Cilantro Lime Rice

I am double-posting tonight because you need this Cilantro Lime Rice to go with your Thai Peanut Chicken. You actually need this Cilantro Lime Rice to go with just about everything. It gives Chipotle a run for its money…

I made dinner for about 40 students last fall, and we had enchiladas, black beans and this rice. To my amazement, this rice was the first to disappear. And my kids were like, “Mom… that rice was soooo good.”

And hear’s the thing… if there were a contest for the world’s worst rice-maker, I am convinced I would be somewhere near winning. You think rice is going to be a no-brainer and easy to make. That has not been my experience. I’ve burned it, served it quite crunchy (not intentionally) on numerous occasions and too liquidy on numerous other occasions. I was so relieved to find the frozen microwavable rice at Trader Joe’s years ago!

But then I saw this recipe and decided to give rice another chance. I’m so glad I did. Generally I opt for brown rice, but that’s particularly unkind to me. I tried this recipe once with brown rice and just extended the cooking time, but it was still crunchy. I truly think it’s me. So for now, I make this recipe using white rice only and save the brown rice for the microwave rice nights. If you try this recipe with brown rice and have success, please comment and tell me! I want all the specifics… the type of rice, how long you cook it, if you add extra water… because I just fail every time.

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Cilantro Lime Rice

Course Side Dish

Yield 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain white basmati rice
• 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1-2 limes, juiced
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Instructions

1. In a saucepan over medium-low heat melt the butter. Add the rice and sugar. Mix briefly to coat the rice with the butter and sugar. Add half the lime juice, and stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt.

2. Bring the rice to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and simmer until the rice is tender, 20-25 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and sprinkle the rice with the cilantro, the rest of the lime juice, and more salt if needed (I've never added more salt). Fluff rice with a fork. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Source: Muy Bueno cookbook