Cuban White Rice (Arroz Blanco)
Arroz Blanco is a classic Cuban white rice side dish made with just 4 pantry staples: long-grain rice, water, oil, and salt. It’s soft, fluffy, and ready in 25 minutes, making it perfect with black beans, picadillo, or anything saucy (like camarones enchilados). This stovetop method is super easy and practically foolproof!
Ingredients
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
Serving Suggestions
Instructions
- First things first, you must rinse the rice thoroughly. This will remove any dust, debris, and starch so it doesn’t clump up while cooking. Using a strainer, rinse the rice under cool, running water until the water is clear.
- In a large saucepan, add 1 cup of rinsed rice to 2 cups of water. Add the vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until the rice is tender and the water is absorbed.
- Don't remove the lid while cooking or the steam may release too early and cause the rice to dry out. You don't want to risk it becoming hard or crunchy. So, no peeking! Just let it cook, undisturbed, until all the water is absorbed.
- Remove from the heat, but do not open the lid for 5 minutes.
- Fluff with a fork. When you use a spoon, you run the risk of the rice getting mushy. Using a fork releases the rest of the moisture and steam, which is how it retains its fluffiness. Also, I wouldn’t mess with it too much. Don’t fluff the rice for more than 30 seconds.
- The result is soft, fluffy white rice, not mushy nor wet. It's perfect!
- Using a 2:1 water-to-rice ratio should result in approximately 3 cups of cooked rice because long-grain rice triples in volume when cooked with enough water. Enjoy!
Notes
Prefer to use a rice cooker?
- Add the rice, water, oil, and salt to the rice cooker. Cook according to the manufacturer's instructions. Fluff with a fork when cooked.
- Not enough water was used. The water is necessary for the rice to absorb and achieve that fluffy consistency.
- Too much water was used. Make sure to use exact measurements and use a fork to fluff the rice (not a spoon).
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 229kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.04g, Sodium: 590mg, Potassium: 53mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 0.1g, Calcium: 17mg, Iron: 0.4mg
Did You Make This?I want to know! Leave a comment & recipe rating below or tag @asassyspoon on social media!
