How to cook rice like in Brazil, is it the same as in other Latin American countries? Nope. [Brazilian Rice recipe] [Portuguese]

NOTE: My discussion about this dish and context is provided, for sake of cooking convenience, after the recipe.
Also, randomly, check these out, I think they're really cool, they seem to be in vogue now, and make good gifts: Thing 1 and Thing 2

Brazilian White Rice
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
 
Ingredients:
1 cup white rice
2 cups boiling water
1 clove of garlic mashed
1/4 chopped large onion (red works, you can use others) (OPTIONAL)
1/2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
salt to taste

Preparation:
0) wash the rice, then leave it in the colander to make sure that the water is as dry as possible.

1) a) Saute it in oil on medium heat in oil the garlic. Let it start to brown. (~30 seconds to 1 minute) Note: Some people may add about 2 tsps of salt now and stir it around with the garlic. Others will do it later when they add the water. See what you like best.

b)If you added onion, saute the onion in oil on low heat until it starts to become transparent, then turn up the heat to medium, adding the garlic. Let it start to brown. (~30 seconds)
Note: Some people may add the salt in now and stir it around with the garlic. Others will do it later when they add the water. See what you like best.

2) Add the rice and let it fry for 30 seconds.

3) Add boiling water and salt. (Your goal with the salt should be to make the water begin to taste salty, this way the rice should be salted enough for the cooking process)

4) Set the heat on low and let it cook until the water is almost dried up.

5) Cover the pot and wait for 20 minutes before serving.

Note: If you want to make more, just increase the proportions, primarily that of the water.


Rice, that white grain with little flavor that serves as the basis of most of the world is boring, right?? I would contend it's not at all. It's a great flavor medium that helps fill you up. What does this mean? This means that you can eat it with things that sauces and gravies. For example, combine it with Japanese curry. Rice tastes great smothered in curry. What's more it's versatile in its usages. You can eat it plain, with butter, in fried rice--the list goes on. Each country has their own approach and for plain, white rice, there usually seems to exist a general preparation method that you'll find accepted as the correct way to cook rice. People can get extremely particular about their rice. The Chinese like it plain or as zhou/congee--a rice porridge. Porridge isn't for everyone though.

Today, we're going to talk about how Brazilians like their rice. If I weren't able to speak Portuguese, it would be quite a bit more difficult for me to get this recipe. This is one of the good things about language learning. At it's most fundamental level, languages are learned to gain access to a cultural sphere. Some people access that cultural sphere so that they can gain familiarity with the culture that they can leverage in their professional career or for prestige. I would argue that regardless of your goal, learning about a culture is part of language learning and should be the ultimate goal as it will provide you with a more fulfilling life by opening you up to new experiences, opportunities and possibilities. Charlemagne, in a sense put it best with this quotation:

"To have another language is to possess a second soul."

To put it another way:

"One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way."
‒Frank Smith

The limits of your experiences and possibilities expand with each language that you learn.

This recipe today allows you access to another way of making something that you may have taken for granted, what's more it is the basis of a diet in Brazil. A country that while traditionally not affluent, has been on the rise. It is part of the BRICS nations and it will be interesting to see not only how rice evolves within that context, but also how the Brazilians' culinary interests do or do not shift in the coming decades. For now, white rice is here to stay for Brazilians and, I hope, that you will give this recipe a try, eat it alongside a meat, beans and a vegetable dish and/or salad.  In the coming posts, we will look at some other fundamental elements of Brazilian cuisine, how rice is incorporated in or eaten with these other elements. Finally, we will also look at the use of rice in other cuisines to see other ways that other peoples approach this deceptively simple dish.

Let me know by leaving a comment about what you think of any of the following: this recipe, Brazil, Brazilian food, etc! Also, feel free to make suggestions as to recipes that you're interested in, I may just do them next!