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Portuguese Tomato Rice
If you've ever eaten Portuguese food, chances are you've had the delicious red rice that comes as a side dish with most meals. This rice is staple in Portuguese cooking and is the base for many other dishes, like seafood rice and rice with beans. The rice is seasoned with tomato, bay leaf, garlic and onions and it is the perfect side to accompany chicken, pork, beef, and even fish.
Start by finely mincing half a white onion and a teaspoon of garlic (one to two cloves).
Heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When the oil starts to ripple, add the onion and sauté until it becomes tender and translucent.
Add the garlic to the pot and cook for just another minute, until the onions start to brown just slightly.
Add two tablespoons of tomato paste to the pot.
Stir the tomato paste into the onion mixture. It takes a minute for the tomato paste to start to break down into the oil, but just keep stirring it into the onions until it starts to smell sweet and fragrant.
Once you can smell the tomato paste cooking, add a splash of water to thin it (it will sizzle so be prepared!)
Add a pack of chicken bouillon powder or one chicken chicken bouillon cube, one bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon of hot sauce.
Stir for a few minutes until the bouillon is dissolved and the water has mostly evaporated. The mixture will start to thicken, and you'll know it's ready when you drag a spoon across the bottom of the pot and the sauce doesn't quickly cover the pot back up.
Now that the base is done, add three cups of water to the pot along with a half tablespoon of salt and one and a half cups of rice.
Bring the water to a boil and reduce it to a simmer. Cover the pot and set a timer for 18 minutes.
After 18 minutes, fluff the rice up with a fork and serve! Simple, delicious, and perfect with a simple piece of grilled chicken or beef. If you want to serve this as part of a more traditional Portuguese meal, make this with my Portuguese thin steaks and some French fries on the side!
This recipe takes really well to additions, too - here are some ideas: -Add a can of rinsed beans to the pot at the last five minutes (any kind of beans work!)
-A bag of frozen peas, stirred in at the last minute.
-About halfway through, add a mix of seafood including shrimp, clams, calamari, mussels, etc.
Recipe:
Total Time: 45 minutes | Serves: 4
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 a white onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 packet of chicken bouillon (or 1 cube)
1 bay leaf
Salt and Pepper
1 1/2 cups white rice
1. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, and add the onion. Saute until the onion starts to become translucent.
2. Add the garlic and saute for just another minute.
3. Stir the tomato paste into the onion mixture. It takes a minute for the tomato paste to start to break down into the oil, but just keep stirring it into the onions until it starts to smell sweet and fragrant.
4. Once you can smell the tomato paste cooking, add a splash of water to thin it (it will sizzle so be prepared!) This will help the bouillon dissolve.
5. Add the hot sauce, bouillon, and bay leaf and continue cooking until the tomato paste mixture thickens up again and the water has evaporated back out.
6. Add 3 cups of water, half a tablespoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, and the rice to the pot. Bring everything to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot.
7. Cook for 18 minutes, fluff the rice with a fork and serve!