I’m using tastesbetterfromscratch.com : the recipe for Spanish rice. I’ve made it 2 weeks in a row now, and it always comes out clumped and mushy rather than dry and fluffy. That’s 2 parts water to I part long grain rice toasted in lard.
I’ve tried increasing the heat and cooking it longer, but it still comes out mushy. What am I doing wrong?
by exploremacarons
33 Comments
Less water/ broth
Less water. Try 1:1.25 or 1:1.5, not 1:2
U can’t fix mushy rice. U can toss it tho.
Mmmaaaayyybbbbeeeee if u like crunchy rice and if it would work, u cld fry it…..
Try getting the broth at nice boil/simmer(quickly) then turning the heat all the way to low. You have the right measurements of rice to water. The only other thing it could be is the rice you are using. Me and my abuelita recommend jasmine 😮💨
Adjust the water depending on how much tomato sauce you use.
Less water
At this point, I would consider that dog food. Don’t toss it away.
I find virtually every recipe involving rice, including the instructions on rice packaging, use too much water. Perhaps I just like my rice a bit firmer, but you’ll just have to play with the ratio a bit until it comes out the way you like.
If you’re just cooking it in a pot with no active steps, I totally recommend a rice cooker. It’s just fire and forget, perfect rice every time. Best decision I ever made.
I don’t do 2/1 more like 1.75/1
Wash and rinse your rice thoroughly before cooking. Then for every cup of rice, use 2 cups of water to cook. Never fails.
Remember that once you add in the broth or sauce or whatever you’ll use to flavor your rice, that will cook it further too.
Needs more time on the fire while stirring constantly to avoid sticking, you could use less water but if it’s red rice I’m assuming you’re only using the sauce so just stir it now and then, I’d say it’s about 10 minutes short over the heat, the sauce needs to reduce to something thicker than broth but thinner than say bbq sauce
You need to rinse the rice until water comes out clear unlike what the other person is telling you. Your rice needs to be rather dry before you fry it. You need to fry it until it turns a little transparent. Do the 2:1 ratio but make sure your liquid is hot. Lower the heat when it starts boiling. Don’t touch it while it’s cooking.
Toast your rice in olive oil before you cook it.
That is a stupid amount of water. You need like a pinky finger diameter above the rice at the most, and even that is too much. I’m Japanese, so you made your problem my problem.
Learn to cook plain rice, and you will do better.
I’d use a 1:1.25 ratio, as the tomato sauce also has water in it.
I use jasmine, 1:1.5. But if I’m making Spanish rice and adding in grilled/pureed tomatoes, I add a little less than 1.5c to compensate for the extra water in tomatoes.
Toast it until it’s golden brown before you add the broth
Less water. Try decreasing by half a cup.
Your water to rice ratio is good for the most part, but you need to know your pan and stove. I always have to add another half cup because my burners on low are still too hot. Also I “fry” my rice eith olive oil, unwashed until golden in color. Also I recommend not adding tomato paste or tomato sauce because it makes it mushy in my opinion. I only use Knorr tomate powder. Last tip. When you are done cooking the rice, remove from heat and uncover. Otherwise it’ll continue to steam and could make it mushy. Last last tips: Don’t use pans with a lid that has a steam hole. Never add water to the rice once its cooking because that will for sure make it mushy, but if all the water is dissipated, leave it covered so the steam continues to cook it, then uncover once it’s all done. I have a whole recipe if you want.
Source: am Mexican and even my Mexican mom from Michoacán says my rice is the best she’s ever had.
A few thoughts. First, are you toasting the rice enough? Second, the water to rice ratio is correct at 2 to 1, but if you rinse the rice, you have more water in the mix. Third, when you’re done toasting the rice you add the tomato base and then cook the base until it changes color, so most of the moisture should be evaporated. Next, 23 minutes is quite a bit longer than necessary. Anywhere from 18 to 20 minutes is sufficient. Finally, now that I have my water, tomato base, and toasting down, I put the lid on my pan and close it completely, though many people will tilt the lid to allow more moisture to escape, so you may want to do that until you get it down. I’ve even seen plenty of grammas cover the pan with tinfoil and make a small toothpick sized hole in the center to allow that steam to escape. Chefy types will tell you this is wrong, but Mexican, not Spanish, rice is a little different than most other rice dishes because of the dry, flavorful consistency to it. I have a post in my history for a step by step on rice making, give that a shot. Good luck!
Cook it a couple of minutes longer, leave it with the lid on for five to ten minutes after that and before serving use a fork to fluff it a little.
Water measure is always twice the rice.
You are cooking 1cup of rice then put 2 cups of water. That’s the rule
Rice to liquid ratios aren’t universal and they don’t scale. That’s because it depends on the size of the pot (a wider pot evaporates water more quickly), the size of the batch (larger batches will evaporate proportionally less water) and how tightly the lid fits.
The finger test for rice always works for me. Cover the rice with liquid and keep adding so it’s one knuckle’s length (about 2cm) above the rice. (liquid includes both broth and tomato sauce)
1: wash rice.
2: put in a pot, put in water. Stick ya thumb in it. Water level should be up to the top of your nail.
3: add a pinch of salt and a splash of veg oil.
4: bring to a boil, once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cover.
5: let it simmer away for a couple minutes, turn off the heat. Fluff it up with a fork. Put the lid back on. Let it rest for a bit.
6: enjoy ✌️.
Less liquid. Low heat cover and don’t open till the end. No peaking.
What are you using to make it red? Sometimes tomato sauce adds some extra water that makes it mushy.
This is how I do it:
Try washing the rice until the water comes out clear, and you can start cooking it wet without lard or oil (to avoid splashing hot oil) on medium heat with your spices until it changes color to an opaque white. It’s up to you if you cook it, toast it or fry it, just keep in mind the water and hot oil shock that may happen. When it’s ready, add your tomato sauce if you use it and already boiling water, and maybe a dash of lemon or vinegar, then close the lid, (preferably a glass one so you can see what’s going on) and leave it on medium to low 7-8 minutes, after that I remove the lid and move the pan a bit to check if there’s any leftover water at the bottom, and if that’s the case I just wait until it evaporates. You’ll know when it’s ready when the rice stops sliping and sticks to the pan. Then I turn off the flame and cover the rice again and let it rest with the remaining heat.
well once you have it, get some garlic and roasted sesame seed oil and make some fried rice.
I’d try browning the rice in traditional Mexican cardamom oil. That might help. Lard isn’t really used for that in Mexico.
Or use canola or corn oil if you can’t find cardamom.
There’s a Mexican saying that applies here:
*Hay que saber medirle el agua a los camotes*.
“To steam sweet potatoes, you gotta know how much water you need”.
Experiment with less amounts of water until you reach the sweet spot.
Less water/broth, I use 1 3/4 to 2 ratio. Liquid to rice. Also washing the rice well helps.
Put it in iPhones
I just looked up the recipe, It calls for 1.5 cups of rice …. 1/4 tomato sauce…. 3 cups water. The tomato sauce is a liquid, so that’s a 1/4 c too much right there. I would start by reducing the amount of water by 1/4 cup and trying it again, if its still mushy subtract another 1/4 cup.
Why do people call this Spanish rice ? It’s Mexican rice. I’ve only heard Mexicans in Texas call it Spanish rice