How to cook rice Ecuadorian/Latin style
This is my easy go to recipe for cooking rice the way we do in Ecuador and other Latin American countries. It includes both the basic white rice or arroz blanco, plus the arroz amarillo or yellow achiote rice recipe.
Most people know how to cook rice and different countries or regions have slightly different ways of preparing it. I cook it Ecuadorian style because that is how I learned to do it when I was growing up. I think it tastes great this way. Nicolas (the husband) sometimes cooks rice the way he learned in France: boil the rice in a lot of water (very similar to how pastas are cooked) until it is done, drain it and that’s it.
The Ecuadorian and Latin way of cooking rice is a little bit different and more precise. The rice should be perfectly cooked, not too hard, not too soft, firm and the grains should be fluffy and separate easily. Depending on where you live and the rice you buy, you might need to sort through the rice to remove any bad ones or small rocks. In that case you probably also want to wash and rinse it well. If you are using a short grain or glutinous rice you can also rinse it. Though one of my favorite short grain rices (Calrose) says on the instructions that rinsing isn’t neccessary.
Also, if you live in a higher altitude location, you’ll probably need to add more water and let it cook for a little bit longer. I currently live almost at sea level, so I use the minimum amount of water, but when I lived in Loja (2100 m or almost 6900 ft), I would use about double the amount of water for rice. Many times, I find that the instructions on the rice packages include more water than I usually use (except for the perfect Calrose rice). This is probably because the rice is added to the boiling water and set to simmer immediately versus cooking on high heat for longer (Ecuadorian method).
The Ecuadorian rice cooking method is to saute finely diced onions with butter or oil, then add rice and stir it until coated (similar to risotto). Then I add the water, plus some salt, and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, I let it continue boiling until the water has evaporated. At this point, I lower the heat to simmer and cover the pot with a lid. I originally used to mainly use long-grain rice, but in recent years, I’ve become a big fan of short-grain calrose rice. It turns out perfectly and uses that minimal amount of water.
A lot of Ecuadorian main dishes use arroz amarillo or yellow achiote rice as a side dish. The arroz Camarillo is cooked the same way as below, just add ground achiote powder, achiote paste or annatto oil when cooking the onions. Another option is to cook it as regular white rice, then separately made a simple refrito or sofrito with oil, onions or garlic, plus achiote – then mix this into your fully cooked white rice. You can add paprika or saffron if you don’t have achiote available, but the flavor will be different.
How to cook rice – Ecuadorian or Latin American style white rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups of uncooked white rice I like to use long grain rice (sorted and rinsed if needed) or calrose short grain rice
- 2 tbs oil or butter – plus extra butter for finishing (optional)
- 2 tbs minced or finely chopped white onions
- Optional – 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 1/2 cups water adjust based on the type of rice and altitude
- Salt to taste add the salt when you add the water and the water should taste like a lightly salted broth, for a lightly salted rice I add about 1/4 teaspoon of salt
For arroz amarillo or yellow achiote rice:
- ½ teaspoon of ground achiote or annatto powder
Instructions
- Rinse the rice if needed (in Latin America and in Europe I always rinse it before cooking, in the US I usually don't unless the packet says to rinse it).
- Heat the oil or butter on medium temperature in medium sized saucepan or pot. Add the minced onions and garlic (and achiote powder or paste if making arroz amarillo or yellow rice). Cook until the onions are translucent or soft, about 2 minutes.
- Add the rice and stir it in so that it is well coated by the oil,
- Add the water and salt. Stir well and taste, the water should be lightly salted.
- Increase the heat and bring it to a boil.
- Let the water boil and reduce until it barely covers the rice.
- Cover with a tight lid, reduce the temperature to simmer and cook for about 15-18 minutes. Taste and make sure it's fully cooked. If the rice is on the older side it might take an extra 5-10 minutes to cook.
- Turn off the heat, gently fluff it wiht a fork, and cover again for 5 minutes before serving. For an extra bit of indulgent flavor you can add 1-2 tbs of butter (in small slices) to the rice during those last 5 minutes while it's resting.
Step-by-step preparation photos for Ecuadorian-style white rice:
Additional rice recipes to try:
Layla:
Soy una ecuatoriana viviendo en Cambridge, encontre tu blog y me parece espectacular. Debo decirte que eres como una ecuatoriana mas, tu forma de cocinar, tu forma de hablar, cuentame si vivo en Boston cual crees que deberia ser la cantidad de agua, este fin de semana hago un almuerzo a la ecuatoriana y hare arroz con menestra.
Hola Emilia – Si vives en Boston usa la cantidad de agua de la receta (2 1/4 tazas), suerte con el almuerzo!
Hola Laylita,
Encotre este blog por accidente, y me parece espectacular, Soy Ecuatoriana y vivo en USA desde hace muchos mucho tiempo, las recetas en este blog me ha hecho apreciar y saborear la comida de mi tierra de una manera sin otra igual. LOVE IT!! Thank you so much! no puedo esperar otraz para empezar seriamente a cocinar.
Hi Louise – Mote is made from dried corn, the corn is peeled by soaking and cooking it with Calcium oxide, also known as cal in Spanish or quicklime in English – it is very long process, my mom used to do it on a wood burning stove and would leave the pot on overnight , after the corn is “peeled “ it is boiled until soft and ready to eat. I have not yet attempted to “peel” the dried corn, I either buy the “mote” canned or I buy it already peeled – it is called Maiz Mote Pelado and comes in 1lb bags – usually next to all the dry beans/peas – you soak it overnight and boil it (just like you would with dry beans). I’ll post a basic recipe for cooking mote soon. I currently have a couple of recipes with mote: https://www.laylita.com/recipes/2008/03/27/mote-pillo/
https://www.laylita.com/recipes/2008/01/05/mote-hornado-hominy-roasted-pork/
I stumbled on your website by accident, while looking for the way to
cook, Mote corn. All your recipes are mouthwatering, and really sound delicious, however… I still don’t
know the basic way to cook Mote. Could you take pity on a novice and go to the “kindergarten” level
of Ecuadorian cooking and spell it out for us good cook wannabes??? Thanks.
I just got back to the US from two weeks in Ecuador with my son. While in Loja, we were treated to the arroz amarillo with shrimp, and it was delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
I found this blog looking for “empanadas argentinas” and in my search it promt me to your Blog, LOVE IT!!, and got stuck looking at all your recipes. I’m from Venezuela and I have a passion for food, especially the ones that can take me back to my lovely country….and childhood.
Love that you include the pictures (I like to see how a recipe would look like and the process of it).
Fortunately for me I’m able to find a lot of “our” stuff from South America here in Kansas, so I plan to make some (if not All) of your recipes.
I’m glad I found this blog!
I grew up in Quito and Pasochoa.
Blair, Thank you for the kind words, I’m so happy that you like the site, I think there are so many great dishes in Ecuador (and South America) that aren’t that well known to the rest of world. What part of Ecuador did you grow up in?
What a fabulous surprise to come across this blog! I am delighted and overjoyed. I was born in Colombia and grew up in Ecuador… I now live in the USA and I miss the Andes and its glorious food traditions (I would include the coast here too) so much. Thank you, this brought me joy.
Laylita, thank you for your reply to my rice question; I see you also posted the recipe. I am trying the white rice tonight to be served on a bed of your lentil stew accompanied by butterflied grilled chicken breast. Hope it will be a winner. Thanks!