How to cook rice Ecuadorian/Latin style
This is my easy go to recipe for cooking rice the way we do in Ecuador and other Latin American countries. It includes both the basic white rice or arroz blanco, plus the arroz amarillo or yellow achiote rice recipe.
Most people know how to cook rice and different countries or regions have slightly different ways of preparing it. I cook it Ecuadorian style because that is how I learned to do it when I was growing up. I think it tastes great this way. Nicolas (the husband) sometimes cooks rice the way he learned in France: boil the rice in a lot of water (very similar to how pastas are cooked) until it is done, drain it and that’s it.
The Ecuadorian and Latin way of cooking rice is a little bit different and more precise. The rice should be perfectly cooked, not too hard, not too soft, firm and the grains should be fluffy and separate easily. Depending on where you live and the rice you buy, you might need to sort through the rice to remove any bad ones or small rocks. In that case you probably also want to wash and rinse it well. If you are using a short grain or glutinous rice you can also rinse it. Though one of my favorite short grain rices (Calrose) says on the instructions that rinsing isn’t neccessary.
Also, if you live in a higher altitude location, you’ll probably need to add more water and let it cook for a little bit longer. I currently live almost at sea level, so I use the minimum amount of water, but when I lived in Loja (2100 m or almost 6900 ft), I would use about double the amount of water for rice. Many times, I find that the instructions on the rice packages include more water than I usually use (except for the perfect Calrose rice). This is probably because the rice is added to the boiling water and set to simmer immediately versus cooking on high heat for longer (Ecuadorian method).
The Ecuadorian rice cooking method is to saute finely diced onions with butter or oil, then add rice and stir it until coated (similar to risotto). Then I add the water, plus some salt, and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, I let it continue boiling until the water has evaporated. At this point, I lower the heat to simmer and cover the pot with a lid. I originally used to mainly use long-grain rice, but in recent years, I’ve become a big fan of short-grain calrose rice. It turns out perfectly and uses that minimal amount of water.
A lot of Ecuadorian main dishes use arroz amarillo or yellow achiote rice as a side dish. The arroz Camarillo is cooked the same way as below, just add ground achiote powder, achiote paste or annatto oil when cooking the onions. Another option is to cook it as regular white rice, then separately made a simple refrito or sofrito with oil, onions or garlic, plus achiote – then mix this into your fully cooked white rice. You can add paprika or saffron if you don’t have achiote available, but the flavor will be different.
How to cook rice – Ecuadorian or Latin American style white rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups of uncooked white rice I like to use long grain rice (sorted and rinsed if needed) or calrose short grain rice
- 2 tbs oil or butter – plus extra butter for finishing (optional)
- 2 tbs minced or finely chopped white onions
- Optional – 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 1/2 cups water adjust based on the type of rice and altitude
- Salt to taste add the salt when you add the water and the water should taste like a lightly salted broth, for a lightly salted rice I add about 1/4 teaspoon of salt
For arroz amarillo or yellow achiote rice:
- ½ teaspoon of ground achiote or annatto powder
Instructions
- Rinse the rice if needed (in Latin America and in Europe I always rinse it before cooking, in the US I usually don't unless the packet says to rinse it).
- Heat the oil or butter on medium temperature in medium sized saucepan or pot. Add the minced onions and garlic (and achiote powder or paste if making arroz amarillo or yellow rice). Cook until the onions are translucent or soft, about 2 minutes.
- Add the rice and stir it in so that it is well coated by the oil,
- Add the water and salt. Stir well and taste, the water should be lightly salted.
- Increase the heat and bring it to a boil.
- Let the water boil and reduce until it barely covers the rice.
- Cover with a tight lid, reduce the temperature to simmer and cook for about 15-18 minutes. Taste and make sure it's fully cooked. If the rice is on the older side it might take an extra 5-10 minutes to cook.
- Turn off the heat, gently fluff it wiht a fork, and cover again for 5 minutes before serving. For an extra bit of indulgent flavor you can add 1-2 tbs of butter (in small slices) to the rice during those last 5 minutes while it's resting.
Step-by-step preparation photos for Ecuadorian-style white rice:
Additional rice recipes to try:
I am in the midwest and my neighbors are from Ecuador and I love the food. They have us over to share in celebrations and I can’t get enough of this rice. Rose puts peas in her rice sometimes and has taught her sons to make it. They bring it to game night and we provide the pizza and drinks. LOL
Your blog will help me to make it on my own now so I can surprise them with a treat close to home. Gracias Laylita
I’m so enjoying your recipes! My husband grew up in Quito – his father was from Ambato – and he often comments on how much he misses Ecuador. I can’t wait to surprise him with some tasty memories of home.
I bought goat meat for the first time last week as I am adventurous and wanted to try it. I stumbled across your recipe while looking for goat recipes and I am thrilled. I too went to Ecuador the year before last and loved the food there. I have a cookbook from Quito but hadn’t tried anything since. Right now this recipe is simmering on my stove – tommorrow with the rice and plantains – Thank you so much!
HAHAHA
this blog is fantastic i really have to said I miss my country but not the food thanks thousand of thanks I was waiting for this moment for years to try ecuadorian food like my mom made for me when I was a child thank you so much you have no idea how happy I am … the best web to return to my favorites plates love it … yummy by the way I m in california i made lentejas but how i make carne frita ??? and empanadas de verde … I think ..I love you . thanks
I get so busy looking at the beautiful pictures of food that I hardly have time left to cook–but when I do, I just love everything I try! Thank you so much. How do you get the individual portions of rice toturn out in such neat little shapes?
Hi Beth – I use a ramekin or just a cup as a mold, stuff the rice inside and then place it on the plate and remove the mold.
I am so happy to find these recipes. I will make ” Fish with coconut sauce” for a good friend this week, wish me luck lol.
My grandmother, my mom and my aunt are amazing cooks and now that I am not in Ecuador I miss their food.
I am loving your website…cheers!
I love everything this website has to offer. I too found it because I was looking for emanadas Argentinian also!! My boyfriend is Ecuadorian and I wanted to suprise him with food from his country. I have two questions, will you be adding more to this site and in the rice recipe above I didn’t see garlic until it said to add it with the onions. I wanted to know how much garlic it called for.
Hi Lee – Sorry about the garlic confusion, it’s optional, sometimes I add and sometimes I don’t, when I do it’s just 1 clove.
This is the best website I have every found. My husband use to live in Ecuador and for our honeymoon he took me to Guayaquil, Banos, and Salinas. We love this country so much we visit it every summer for one month. We always try to recreate ecuadorian dishes but can never find great recipes. Now we found them, thanks for all the great recipes. Cooking them brings back a lot of memories.
Thanks so much! I used to make this rice with a friend of mine and couldn’t find the recipe before – Thank you so much! I am so excited to try this tonight and impress my friends with it!
Layita your site is a life saver. I was in Ecuador this summer and fell in love with the food! but i didnt not get recipies and there dont seem to be many sites with recipes from the andes most sites with Ecuadors recipes only have them from the coast which I did not visit so your site is saving from going crazy over craving the food! Mucho Gracias