I don't know why it never occurred to me to eat rice for breakfast. I mean, Nasi Goreng, a breakfast fried rice, is considered by some to be the national dish of Indonesia. So which culture's rice dish would I use as the foundation for my version of Bill's Breakfast Fried Rice Bowl? I went with Mexico's Arroz a la Mexicana.
The original dish was fried rice with some veggies and crumbled sausage over an open-faced omelet, topped with melted cheddar cheese. For my version I would crumble Chorizo sausage in with my Mexican rice, then top it with some pepper jack (or Chihuahua cheese) and an over-easy egg.
Mexican rice is surprisingly easy to make. Start by cutting 12 oz. of tomatoes and 1 large onion into large chunks. Then, puree them together in a food processor until they make a thick liquid. Measure out two cups, discarding any extra.
Next, mince 2 jalapenos, keeping the seeds if you want it spicy and removing them if you want it milder. Mince 5 cloves of garlic and also ready your tomato/onion mix, 2 cups chicken stock, and 1 Tbsp. tomato paste.
Put two cups of rice in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse with cold water for about two minutes, shaking or stirring the rice to remove excess starch. Next, heat 1/3 cup oil over medium-high heat for two minutes. Fry the rice in the oil until golden brown, about six minutes. Add the jalapeno and garlic and saute until fragrant.
Add the tomato/onion mixture, chicken stock, and tomato paste and bring to a boil.
Cover the saute pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. While the rice cooks saute 1 lb of chorizo sausage breaking it up into small pieces with a spoon until it is cooked through.
After the rice is cooked mix in the chorizo and a few Tbsp. of minced cilantro.
Cook 8 over-easy eggs. Put some of the rice mixture into a bowl. Top with some shredded pepper jack or Chihuahua cheese and put in the hot oven to melt. Then top with two of the over-easy eggs (the picture just shows one egg and did not include the cheese) and serve.
This made for a delicious breakfast, reminiscent of Huevos Rancheros, but the rice and sausage made it something new. You could also add a little salsa at the end which would brighten the color and flavor. Here is the recipe if you want to try it yourself:
Mexican Breakfast Fried Rice Bowl
- 12 oz. tomato, chopped into large pieces
- 1 large onion, chopped into large pieces
- 2 jalapenos, diced (seeded if you want it mild)
- 2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed in a colander for 2 minutes
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- salt to taste
- 1 lb chorizo removed from it's casings
- 8 oz. pepper jack or Chihuahua cheese, shredded
- 8 eggs
1. Puree the tomato and and onion in a food processor until smooth. Heat the oil over medium-high heat for two minutes. Add the rice and saute, stirring frequently for 6 minutes or until golden brown.
2. Add the jalapenos and garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the stock, tomato paste, and tomato/onion mixture and bring to a boil. Cover the dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
3. While the rice bakes, saute the chorizo, breaking it up into little pieces until cooked through. Shortly before the rice is finished cook the eggs until they are over-easy.
4. Mix the cilantro and chorizo into the cooked rice. Divide the rice mixture into four bowls and top with some shredded cheese. Put the bowls back in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted. Top each bowl with two of the fried eggs and serve.
Check the blog out again next week when I talk about my visit to Rodizio Grill in the Arena District. Let me know if there are any restaurants I should visit in the comments.
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