Cilantro Lime Rice

Cilantro lime rice seems to be a staple with Travis’ side of the family. And I am not complaining.

Travis and his family are competitive, and he loves to compete with his sisters at basically everything. His sister Mindy is a great cook, so of course Travis challenges that. They have had a couple different cooking competitions over the years. In fact, the first time I ever met his family was at one of their cooking competitions.

This past Christmas, Travis and I challenged Mindy to a cook-off. We wanted to make cilantro lime rice because we discovered a great recipe for it while I was in Korea visiting him. We made our version, and Mindy made hers … and just like every other competition I’ve been to — it was a tie! (How convenient, right?)

I am sharing our once secret recipe so you can master it and then challenge all your family members to a cook-off! What I love about this recipe is it has a lot of flavor. I often find rice to be boring, but this recipe makes it yummy!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Olive oil
• Red onion
• Jalapeños
• Garlic
• Cumin
• Jasmine rice
• Chicken broth
• Black beans
• Chopped green chilis
• Butter
• Cilantro
• Limes

You start by sautéing the red onion and jalapeños in the olive oil on medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until tender. Add in the garlic and sauté for about 30 more seconds — garlic burns easily, so not too long. Add in the cumin and rice, stirring it all around.

Next, add the chicken broth, black beans, and the green chilies. Bring it to a boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer the rice for 20 minutes. You may need to stir it once or twice to keep it from sticking to the pan.

Finally, remove it from the heat and let it sit for 5 more minutes. Stir in the butter until it’s melted. Add a little salt and pepper. Right before serving, add in the cilantro and lime juice.

Check out my other recipes and be sure to follow my Pinterest board for more delicious food!