In Ecuador, Cilantro Rice is something that is eaten on a daily basis. My in-laws eat it with pretty much every meal, including lasagna! My daughter is just like her grandpa – cilantro rice at every meal. She always loved rice, and as kids do, she would say the truth when I made rice at home. “Your rice is not as good as Abue’s”. Well after a few times of hearing that my rice was not as good as grandma’s, I decided I needed to learn the “right” way to do it from my mother-in-law, and honestly, I would never go back! It is so good, you could almost say its addicting!
With just a bit more effort you will have some delicious rice! You heat some oil in a pan, add the rice, salt, and minced garlic-basically browning the rice while your water comes to a boil. This small step really does take your rice to the next level!
Once the water is boiling VERY CAREFULLY add the boiling water, and stir. Add the bunch of cilantro on the top and cover with the lid. Turn down the heat to simmer – on my stove it is a 2.
Allow to simmer about 25 minutes. Remove the lid, and with a fork take the boiled cilantro off the top (which gives your rice some AWESOME flavor) and throw that out. Fluff your rice with a fork and serve. A yummy alternative to regular steamed rice, and is a great side to any meal.
We love adding really any salad to this rice, one of our favorites is a tomato salad Tomato Salad – which is basically some pico de gallo with a kick! All that have Cilantro Rice tell me its now their new favorite, and they want to make it for their own families!
See that Happy!
- 2 Tbs canola oil
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 Tbs minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup white rice
- 1/4 small bunch cilantro washed
- Begin by getting a saucepan and mix the oil, rice, garlic, and salt, then turn on to medium. Grab another saucepan and fill with the water and turn on high to boil.
- While the water comes to a boil, stir the rice mixture with a spoon to avoid any burning. You will continue to stir and brown the rice a bit until the water is boiling about 2-3 minutes.
- Very carefully dump the water into the rice mixture. Because both of the pans are boiling it will jump up - be careful, maybe wear a oven mitt to protect yourself. Stir the rice a bit to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Get your bunch of cilantro and put it on top of the rice. Add the lid and turn down to low. Allow to simmer for about 25 minutes. Reomve from heat and allow to sit about 5 minutes. When the time is up, take off the lid and using a fork remove the cilantro and throw it in the garbage. Stir to fluff the rice a bit and serve. Enjoy!
Yum! Gotta go through all these recipes and start adding to my collection!
You are the sweetest Kay! This is a staple in our home – we eat rice almost daily! I’m actually in the process of updating this recipe, I made some changes from my mother-in-laws recipe that makes it so much easier!