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Spanish Rice II

A one‑pot dish of bacon, ground beef, rice, tomatoes, and chili sauce.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and rice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,065 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓

Spanish Rice II

Time30 to 35 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the bacon and beef

  1. Cook bacon until crisp, then remove to paper towels to drain and set aside.

  2. Drain most of the bacon grease from skillet, leaving only a teaspoon or two.

  3. Add ground beef to skillet; cook, breaking up, until browned.

  4. Add chopped onion and green bell pepper; continue cooking until onion is tender.

Simmer the rice

  1. Add tomatoes, water, rice, chili sauce, salt, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper.

  2. Cover Spanish rice and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes.

Serve

  1. Top Spanish rice with crumbled bacon for serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

668Calories
38 gProtein
20 gFat
82 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 13 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Green Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Saucenot 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. Tomato + ricetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,065 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  2. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

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

  3. Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

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

  4. Beef + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,448 recipes

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

  5. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 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
Absorbs the tomato and water liquid as it simmers, becoming tender and giving the dish its body.
Lean ground beef
Provides savory meaty flavor and substance through browning.
Diced tomatoes
Supply liquid and acidity that flavor the rice as it simmers.
Bacon
Adds smoky, salty fat and crisp texture as a topping.
Chili sauce
Adds sweet-tangy tomato and spice flavor to the simmering liquid.

The step that matters

Simmer covered for 30 to 35 minutes. Rice absorbs the liquid as it cooks; keeping the lid on traps steam so the grains cook through evenly. Lifting the lid lets moisture escape, which can leave rice undercooked or dry.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, pepper, tomato, rice, sauce, sugar):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Carrotfits better
  3. Potatofits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, pepper, tomato, rice, sauce, sugar. 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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