The day Chipotle started making cilantro lime BROWN rice was the best day ever! I was inspired to make this recipe for 2 reasons:
1. Blake and I got Chipotle 2 weeks ago and as we were waiting in line….one of the chefs was preparing fresh cilantro brown rice. With FRESH ingredients. You could actually watch her chop the the cilantro and squeeze the lime. Most other place would just use a batch of pre-made rice. This is why Chipotle is so delicious, because everything is FRESH, including their meat.
2. We had a departmental pot-lucked, which was themed Tacos. This gave me the perfect excuse to make Cilantro Lime Brown Rice And so I did!
I used fresh ingredients just like Chipotle. Who woulda ever thunk fresh food tastes so good? (uhhhh….joking!)
I actually did a report on Chipotle my senior year in college so I think I am a little bit biased at how amazing awesome this company is.
Here is what my Taco mosh pit looked like yesterday…We had all the fixings: taco meat that was actually a Mexican recipe, fresh guac, fresh toppings, etc. MMM! We decided we are going to do a monthly pot-luck. YES!
I will say I had a little trouble getting my rice to be “perfect.” It is so hit or miss with brown rice. I make it the same way every single time and sometimes it comes out perfect and others it comes out a tad bit crunchy. I heard that a rice maker is the trick to perfect rice every time. Any recommendations on a brand?
In a medium sized pot, on medium/high heat, bring 2 cups of brown rice and 4 cups of water to a rolling boil. Then, reduce heat to low and cover for about 35 minutes or until all of the water is evaporated.
Transfer brown rice to a medium sized bowl and let cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Once the rice has cooled a little bit, cut a lime in half and squeeze lime juice onto rice. Do this with both sides of the lime and mix.
Then, chop fresh cilantro. Add about 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro to your rice. (I just grabbed a handful and that worked perfectly.)
Next, add in 1 teaspoon of minced garlic and 1 teaspoon of sea salt and MIX.