Now let the rice do its thing, that’s it, don’t lift the lid. The lid keeps the steam in, that’s a major part of the cooking process.

While the rice is cooking, grab some fresh Cilantro and finely chop it. You’ll need about a tablespoon. Also, grab a lime, we’ll use some zest and some juice. When the 15 minute timer goes off, remove the rice from the heat. Add the cilantro, grate the zest from about half the lime, and squeeze the juice from half the lime into the rice. Fluff and mix well with a fork, put the lid back on and wait 5 mins. Now you are ready to serve, that will give you perfect rice every time. Also the flavors from the Cilantro and lime will have had a chance to seep into the rice, giving it a light citrus flavor to compliment the main dish. Thank you and enjoy