This Peruvian Sazon orange rice is the most delicious side dish for Peruvian Chicken with Green Sauce. And it is so simple to make using either the handy dandy mix or my DIY Sazon spice mix recipe. This orange-colored rice has a fabulous flavor and is such a beautiful color. It is a great side dish for any grilled meat.
What is Sazon Seasoning?
If you haven’t discovered these small cardboard boxes made by Goya, you are really missing out. (They have several different flavors available.) Sazon is actually a Puerto Rican spice mix. It is a blend of coriander, achiote seed, cumin, oregano, salt, garlic, and black pepper.
The Goya brand is readily available. The downside is that it contains msg. But never fear, I have a recipe for a DIY sazon spice mix.
DIY Sazon Spice Mix
Mixing up your own spice blends is fun and cost-effective, especially if your grocery store has bulk spices for sale. I find many of those spices are fresher than the brand-name packaged ones since the bulk spices are always being used.
Most of the spices in this Sazon mix are probably already in your pantry. Cumin, garlic powder (or granulated garlic), dried oregano, kosher salt, black pepper, are pretty common. But you may have to make a special trip to get a couple of the more unusual spices.
- Coriander has an earthy sweet bright flavor with a strong citrus note.
- Cumin has a warm, nutty, slightly smoky flavor with a hint of pleasant bitterness.
- The two spices are often used together since the flavors compliment each other so well,
- Turmeric is in the ginger family and is a rhizome. It imparts a vibrant yellow color to any dish as well as has a very mild warm but bitter flavor.
- Annatto comes from the Achiote Seed. Often made into a paste called annatto, it gives a bright orange-red color to foods much like saffron and turmeric. The seeds have a nutty sweet flavor with peppery floral accents. The achiote seeds are very hard! You will need a spice grinder to break them down into powder. So look for pre-ground achiote in specialty markets, online, or from a Latino grocer.
DIY Sazon Spice Mix
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 3/4 cup 1x
- Category: sauce
- Method: fresh
- Cuisine: Peruvian
Description
Use this DIY Sazon spice mix to add flavor and bright vibrant color to rice, chicken, fish, beef, and pork. It is truly versatile.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons anatto seeds
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons turmeric
- 2 tablespoons ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
Instructions
- Blend ingredients for 2-3 minutes in a food processor.
- Strain the powder through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the husks of the anatto seeds.
- Store in an airtight container.
- Use 2 teaspoons in place of a packet of Sazon Goya Mix
Notes
I like to make a simple marinade for chicken with this DIY Sazon Mix. Generously drizzle olive oil over chicken thighs or breasts. Massage in 2-3 tablespoons of Sazon spice mix. Refrigerate to at least 2 hours and up to 24 and then grill or bake as desired. I even season chicken pieces with oil and Sazon and then freeze the chicken for up to 4 months. This makes getting a meal on the table so easy since all you need to do is defrost and then cook the meat.
Peruvian Sazon Orange Rice Recipe
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Peruvian Sazon Rice
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 5-6 1x
- Category: side, rice
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Peruvian
Description
Peruvian Sazon orange rice is a delicious side dish for grilled meat. Make your own sazon seasoning to have on hand.
Ingredients
- 1 cup long-grain rice
- 1–2/3 cups water
- 1 envelope Sazón Goya Con Culantro Y Achiote (Goya seasoning with cilantro and annatto) or 2 teaspoons DIY Sazon Spice Mix
Instructions
- Using a fine-mesh strainer, rinse the rice under cool water for 2 minutes or until the water coming from the bottom of the strainer is clear, not cloudy.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the rinsed rice, water, and spice mix, then stir to combine.
- Bring the water to a boil, then cover the saucepan with a lid. Reduce the heat to low and just let the rice cook (undisturbed) for 20-25 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Uncover and fluff the cooked rice with a fork.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve warm.
Notes
You can also use the finger method to judge the amount of water needed to cook perfect rice. Add the rinsed rice to a saucepan. Place your index finger so it just touches the rice. Add enough water to just come to the first knuckle.
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