I had some particularly tasty Mexican rice at Don's Cafe the other day and decided to have a try at making it myself.

There's plenty of good recipes on the 'net but the secret seems to be in the type of rice you use. I have trouble stopping the grains sticking together.

I've noticed that most markets that sell rice have quite a few varieties and I wondered if anyone could tell me the most suitable type for Mexican rice/risotto type dishes.

Hello sceadugenga, my cookbook says rice was brought to Mexico(16th C) by the Spanish who brought it from the Philippines, they also shipped it back to Spain.

rice555

I think you need to find long-grain rice. Shorter grain rices have more gluten, causing them to be stickier. Long-grain rice should be stocked at the usual western gourmet markets like Villa and Paragon.

Thanks zapper, and rice555 (I think).

I knew a bit about long grain rice and even have the names of the varieties somewhere but I was wondering what the Thai name was.

I had some wild basmati last night which would have been perfect for Mexican. It remains firm and lose despite being cooked for 25 mins.

Basmati is a great rice but I doubt if Thailand imports much rice, even Basmati, Tigger.

What need to do is start searching the Thai rice shops and buy one that looks long and try it out I suppose.

Thai jasmine rice (Hommali) is a long grain rice. It might be a bit fragrant for Mexican style cooking. Carolina rice, from America, is the bland version of jasmine commonly sold in America and used for Mexican rice recipes.

Basmati is a great rice but I doubt if Thailand imports much rice, even Basmati, Tigger.

What need to do is start searching the Thai rice shops and buy one that looks long and try it out I suppose.

Wow, no basmati? I figured you might have problems with the wild type as it's very dark in colour but no basmati, can this be true? Don't they grow basmati in Thailand?

Wild rice is not actually a rice, it's a type of grass seed, although closely related.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_rice

I'm going to Chiang Mai today so I'll call into Rimping and see what they have there.

You can buy Indian basmati at Golden Spice, Charoen Krung Rd in Bangrak, Bangkok, also in Indian shops in Little India (Phahurat).

Normal Thai Jasmine rice works very well for mexican rice--the secret to getting the grains not to stick is to fry them in a bit of oil until lightly toasted and to not add too much water--perhaps a cup and a quarter of water per cup of rice.

You can also buy Basmati at Villa.

I was surprised at the range of imported rices I saw on the supermarket shelves today. There were even boxes from Italy marked "Risotto rice". I really need to get out more.

I'll still stick with my original plan of trying out various Thai rices to find a suitable local substitute.

jimmyd, you hit the nail right on the head, the rice has to be fried uncooked then cooked in enough water/chicken stock to be absorbed until the rice is cooked without any left over.

I tried it with half chicken stock and half tomato juice the other day and it worked out quite well.

This meal is actually part of my diet "regime" in which I've lost about 20kg in 4 months.

Wild rice is not actually a rice, it's a type of grass seed, although closely related.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_rice

I'm going to Chiang Mai today so I'll call into Rimping and see what they have there.

Interesting link scea, no mention of wild basmati though, and that's what it says on the pack that I used...

You have to fry the white rice for a while until it begins to brown. This is the key. They add your stock and off you go.

You have to fry the white rice for a while until it begins to brown. This is the key. They add your stock and off you go.

Here is one recipe (assumes 1 cup rice) you might like........TexMex rice:

1) do not wash the rice........brown it using 1 tablespoon of lard til toasty looking.......add one small garlic clove and some crushed cumin too (not much) and 1/4 of onion chopped

2) add a small amount of red salsa (make it yourself)........when I say "small" I mean about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon to one cup rice.......you don't want it too hot.....should be fairly plain

3) add 50:50 chicken broth and water

Cook it up.........that is it. No peas or carrots or other vegetables. It should be fairly plain and if you toasted it properly, the rice kernels should not stick together.

What you get is an aromatic rice dish........cumin and chicken broth predominate with a hint of red salsa and garlic