My South Texas family has many versions of the classic arroz Mexicano or Mexican rice. My Memo Anita and Tía Berta hand ground their spices in a molcajete, while many relatives use purchased ground spices with great results. The variations continue into whether you add a handful of frozen, fresh or canned mixed vegetables into this dish. Whichever ingredients you decide to add, rice can be a little tricky as you‘ll be using the simmer-and-steam method. This method requires the rice to slowly simmer and finish absorbing the liquid at the same time that the rice is tender. Missing the mark can lead to undercooked rice or over cooked mushy rice. The perfect coordination of liquid and cooking time is what my mother and grandmothers could intuitively determine. They also had the wisdom and patience to let the dish sit and steam, covered, for a few minutes before fluffing with a fork into rice with the perfect texture.
