Al Pastor Rice – Rice made from the cooking liquid from slow cooking pollo tacos al pastor.
When I do any type of braising, I loathe to toss out that liquid. It has so much flavor that it should be used in some other way. This wasn’t a planned recipe. I finished making my tacos and that beautiful liquid literally called out to me to be used.
Rice seemed like perfect way to use it up. I love my grandma’s Spanish Rice and I love Cilantro Lime Rice, but this rice was altogether different. Spicy, sweet, and the perfect accompaniment to the pollo tacos al pastor.
Fret not. Want this rice but don’t have the cooking liquid? I’ll walk you through that too. Now I tagged this as vegan/vegetarian as well because if you are making it from scratch and use vegetable broth, it’s vegan.
Like I said, I hadn’t planned to make this, but I couldn’t stand to toss the cooking liquid. I just quickly snapped a couple of pictures, so they quality is lacking a bit. I debated whether to scrap the post because of the pictures, but I truly loved the flavor of the rice, so I thought, eh, why not?!
And stay tuned, I had left over rice and used it a very delicious stuffed peppers dish. That will be out some time next week.
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain white rice
With Cooking liquid
- 3 1/2 cups cooking liquid
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice
Without cooking liquid
- 1 chipotle (from chipotle in adobo can)
- 1 tsp adobo
- 2 tbsp white onion
- 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
- 3 tbsp orange juice
- Pinch of cumin
- Pinch of oregano (Mexican, if possible)
- 1-8 oz can pineapple with juice
- 1 clove garlic
- ~ 2 cups broth (chicken or vegetable) +/-
- Salt/Pepper to taste
Instructions
Without cooking liquid
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Place all the ingredients in a blender, except the broth. Puree until smooth.
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Add enough broth to equal 4 cups of liquid
Cooking with a rice cooker
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Add the liquid and the rice to a rice cooker and press cook.
Stove top cooking
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Read package directions and cook accordingly, which is approximately:
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Bring rice to boil over medium heat while covered, allow to cook for about 10 minutes, reduce the heat to low and cook additional 20 minutes covered.
35 Comments
Sara
August 6, 2015 at 12:36 amThis looks amazing, and I actually just opened a can of chipotles so I have some in the fridge! Can’t wait to try this.
Michelle
August 6, 2015 at 2:24 pmOh perfect. Enjoy.
Alisa @ Go Dairy Free
August 6, 2015 at 7:57 amI absolutely love this recipe Michelle! Great idea for using braising liquid, which reminds me that I need to braise more often! For now, I think I’ll try your other variation.
Michelle
August 6, 2015 at 2:25 pmIt’s like liquid cooking gold.
Christine from Cook the Story
August 6, 2015 at 9:38 amThere’s so much sweet and spicy flavor going on in this rice. It looks delicious!
Michelle
August 6, 2015 at 2:26 pmOh yes, sweet and definitely spicy.
Julie @ Texan New Yorker
August 7, 2015 at 6:41 amGenius idea. Absolutely genius. Definitely trying this next time I braise anything! I’m guessing it would work beautifully with risotto too…
Michelle
August 7, 2015 at 1:15 pmRisotto, great idea!
Sabrina
August 7, 2015 at 11:32 amI love flavored rice! And this looks absolutley delicious!
Michelle
August 7, 2015 at 1:15 pmThank you Sabrina.
Gwen @simplyhealthyfamily
August 10, 2015 at 11:45 amI love Al Pastor tacos!! Fabulous idea using the cooking liquid from the roast in the rice!!
Michelle
August 10, 2015 at 11:58 amThank you Gwen.
Becky
August 18, 2015 at 11:41 amI am with you on not wanting to throw out cooking liquid!! It has so much flavor and is very versatile!! I love how you have used it to make this delicious rice 🙂
Michelle
August 19, 2015 at 1:04 amThank you Becky. That cooking liquid is cooking gold.
Diana Rambles
August 18, 2015 at 12:58 pmMy kids would love this rice!
Michelle
August 19, 2015 at 1:04 amThank you Diana.
justine @ Full Belly SIsters
August 18, 2015 at 3:52 pmI’ve got to make this for my husband, he’d love it!
Michelle
August 19, 2015 at 1:04 amHope he does, thanks Justine.
KC the Kitchen Chopper
August 18, 2015 at 5:10 pmI never throw out cooking liquid. Why pay for broth when you can cook your grains in the super flavorful liquid from your yummy recipe. I’ll bet this rice was a winner with your chicken dinner! 😉
Michelle
August 19, 2015 at 1:05 amExactly KC!
Janette@culinaryginger
August 18, 2015 at 6:00 pmThis rice looks delicious and I love the use of pineapple juice.
Michelle
August 19, 2015 at 1:05 amThe pineapple juice gave it a nice sweet twist.
Diane
August 18, 2015 at 10:43 pmMichelle this rice looks so pretty and flavorful! I bet it would be a great stuffing for peppers! i have so many peppers i may try this out and have the family over. Looks so good!
Michelle
August 19, 2015 at 1:06 amYou and I are on the same wave length. I did make stuffed peppers with it. Look for it next week.
Katerina
August 19, 2015 at 1:13 amThis is my type of rice! I love using stocks etc. I love the flavors and its color!
Michelle
August 20, 2015 at 9:42 amThank you Katerina.
Tara
August 19, 2015 at 8:08 amThis looks like an amazing rice dish, always looking for ways to spice up rice!!
Michelle
August 20, 2015 at 9:46 amThank you Tara.
Sandi Gaertner (@sandigtweets)
August 19, 2015 at 9:09 amI’ll bet the pineapple with the pepper gives this rice an amazing flavor. Super yum!
Michelle
August 20, 2015 at 9:46 amThank you Sandi.
Nicole
August 19, 2015 at 1:50 pmGorgeous rice dish! It sounds so easy and flavorsome 🙂
Michelle
August 20, 2015 at 9:49 amThank you Nicole, it is super easy.
Jillian @ Food, Folks and Fun
August 19, 2015 at 2:42 pmWe love rice at our house, I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Michelle
August 20, 2015 at 9:50 amHope you all enjoy it.
Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers
September 1, 2015 at 10:48 pm[…] I made my Pollo Tacos al Pastor and then used the broth to make al Pastor Rice, I ended up with extra rice, as the majority of my guests filled up on tacos. I wasn’t going […]