The Border Table · Source Edition

Mexican Rice

Name: Mexican Rice
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Ingredients: 2 cups chicken broth; 1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped; 1 to 2 garlic cloves, peeled; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; ½ medium onion, finely chopped; 1 cup uncooked white rice; 2 serrano chiles, finely chopped; ½ cup finely minced carrots; A pinch of ground cumin; A pinch of freshly ground black pepper; Salt, to taste

Tomato, broth, and two serranos give this Houston restaurant-style rice its color and a lively chile bite. Cook it covered, let it rest, then fluff.

Adapted from Los Tios Mexican Rice in Robb Walsh’s The Tex-Mex Cookbook.

Lightly glossy tomato-red Mexican rice with small carrot, onion, and serrano pieces in a dark earthenware bowl — AI-generated editorial image showing this recipe’s rice, onion, carrot, and serrano; not a photograph of a kitchen test.

Serves4

Estimated total timeAbout 50 minutes

EquipmentBlender · heavy lidded pan

HeatTwo serrano chiles

Make the rice

Blend the cooking liquid. Blend the chicken broth, tomato, and garlic until smooth. Set the mixture beside the stove.
Soften the onion. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet or saucepan with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
Coat the rice. Add the uncooked rice and stir it through the onion and oil until the grains turn opaque. Keep the heat moderate; the source recipe does not brown the rice.
Simmer covered. Pour in the tomato-broth mixture. Stir in the chopped serranos, minced carrots, cumin, black pepper, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes without lifting the lid.
Rest and serve. Turn off the heat and leave the pan covered for 5 minutes. Then uncover, fluff the rice gently with a fork, and serve.

If the rice needs a little longer

After the covered rest, check a few grains. If they are still firm and the pan is dry, add a small splash of hot broth or water, cover, and cook briefly over low heat before resting again. Pan and burner differences can change the timing; this adjustment is editorial guidance, not a kitchen-tested variation.

Keep leftovers safely

Move leftover rice to shallow containers and refrigerate promptly. Use within 3 to 4 days or freeze it. Reheat until steaming hot throughout. USDA leftovers guidance.

Understand it

Why sauté the grains first?

The rice spends a short time in oil with the softened onion before the tomato-broth mixture goes in. The source asks for opaque grains without browning, so keep stirring and add the liquid before the rice takes on toasted color.

Make it your table

How much chile heat?

The source calls for two serranos but does not say how to cut them. This edition chops them finely so they are distributed through the rice. Their actual heat varies, and a milder one-chile version would be a change to the source rather than a tested equivalent.

Source and method

Where this recipe comes from

The owner supplied a scan of “Los Tios Mexican Rice” on page 163 of Robb Walsh’s The Tex-Mex Cookbook (Ten Speed Press, 2004). Walsh presents it as a rice served at Houston’s Los Tios restaurants. We retained the source’s ingredient quantities and cooking sequence while writing new instructions, specifying finely chopped serranos, and adding practical safety guidance. The Border Table has not independently kitchen-tested this edition. This is not a claim that today’s Los Tios kitchen uses precisely this formula.

Publisher’s book listing — author, title, and publication details.
Los Tios current menu — Mexican rice remains a listed side, not proof of its present preparation.
USDA FSIS — leftover storage guidance.

Adapted 7 October 2026. Tell us if something needs correcting.