I love fajitas and I adore fajita-burritos. Sometimes I make chicken or steak fajitas for the sole purpose of taking the well-seasoned, sautéed bell pepper, onion and chicken or steak mixture, and wrapping it up burrito-style in a large flour tortilla that's been slathered with refried beans topped with a scattering of spiced rice and shredded cheddar. Interestingly, because fajitas are seasoned with a specific scratch-made or store-bought spice blend, and Mexican-rice recipes or Mexican-style rice mixes are not seasoned with the same seasoning, many times, the flavor of the seasoned rice can compete or clash with the fajita seasoning. Call me finicky, picky or whatever, but that bothered me enough to come with my own fajita-seasoned rice to put in fajita burritos.
Whenever I'm making fajita-burritos, my rule of thumb is:
Put fajita-seasoned rice into fajita-seasoned fajita-burritos.
1/2 cup basmati rice or extra-long grain white rice (Note: I choose to use basmati rice for it's earthy, slightly nutty flavor.)
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon dehydrated minced garlic
1 teaspoon dehydrated minced onion
2 tablespoons fajita seasoning, my blend, your blend, or a favorite store-bought seasoning mix
a light sprinkling of jalapeño pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons salted butter
~Step 1. In a 1 1/2-quart saucepan, using a rice-cup measure, place 1 1/2 cus water, along with the dehydrated garlic and onion, fajita seasoning, jalapeño pepper, salt and butter. Bring water to a boil over high heat. When butter has melted, sprinkle in the rice (do not dump it all at once) and give the mixture a quick stir. Place the lid on the saucepan and adjust heat to a very gentle but ready simmer. Continue to cook, without opening lid or stirring the rice, for 18 minutes.
~ Step 2. After 18 minutes, lift the lid and take a peek. Small holes (caused by evaporation as the rice simmered) should be present across the surface of the rice and no or almost no water should remain in the bottom of the pan. Now, taste a few grains, the rice should be cooked to-the-tooth, meaning, not hard in the center nor mushy. If either of these scenarios has not happened, cover saucepan and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Turn the heat off and rake through the rice with a fork to separate the grains. Put the lid back on the saucepan and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes prior to serving.
Authentic? No. Untraditional? Yes, & absolutely appropriate.
My Fajita Rice for Chicken or Steak Fajita-Burritos: Recipe yields 1 1/2-2 cups of fajita rice.
Special Equipment List: rice cup measure; 1 1/2-quart saucepan w/tight-fitting (preferably glass) lid; spoon; fork
Cook's Note: Mexican rice became a staple on our family's table back in the 1980's. Whenever we ate in a Mexican restaurant, remarkably, our three kids would eat the side-dishes: the muli-colored veggie-bejeweled rice, the murky-earthy slightly-soupy refried beans, and, the bright-green garlic-laced guacamole. Without complaint or prodding, they'd slather and scoop 'em onto and into tacos, fajitas, carnitas (or whatever else they were eating), along with red or green salsa and the bottled hot-sauce du jour. Go figure, and, "shut my mouth wide open." I started stocking my pantry with whatever Texican-type ingredients I could find in our Central, PA grocery stores. Try my more traditional ~ Mexican-Style Adobo Rice (Meatless Spanish Rice) ~.
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2021)
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