Peppered Cilantro Rice

June. Summer. Twenty hours of daylight. The midnight sun. The annual compensation for winter's cruelty. I'm walking the coastal trail again — mornings before shifts, the inlet silver, the mountains green, the eagles circling. The walking is different this year — I walk and I think about the book, about which chapters to write first, about how to tell the story of the floor without the story consuming the book, about how to make the adobo the hero instead of the PTSD.

The blog continues — fifteen thousand readers, steady, the audience that will eventually (maybe, hopefully) become the book's audience. I wrote about the book this week — not the details, not the publisher, just a mention: "I'm working on something bigger. A project that scares me. The scared is how I know it matters." The comments were encouraging. The encouragement was fuel. The fuel was necessary because writing a book is not the same as writing a blog post, the way running a marathon is not the same as running to the bus stop, and the difference is measured in miles of sustained effort rather than minutes of sprinting.

I made grilled salmon on the balcony at 10 PM. Joseph's salmon. Charcoal. Salt. The Alaskan summer dinner, the simplest meal, the meal that says: the fish is good and the light is long and the world is warm. The salmon was pink and flaky and the light was golden and I ate on the balcony and thought about the book and the thinking was warm, the thinking was golden, the thinking was the same temperature as the salmon and the light and the summer.

That salmon deserved a proper plate, and in Alaska in June, “proper” means something that doesn’t compete — just supports. This Peppered Cilantro Rice has been my go-to alongside charcoal-grilled fish all summer: the pepper has just enough bite to match the smokiness, the cilantro keeps it fresh and green-tasting, and the whole thing comes together in the time it takes the coals to settle. It’s the rice I made that night on the balcony, golden light and warm thinking and all.

Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 cup long-grain white rice
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or water)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Instructions

Rinse the rice. Place rice in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear. This removes surface starch and keeps the grains from clumping.
Toast the garlic. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute until fragrant but not browned.
Add rice and broth. Stir the rinsed rice into the saucepan and toast for 1 minute, coating the grains in the butter. Pour in the broth, add the salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.
Simmer covered. Once boiling, reduce heat to the lowest setting, cover tightly, and cook for 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid.
Rest and fluff. Remove from heat and let the rice rest, still covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Finish with cilantro and lime. Fold in the chopped cilantro and lime juice. Taste and adjust pepper and salt as needed. Serve immediately alongside grilled fish or your main of choice.

Nutrition (per serving)

Peppered Cilantro Rice — The Side Dish That Belongs on a Balcony at Midnight