Spanish Rice

January 16, 2009 11:20 AM

Incomplete Recipe Filter: How much comino, Mexican chili powder, and salt do I need for Chicken with Spanish Rice?

I’ve got a recipe but no measure of how much spice I should put in. Any suggestions? If you have a good idea as to how much I need (or even ranges) that would be great, but at this point I’d settle for a decent method of doing this on the fly cause I’m really not sure where to start. I won't have time for a test run.

2 lb filet'd chicken thighs
1 lb white rice
1 can rotel tomatoes (preferably with cilantro)
1 can peas n carrots
3c water (as hot as your tap allows)
1 small yellow onion diced
1 small bellpepper diced
1 seeded jalapeño diced
4 or 5 minced garlic cloves
comino
mexican chili powder
salt

posted by JakeLL to Food & Drink (4 answers total)

When I make this, I tend to use a sprinkling of each of those to taste, probably not more than a 1/4 tsp of each.

The cumin (comino) you can smell when there's enough. Too much and you won't be able to smell the other ingredients.

Some freshly ground black pepper should be in there, too.
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:39 AM on January 16, 2009

You prepare the combo first without (or with just little of) these ingredients in whichever way the recipe tells you to prepare it, and when the chicken is cooked through (so you don't catch anything nasty while tasting), you take a bite and make up your mind about what to add more of. Add some of this, some of that until you're satisfied.

Re-think "incomplete recipe" like this: it is you who's (hopefully) gonna eat the meal at the end, so the original writer is courteous toward you and invites you to make your own decision.

[I'd always take tomatoes and separately: fresh cilantro. I'd always begin with adding comino/cumin, ground coriander seeds and some kind of either dried or fresh hot pepper rather than (or in addition to) the Mexican chili powder. But that's only me. I'd also use fresh carrot dice and at least frozen peas, no can. And RED bellpepper. I'd always be prepared to add some lemon juice at the end...depends on the zing of the tomatoes]
posted by Namlit at 11:46 AM on January 16, 2009

i personally think a lot of food fails because of hesistant spicing. mexican food is good because they know how to load it up with layers of lots of spices. but, of course, you can go over board. with chili powder, you need to determine if its spicy or not. if not, you can really add a fair amount to get that rich chili flavor, somewhere from a teaspoon to a tablespoon i would say. cumin should be a bit less as it does have a strong flavor, but maybe 1/2 teaspoon? your method should be to add a little and taste, add more and taste again, etc. because you can always add more spices but you can't take them out. also, allow time in between spicings because flavors might change a bit as they mix with the other ingredients.

also, seconding that cilantro really should be fresh and added just when you're serving or at the very end of cooking. overcooked/processed cilantro really loses flavor.
posted by dahliachewswell at 11:56 AM on January 16, 2009 [1 favorite]

To taste. Leave the salt out until the end and add it until it's just salty enough. I agree that 1/2 tsp for the cumin is about right, and that chili powder depends on the heat level.
posted by Miko at 7:29 PM on January 16, 2009