Peruvian Garlicky Rice

This recipe was taught to me by my dad and I continue to make it the same way to this day. This method for cooking rice is actually quite typical in Peru and accompanies a number of Peruvian dishes. It is almost always seen with dishes like Lomo Saltado and Aji de Gallina.

This style of rice goes well with almost anything. Steak, chicken, fish, pork, vegetables, BEANS, lentils…etc. Whether its grilled, roasted, braised or pan fried, its hard to find something that won’t go well with this rice.

I believe that jasmine rice is the ideal rice for this preparation. I have tried a few other varieties but jasmine is by far my favorite. The rice is not rinsed in this recipe. This would normally yield a pot of gummy rice but toasting the rice in garlicky oil helps to coat the individual grains and keep them from getting sticky and clumpy after cooking.

Make sure you use fresh garlic. The jarred stuff just doesn’t taste the same.

You can cook this rice on the stovetop or in a rice cooker. When using my crappy rice cooker, I often start the rice on the stovetop using the rice cooker insert and then transfer the pot to the rice cooker after adding the water. If you have a fancier rice cooker, you may be able to do everything directly in the cooker.

Rice Cooking tips:

Cooking rice can be deceivingly tricky. There are a number of variables that can affect how your pot of rice will turn out. Adding the right amount of water, for example, can make or break a recipe. I often use my finger to measure the depth of the water above the rice (1 inch) but for this recipe I will provide a water to rice ratio (1.5 cups water per 1 cup of rice for most jasmine rice).

The size and shape of the pot can also impact how your rice is cooked. I pick my pot depending on the amount of rice I am cooking. Whichever pot I choose, I like to make sure that the rice (without the water) is always stacked up to a depth of between 1/3 inch to about 2 inches . When the rice is stacked up taller than this, the rice at the bottom tends to get overcooked because it takes a long time for the water to evaporate all the way to the bottom. If the rice is in too thin of a layer at the bottom of the pot, the ratio of water can be difficult to judge properly. A good way to get good results repeatedly is make sure you always use the same pot when cooking a certain quantity of rice. That way you reduce the number of variables when you make small adjustments to your recipe.

Don’t try to salvage a pot of overcooked rice. Just accept the failure, try to identify the problem and try again. If your rice is under-cooked, you may be able to add a little more water to the pot and continue cooking for 5 to 10 minutes. That being said, I wouldn’t get your hopes up, you are better off starting over. If your rice came out too wet, reduce the amount of water next time. If your rice is under-cooked, add a touch more water next time.

Goes well with:

• Lomo Saltado

Peruvian Garlic Rice

Ian Benites

A great way to cook rice that goes well with almost anything.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

• 1 Tbsp neutral flavored cooking oil (canola, vegetable, corn….etc)
• 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
• 1 cup Jasmine Rice
• 1.5 cups warm water
• to taste salt

Instructions

 

• Heat the oil over medium heat.
• Add the garlic and saute until the garlic starts to get golden, do not let it burn.
  
• Add the rice to the pot and stir to coat the rice in the garlicky oil,
• Cook the rice in the oil for a minute or two and then add the water.
• Season the water with salt until the water tastes well seasoned, similar to a well seasoned soup.
• Put the lid on the pot, turn the heat up to high and bring to a low boil
• Turn heat down to medium-low and allow rice to cook for 16 minutes. Do not open the lid at any time.
• Shut off the heat and allow the pot of rice to sit covered for 10 more minutes. Do not open lid until the 10 minutes has elapsed.
• Open the lid, fluff the rice and serve.