Authentic Cilantro Lime Rice

Nothing compliments a Taco Tuesday dinner or your Cinco de Mayo party better than authentic cilantro lime rice. Bursting with the lime flavor and garnished with chopped cilantro, this side dish will have you dreaming of spicy street tacos while sitting out enjoying the warm Mexican sun.

How To Make Authentic Cilantro Lime Rice

The first key ingredient is parboiled rice. Why parboiled rice over a traditional white rice? For a variety of reasons it is better but here are a few reasons. It is healthier than white rice, it stores better and actually cooks faster. The rice is more of a neutral flavor so you can really season and spice it however you wish, without having to fight any natural flavors as you would with white rice. Parboiled rice is also readily available as you can usually get parboiled rice in most grocery stores.

If you are interested in reading more about parboiled rice, here is a great article.

In addition to the rice, you will need the following:

• chicken bullion or what I typically use is Better Than Bullion
• cilantro
• lime juice
• corn

For the rice, you can follow the instructions on the package as it should instruct on serving sizes. But in short here are the steps for cooking the parboiled rice:

• bring the the water to a boil and add in the bullion cube or Better Than Bullion until it is dissolved
• add in the rice
• after the rice has been added, lower the water down to a simmer
• continue to simmer and stirring until the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender. If you the rice is not yet tender and you are low on water, add about a 1/2 cup of water at a time until desired tenderness is reached.

It is important to not forget the chicken bullion. As I mentioned earlier, parboiled rice does not have a ton of flavor on its own so you will end up with some bland rice if you forget the bullion. Let’s just say, it might have happened to me once or twice.

Once you have the rice going, you can chop the cilantro. This can be roughly chopped. You will also need the corn, if you are using frozen corn, you will need to make sure it is defrosted before adding to the rice. When the rice is nearly done, 1-2 minutes before it is ready, we can add in the remaining ingredients.

Stir in the lime juice and then the corn, finally adding the chopped cilantro to the rice. Continue stirring those in until the rice is done and you are now ready to serve.

Serving Authentic Cilantro Lime Rice

Authentic Cilantro Lime Rice makes for a wonderful side dish when having tacos or fajitas. You can also use it as an addition to the tacos or as a side dish. It pairs well with almost any version of tacos. Stirring in some black beans will also certainly help fill out an empty stomach, nearly making that a full meal itself. Topping it off with some guacamole salsa is also a wonderful garnish you would surely enjoy.

Thanks for being here and checking out this Authentic Cilantro Lime Rice recipe. I hope you enjoy it! We always appreciate comments, 5 star recipe rating and social media shares. As always, keep that smoke rolling!

Looking to round out your Taco Tuesday or Cinco de Mayo celebration, here are some other authentic and influenced dishes:

• Bold Grilled Tilapia Tacos
• Grilled Shrimp Tacos
• Authentic Elote Recipe
• Authentic Grilled Carne Asada
• Authentic Grilled Mexican Green Onions
• Mexican Dry Rub
• Cast Iron Chicken Tacos

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