Demystifying Mexican Rice

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I did! My husband smoked our turkey this year and it turned out moist and flavorful, and it made the most delicious The Great-After Thanksgiving Turkey Enchiladas! Yum! The traditional accompaniment to enchiladas is rice, not any rice, Mexican rice. Traditionally, tomato based dishes are served with "Red Rice (Arroz Rojo)," and non-tomato based dishes, like Enchiladas Suizas, are served with "White Rice (Arroz Blanco)." Mexican rice should not be confused with the pre-packaged rice mixes labeled "Spanish Rice," loaded with dehydrated bits of bell pepper and tastes nothing like authentic Mexican rice.

Although I am not of Mexican heritage, I did spend a lot of my youth lingering in many Latina kitchens. The version of Red Rice I always saw was rice simmered in a tomato broth, enhanced with chiles and parsley or cilantro, and flecked with cheerful diced carrots and peas. The secret that all good Latina cooks know is to wash the rice in a colander under cool water until the water runs clear. In addition, some Latina cooks soak the rice in warm water for 5 minutes or so, then run the rice under cool water. I don't know why, but I just rinse the rice for Red Rice and soak and rinse for White Rice. Either way, Mexican rice is easy, seductively delicious, and perfect along any Mexican faire.

Mexican Red Rice (Arroz Rojo)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1, 15 ounce can whole tomatoes, drained

3 tablespoons chopped white onion (it must be white, not yellow!)

2 small garlic cloves

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup medium or long-grain white rice, rinsed in a colander until the water runs clear and drained (I like La Preferida or Texmati brands.)

2 cups chicken broth or water

1/3 cup frozen peas

1/3 cup peeled and diced carrots (diced to approximately the same size as the peas)

3 serrano chiles, slit down one side

6 fresh cilantro sprigs, tied together (or parsley, if you don't like cilantro - gasp!)

Kosher salt
Lime wedges, for serving

Directions:

Put the tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a blender and process until smooth. Set aside. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmery. Add the rice and stir regularly until it just starts to change color and looks milky-white, about 5 minutes. Try not to allow the rice to brown. Add the tomato mixture and stir gently to blend. Add the chicken broth or water, peas, carrots, chiles, cilantro or parsley, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Taste the broth and add more salt if needed, then cover and cook for about 10 minutes.

Uncover and stir carefully so that all of the broth is mixed in (most will have been absorbed). Re-cover and cook until all the broth is absorbed, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Before serving, remove the cilantro and fluff the rice with a fork. You can remove and discard the chiles if you like, or use them as decoration on top of the rice. Serve with the lime wedges to squeeze over the rice.

The rice keeps in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat it in a 350 degree oven with a sprinkle of water, covered, until heated through, about 30 minutes.

Chinatown - It's a Wrap!

Concluding my week of chicken salad recipes, I thought I would throw you a curve ball, specifically "Chicken Lettuce Wraps!" These saucy concoctions are so savory and delicious, I truly crave them regularly. With the combination of ground chicken, ginger, scallions, water chestnuts, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, and oyster sauce, all nestled in beautiful butter lettuce cups, they make a perfect lunch, appetizer, or with a bowl of rice, noodles, or soup, an excellent dinner!

This recipe comes from San Francisco's Chinatown, via Joanne Weir, which got me thinking... Are these an American bastardization or are they authentic Chinese? Turns out, lettuce wraps are an authentic Cantonese dish called "sung choy bao," as well as similar lettuce wrapped dishes showing up in Thai, Korean, and Vietnamese cuisine! So, wrap away without condonation! Not only are these quick and easy to make, but a welcome addition to any home-cook's repertoire!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 pound ground dark meat chicken (Pork or turkey work well, too!)

8 scallions, white and green parts, minced

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/3 cup water chestnuts, chopped

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (I grate mine on my microplane.)

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce, or more to taste

1 large head butter lettuce, leaves separated

Directions:

Warm the oil in a skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, scallions, and cornstarch and cook, stirring constantly, until the chicken is cooked and broken into pieces, 3-4 minutes. Add the water chestnuts, soy sauce, ginger, oyster sauce, and chili garlic sauce and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

To serve, take 1 lettuce leaf at a time and spoon a heaping tablespoon of the chicken mixture into the center. Wrap the lettuce around the filling and serve.

Recipe adapted from Weir Cooking In The City, by Joanne Weir.

Ultimate Chicken Salad

Chicken salad has been popular in America since colonial times. According to food historians, the first American version of chicken salad was served by Town Meats in Wakefield, Rhode Island, in 1863. The original owner, Liam Gray, combined leftover chicken with mayonnaise, tarragon, and grapes. It became so popular, that the meat market was converted to a delicatessen! Sadly, Town Meats closed a few years ago.

For an excellent and dressed up version of standard chicken salad, try Tyler Florence's recipe for "Chicken Salad and Cranberry Brie Toast." It is absolutely delicious! Tyler recommends poaching a whole chicken for this recipe, and I agree! Not only is the chicken moist and fall off the bone tender, but you get the bonus of having a very tasty chicken stock to use later. (Might come in handy with Thanksgiving almost here!) This chicken salad is fantastic on its own; but, with the addition of cranberry sauce, apple slices, and brie, it is outrageously good! I like it open-faced (as I saw him do on his show), with a piece of buttered sourdough, a tablespoon of cranberry sauce, apple slices, chicken salad, and brie, run under the broiler to slightly melt the cheese, and garnished with parsley. This recipe is for sandwiches, so do whatever you like.

Chicken Salad and Cranberry Brie Toast

Makes 4 sandwiches.

Ingredients:
For the Poached Chicken
1, 2-3 pound whole chicken
1 gallon water
2 carrots, cut in 2" pieces
3 celery stalks, cut in 2" pieces
1 onion, halved
1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
2 turnips, halved
4 fresh thyme sprigs
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
10 peppercorns
3 bay leaves

For the Chicken Salad
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Kosher salt
About 1 cup mayonnaise
1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 celery stalks, small diced
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups shredded chicken meat, roughly chopped
8 slices sourdough bread, cut 1/2" thick (or 4 if you make it open-faced)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup cranberry sauce
1/2 pound brie
1 green apple, thinly sliced

Directions:
For the Poached Chicken

Put the chicken in a large stockpot and cover with 1 gallon of cool water. Add the vegetables and herbs and bring the pot up to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim well; then simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes, skimming frequently as the oil rises to the surface. When done, remove to a platter and set aside to cool. Strain the liquid and reserve it for use as chicken stock. Shred the chicken meat and discard the skin and bones.

For the Chicken Salad

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Roughly chop the walnuts and then gently toast in a dry skillet over medium heat until they brown and are slightly fragrant. Season walnuts with salt once they are finished toasting. Add the walnuts, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, celery, parsley, olive oil, and salt and pepper, to taste, in a large mixing bowl and combine. Fold in the shredded chicken and set aside while you prepare the bread.

Toast the bread in a hot oven until golden. Smear each piece with a little butter and then a tablespoon of cranberry sauce over 4 pieces of bread. Lay the 4 cranberry-smeared pieces out on a sheet tray and top each piece with 2-3 slices of thick-cut brie. Pop this back in the oven for a minute or 2 so the cheese is slightly melted and creamy. Remove from the oven and top with a few slices of green apple. Top with a scoop of the chicken salad and cover with the other half of the bread to complete the sandwich and serve.