How to Turn Out Memorable Rice EVERY Time!
Like many grains, rice has a neutral flavor profile. This feature is one of the reasons why it’s such a versatile food. With cinnamon it makes a delicious rice pudding. Add a little ginger and you’re on your way to fried rice. Throw in some cilantro, and you have a delicious Tex-Mex dish. You get the idea.
It is a like a blank canvas just waiting to be adorned. But herein lies an issue. WHEN to adorn it? According to professional chefs and cooking school instructors, a common mistake made all too often is adding flavor after the rice has been cooked. Doing it this way doesn’t give the rice enough time for the rice to absorb the flavor and you’ll have a dish that’ll be on the bland side.
The pros say one trick to making delicious rice lies in adding flavor before cooking. And their other favorite trick is cooking it in chicken broth or stock rather than water. (You’ll get equally tasty results with beef broth and stock as well. Same goes for mushroom stock.)
These changes effect the end result in a huge way. Adding flavors prior to cooking allow them enough time to infuse into every single grain.
Speaking of broths and stocks, are you acquainted with the BETTER THAN BOUILLON products? These are concentrated food bases (pastes) made of cooked meat and/or vegetables that can be used in a variety of ways.
These small jars take up less space than boxes of broth or stock and they’re less expensive in the long run. I like them because I can control the amount of flavor I want to add. Just stir a small amount of the concentrated paste into hot water to make flavorful broth whenever you need it! Of course, you can also make your own homemade broth from scratch (which is easy to do) and either freeze or can it.
Now back to turning out cooked rice that’s memorable—that’s flavor-packed. The stovetop method or using a rice cooker are certainly ways to cook it. But since so many of you have asked me about more ways to use the Instant Pot, I’ll focus on that approach for now.
I just read a helpful tutorial on this from my favorite HOW-TO lady, Jillee Nystul, of www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com. She says she’s been cooking rice in her Instant Pot since she first bought it, and she’s never gone back to the stovetop method. (I can say the same thing. In fact, I passed my rice cooker on to a friend.)
It truly turns out perfect every time. So here’s how to make Instant Pot rice, along with Jillee’s four tasty ways to jazz up the basic recipe with additional flavors. (And notice, the flavorings are added before you cook it.)
BASIC RECIPE
2 cups rice
2 cups chicken broth or stock (or beef or vegetable broth/stock)
TEX-MEX RICE
1 tablespoon diced onions sauteed
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon tomato bouillon
CHEESY PARMESAN RICE
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
PESTO RICE
1 tablespoon prepared pesto
INDIAN BASMATI RICE
2 cups coconut milk (substituting for the chicken or vegetable stock)
4 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
It is a like a blank canvas just waiting to be adorned. But herein lies an issue. WHEN to adorn it? According to professional chefs and cooking school instructors, a common mistake made all too often is adding flavor after the rice has been cooked. Doing it this way doesn’t give the rice enough time for the rice to absorb the flavor and you’ll have a dish that’ll be on the bland side.
The pros say one trick to making delicious rice lies in adding flavor before cooking. And their other favorite trick is cooking it in chicken broth or stock rather than water. (You’ll get equally tasty results with beef broth and stock as well. Same goes for mushroom stock.)
These changes effect the end result in a huge way. Adding flavors prior to cooking allow them enough time to infuse into every single grain.
Speaking of broths and stocks, are you acquainted with the BETTER THAN BOUILLON products? These are concentrated food bases (pastes) made of cooked meat and/or vegetables that can be used in a variety of ways.
These small jars take up less space than boxes of broth or stock and they’re less expensive in the long run. I like them because I can control the amount of flavor I want to add. Just stir a small amount of the concentrated paste into hot water to make flavorful broth whenever you need it! Of course, you can also make your own homemade broth from scratch (which is easy to do) and either freeze or can it.
Now back to turning out cooked rice that’s memorable—that’s flavor-packed. The stovetop method or using a rice cooker are certainly ways to cook it. But since so many of you have asked me about more ways to use the Instant Pot, I’ll focus on that approach for now.
I just read a helpful tutorial on this from my favorite HOW-TO lady, Jillee Nystul, of www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com. She says she’s been cooking rice in her Instant Pot since she first bought it, and she’s never gone back to the stovetop method. (I can say the same thing. In fact, I passed my rice cooker on to a friend.)
It truly turns out perfect every time. So here’s how to make Instant Pot rice, along with Jillee’s four tasty ways to jazz up the basic recipe with additional flavors. (And notice, the flavorings are added before you cook it.)
Flavorful Rice Everytime
Ingredients:
BASIC RECIPE
2 cups rice
2 cups chicken broth or stock (or beef or vegetable broth/stock)
TEX-MEX RICE
1 tablespoon diced onions sauteed
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon tomato bouillon
CHEESY PARMESAN RICE
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
PESTO RICE
1 tablespoon prepared pesto
INDIAN BASMATI RICE
2 cups coconut milk (substituting for the chicken or vegetable stock)
4 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
Directions:
1. Rinse your rice and add it to your Instant Pot along with an equal amount of chicken broth (or other cooking liquid of your choice) and flavorings of choice.
2. Replace the lid, then cook with the Pressure Cook or Manual function on High Pressure for 4 minutes. When the timer goes off, allow 10 minutes of Natural Release.
3. After 10 minutes, turn the Quick Release valve to release any remaining pressure from the pot. Fluff the rice with a fork, then serve and enjoy your perfectly cooked, flavorful rice!
2. Replace the lid, then cook with the Pressure Cook or Manual function on High Pressure for 4 minutes. When the timer goes off, allow 10 minutes of Natural Release.
3. After 10 minutes, turn the Quick Release valve to release any remaining pressure from the pot. Fluff the rice with a fork, then serve and enjoy your perfectly cooked, flavorful rice!
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Alice Osborne
DVO Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
Sources:
- www.delish.com
- www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com
- www.cravingsinAmsterdam.com
- www.acouplecooks.com
- www.foodsharingvegan.com
