Could There Be Mexican Food Without Rice?
Posted on 07. Nov, 2009 by Ken Kudra in Diet & Nutrition
One of the most widely grown crops in the world, rice is the most important dietary staple in much of the world. It is actually the most commonly eaten grain on earth and is the basis of the traditional diet in eastern and southeastern Asia, much of Africa, the Caribbean and the region known as Latin America, spanning South, Central, and parts of North America. While rice is grown in the US and is indeed a common food here, it is in Mexico that North America can be said to truly have a culinary tradition including rice in an important role. It is second only to corn in its importance to Mexican cooking and there are far too many Mexican rice recipes to list here.
This grain is an immigrant to the Americas, having first been cultivated in Asia and brought to Mexico by Spanish and Portuguese explorers and colonists, who began growing the crop in the new world. Rice quickly became an important ingredient in Mexican cooking, with many a traditional Mexican rice recipe having its origin shortly after its introduction to the continent.
Authentic Mexican Rice Recipes
One of the best known and most popular of all Mexican rice dishes is arroz con pollo, which is also among the most popular Mexican chicken recipes. The name means “rice with chicken” and is the Mexican version of a classic comfort food combination.
In Mexico, this chicken recipe incorporates some new world ingredients into this Spanish recipe such as tomatoes. Mexican cooks tend to prepare this dish with Mexican oregano rather than the Greek oregano, which would be used by cooks in Spain. The addition of this similar tasting but slightly more assertively flavored herb puts a Mexican spin on the dish, making arroz con pollo translate perfectly into a wonderful Mexican rice dish.
Spanish Cuisine In The New World
Since rice was introduced to Mexico by the Spanish, a number of traditional Mexican rice recipes are adaptations of Spanish dishes using the ingredients available in Mexico. One example is paella, which is a rice recipe, which is strongly identified with Spain. However, Mexican cooks were doubtless creating rice and seafood dishes for a long time before paella as it is eaten in Europe was popularized by cooks in Valencia.
Of course, even Spanish paella happens to have a slight Mexican accent due to the inclusion of tomatoes and quite often, bell peppers – both of which are native to the Americas and were brought back to Europe from the new world! Needless to say, this is also a very popular Mexican rice dish with many regional variations being found throughout Mexico, especially in coastal regions of the country.
Lightly seasoned Mexican rice is another of the better-known Mexican rice recipes. This rice is served as a complement to a wide variety of Mexican dishes, particularly beans. This is a dish, which is quite similar to Spanish rice; and just as with paella, this rice actually contains some new world ingredients.
Rice has become almost as important of a dietary staple in Mexico as it is in much of the world. It may not have been in the Mexican culinary repertoire as long as corn or chilies, but it has found a happy place in this one of a kind cuisine and if you enjoy any of these wonderful Mexican rice recipes, you are certainly glad that it made its way over to the Americas.
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