White rice is one of those recipes that everyone seems to know how to make. A pot, water, rice, and a few minutes of cooking. It is to those who uphold this dogma that renowned Madrid chef Juanjo López Bedmar addresses his unique method for making white rice.
On La Tasquita de Enfrente’s social media, the chef has shared a very personal take on the “traditional” boiled rice, inspired by how his grandmother used to make it, though with one major change. “White rice isn’t made with water,” he explains while showing a steaming pot. In his recipe, the cooking liquid is broth—preferably fish broth—along with garlic, bay leaf, and poached onion.
The result is still a simple white rice, but with much more aroma and depth. It’s also fluffier. This depends less on rare ingredients than on paying attention to small details during cooking.
The secret lies in the broth and in not stirring the rice
The recipe starts with a very simple base: olive oil, chopped onion, and three crushed garlic cloves. When the onion begins to turn translucent, add two bay leaves and the rice. Here comes one of the key steps: “nacarar” the grain—that is, stirring it for a few minutes so it absorbs the oil well before adding the liquid.
Then the hot broth is added. Juanjo López uses a fish broth made with bones, skins, and onions infused for about twenty minutes, though he admits to using chicken or meat versions depending on the dish the rice will accompany.
The proportions don’t differ much from a traditional recipe either: two parts broth to one part rice. The important part comes next. When it comes to a boil, he turns the heat down to low, covers the pot, and lets it cook for exactly thirteen minutes without stirring or lifting the lid.
The final resting period is also part of the recipe. Five more minutes, off the heat, so the steam can finish drying the grains and the rice turns out more uniform.