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Mexican Rice

A seasoned rice dish cooked with vegetables and tomatoes.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Garlic and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Mexican Rice

Time35 to 40 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Saute rice in oil until lightly browned.

  2. Season with garlic, salt, and cumin.

  3. Add tomato, onion, carrot, and green pepper.

  4. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes.

  5. Remove from heat, add water.

  6. Return to heat and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, covered, or until water is absorbed by rice.

  7. Stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce, if desired, to add color.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

451Calories
8 gProtein
15 gFat
73 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,555 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Tomato + carrottop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,606 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together21,601 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Long grain rice
Forms the bulk of the dish and absorbs the cooking water to become tender.
Tomato
Adds moisture, acidity and savory flavor as it cooks down into the rice.
Onion
Builds a savory aromatic base as it softens in the oil.
Canned tomatoes
Add liquid, acidity and a deeper red color to the rice.

The step that matters

Sauteing the rice in oil until lightly browned. Toasting the grains in oil before adding liquid gives the rice a nutty flavor and helps the grains stay separate instead of turning mushy.

Swap the tomato

The recipe marks tomato as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, garlic, onion, carrot, pepper, sauce):

  1. Capsicumfits about as well
  2. Tomatothe original
  3. Spinachfits about as well
  4. Okrafits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, garlic, onion, carrot, pepper, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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