Delicious Rice

Rice is one of the most flexible ingredients on earth. The kind of rice you use, how you cook it, and what you add can make rice a complex self-contained dish (e.g. Paella) or a base for other flavors. It can be a cohesive bite (sushi), a silky pudding, or distinct grains in the bowl. Rice has a lot of protein, and combined with beans makes the base of many low-meat diets worldwide.

Rice is AMAZING.

We’re going to use a long-grain white rice (basmati, jasmine or similar) and we’re going to add just enough flavor to create a layer of complexity behind whatever you’re adding to your rice to make a meal. Think back to the last time you had rice at an Indian restaurant — it has visible spices in it. I want you to feel comfortable experimenting with that idea.

First we’re going to choose a fat. The book “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” has fantastic charts about this, but one fool proof option is to choose whatever oil your main dish uses. This might be olive oil, butter, or even lard.

Next we’ll choose some spices to fry briefly (less than a minute) before adding water and rice. Once again, you can look at the main dish or cuisine for inspiration: cumin and garlic for Cuban, or oregano and paprika for Spanish, or cardamom and mustard seed for Indian.

You’ll need a liquid. Water is always fine, or add some broth, tomato juice or even the liquid from cooking shellfish or vegetables. If your liquid doesn’t have salt, add about 1/2tsp per cup of rice.

When the rice is finished you can add a final layer of herbs and aromatics. These are any fresh greens like fresh thyme (Spanish) or cilantro (Cuban), or perishable liquids like lime juice (cilantro and lime juice give Chipotle rice it’s savor!)

The example I’m giving here goes well with the cuban black beans I love so much, but by riffing on the oil, spices, liquids and herbs you can make rice an incredibly versatile base layer for your meal. Once you do it a few times, it will add less than five minutes to your normal rice-cooking routine.