How do you cook Puerto Rican rice?

There are many different ways to cook Puerto Rican rice. You have several ways of cooking rice. For example the main plate is white rice. <?xml:namespace prefix

o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> My grandmother used to cook it this way: First you need to "set-up" the basic "oil" and "salt" ingredient. You need either a cast aluminum boiling pan or "caldero" or "olla". You can search for this online. Slice a few 1/4 sized pieces of salt pork or fat back and fry it. This will set the foundation for the desired taste. Then you place small to medium grain rice (2 cups) and 2 1/2 cups of water. Stir it initially to mix the oil and salt. Leave uncovered and bring this combination to a boil and do no stir again until the water has disappeared. It may be 20 minutes. Stir with a BBQ fork (leave the rice at the bottom of the “caldero” in tact for the famous “crunchy” pegaito. When I say stir, what I mean is a side to in motion, moving the bottom of the rice upward. Go around the “caldero” and cover for 10-15 minutes or until rice is soft. My grandmother used to leave the pieces of fat back or salt pork in, which I didn’t care for. I liked it when she took the fried fat back out and after they cooled I would crunch one in my mouth, kind of like eating chicharron or “fried pork skin”. You can even substitute the fat back for regular vegetable or canola oil 2-3 teaspoons and add 1 or 2 teaspoons of salt (to taste). Some people add ham pieces and you are done. In the more conscious world and nowadays, for the time it takes to “prepare” this, I have a rice cooker and I just eat plain white rice (medium grain); no salt, no oil and in 15 minutes I am done. I compensate the lack of taste in the rice for some good’ole fashion Puerto Rican beans to put over my rice ==

First answer by Kenepo. Last edit by Kenepo. Contributor trust: 39 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 42 [recommend question]

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