Noni’s Puerto Rican Rice

This month, we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. We’re honored to have Natalie Lopez share her noni’s Puerto Rican rice recipe with us.

I was so fortunate to grow up with a grandmother who was passionate about showing love to her family through her homemade meals. “Are you hungry?” was as common of a question as “How are you?” to my grandmother. She would always serve me a plate of food regardless if I was hungry or not. My grandmother (otherwise known to me as “Noni”) paired her rice with her infamous Puerto Rican dishes. I was blessed to be in her presence while she cooked.

Essentially, my grandmother was a stay-at-home mom while my grandfather served as a sergeant major in the Army for 30 years. Sometimes he was deployed for several months/years at a time; other times, my grandmother would join my grandfather overseas. My grandma loved to cook from scratch and was such a natural at it (truly a gift!). She and my grandfather were known to host holiday parties on base as their close friends loved her cooking.

She served her Puerto Rican rice with most of her main dishes: pollo y arroz (chicken and rice), pescado y arroz (fish and rice), carne guisada y arroz (beef stew and rice); therefore, it was a staple in our household.

Family was everything to my grandmother. She showed her love for her family in many ways and homemade meals were definitely one of them. Every time I make this rice, I think of my grandmother and the godly woman she was. I have many memories of watching her cook while I was growing up. She was truly talented in the kitchen! (Rice can be tricky to make… if you add too much water, it will turn out mushy; if you don’t add enough water, half will be cooked and the other half won’t be.)

Featured recipe

Puerto Rican rice

Ingredients

To Noni, everything was by taste and not so much by measuring everything out exactly. My recipe is a reference guide, but by all means, make it your own by adding a bit more of this or a bit more of that to your liking.

In addition, you can include cooked chicken, pork, or beef, and garnish the rice with fresh cilantro.

*Most of these ingredients can be found at your local grocery store in the international aisle. However, you may have to shop at a local supermercado for some of the Adobo products.

3 cups medium, long, or extra long grain white rice, rinsed
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 heaping tablespoons sofrito (Homemade is the best but it’s not always easy to find all the necessary ingredients. I substituted Goya’s Recaito Culantro cooking base; it’s just as good!)
4 ounces tomato sauce
1 can (15 ounces) gandules (pigeon peas), partially drained
2 heaping tablespoons alcaparrado (I usually use Goya pitted alcaparrado olives)
1 packet Sazón with Achiote (I use Goya brand)
1/2 packet ham flavoring (I use Goya brand Jamón)
1 teaspoon adobo seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground oregano
Salt and pepper to taste (start off with 2 teaspoons of salt)
4-6 cups hot water (I start with 4 cups and gradually add 1/2 cup at a time if needed)
1 medium caldero (or 6 qt pot with lid)

Instructions

See step-by-step instructions with photos.

Rinse the rice well in cold water, drain, and set aside.
Mix all the spices into one bowl and set aside.
In a medium caldero (or large pot about 6 quarts or so), heat oil and sauté sofrito until softened. Add tomato sauce and simmer for 3 minutes.
Stir in gandules, alcaparrado, bowl of the spices, and 4 cups of water. Taste test and adjust seasonings according to your liking, adding additional salt 1 teaspoon at a time. Your broth should be heavily seasoned and on the salty side. It should be flavorful!
Bring to a rapid boil, then add rice and stir. Carefully mound rice towards the center of pot, top with foil, and cover with lid. Set timer for 20 minutes.
Here’s where it can get a little tricky. You may need to add more water to ensure rice is covered by 1 inch of water. I suggest only adding ½ to 1 cup of water to avoid mushy/runny rice. Avoid scraping rice at the bottom of the caldero so you can get that delicious, infamous pegao (crunchy rice).
Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Stir by folding rice from the bottom up. Cook for another 20-30 minutes, testing after first 20 minutes to see if rice is tender and cooked through.

Enjoy!

This recipe was originally posted on Natalie’s website, www.natalielopezphotography.com, and is shared with permission. Photo credit: Natalie Lopez.