Favorite rice dishes

[puglogic]

I find myself with a large quantity of (quite yummy) basmati rice. Like 15 pounds.

I generally eat brown rice, but feel as though I need to use this up before it starts getting dry and even rancid.

Care to share your favorite rice-based recipe or main dish?

Thanks,
pug the rice queen

[Tiam]

Can rice go rancid? I was under the impression rice has a very long shelf life. I'm not a big rice eater. Maybe because I ate it lots when I was poor. But, I do like spanish and cheesy rice dishes. I also like Mexican rice.

[Jemima]

I don't know about white rice, but brown rice can definitely go rancid like any other whole grain. It stays fresh on the shelf for one to two years, at least at my house, but when I stock up at sales I keep it in the freezer until the more handy cupboard supply is nearly gone.

[Kathy WI]

I altered a chicken and rice casserole by leaving out the chicken and adding canned pumpkin. It's really yummy even if you don't like pumpkin, and has lots of vitamin A.

[Simplicity]

Funny timing! I just finished photocopying 3 rice dishes from my friend's Mexican cookbook!

Mexican Rice

1 cup rice
1 7-oz can of chopped (diced) tomatoes
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
scant 2 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp salt
3 fresh fresno chilies or other fresh green chillies, trimmed
1 cup frozen peas (optional)
ground black pepper

1 Put the rice in a large bowl and pour the boiling water over it to cover. Stir once, then leave to stand for 10 minutes. Tip into a strainer, rinse under cold water, drain again and set aside to dry slightly.

2. Meanwhile, pour the tomatoes and juice into a food processor or blender, add the onion and garlic and process until smooth.

3. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan, add the rice and cook over a moderate heat until it becomes a delicate golden brown. Stir occasionally to ensure that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

4. Add the tomato mixture and stir over a moderate heat until all the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in the stock, salt, whole chilies and peas. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is just tender.

5. Remove from heat, cover it with a tight-fitting lid and leave it to stand in a warm place for 5-10 minutes. Remove the chilies, fluff up the rice lightly and serve, sprinkled with black pepper. You can garnish with the chilies, if you like.


Green Rice (this is the one my friend recommends)

2 fresh green chilies, preferably poblanos
1 small green bell pepper
1 cup rice
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
bunch of fresh cilantro
small bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley
2 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
salt

1 Dry roast the chilies and green pepper in a griddle pan, turning them frequently so that the skins blacken but the flesh does not burn. Place them in a strong plastic bag, tie the top and set aside for 20 minutes.

2. Put the rice in a heatproof bowl, pour over boiling water to cover and leave it to stand for 20 minutes.

3 Drain the rice, rinse well under cold water and drain again. Remove the chilies from the bag and peel off the skins. Remove any stalks, then slit the vegetables and scrape out the seeds with a sharp knife.

4. Put the roasted vegetables in a food processor, with the garlic. Strip off the leaves from the cilantro and parsley, reserve some for garnish and add the rest to the food processor. Pour in half the chicken stock and process until smooth. Add the rest of the stock and process the purée again.

5. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and rice and fry for 5 minutes over a moderate heat until the rice is golden and the onion translucent. Stir in the purée. Lower the heat, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is just tender. Add salt and garnish with the reserved herbs. Served with lime wedges, this rice goes extremely well with fish.


Yellow Rice

1 cup rice
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp ground achiote seed (annatto powder)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup drained pickled jalapeno chili slices, chopped
salt
fresh cilantro, to garnish

1. Put the rice in a heatproof bowl, pour over boiling water to cover and leave it to stand for 20 minutes. Drain the rice, rinse well under cold water and drain again.

2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the ground achiote seed and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Stir in the rice and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Pour in the stock, mix well and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover pan with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed.

4. Add the chopped jalapenos to the pan and stir to distribute them evenly. Add salt to taste, then spoon into a heated serving dish and garnish with the fresh cilantro. Server immediately.

[Gina]

I really like paella, and fried rice, also risotto. You can also use rice instead of pasta with sauce and some parmesan cheese.

A rice salad that contains artichoke hearts, celery, peppers, scallions, chicken pieces, and dressed with mayo is very good and keeps well.

Another rice salad that is good has chicken (or leftover turkey) pieces, celery, raw onion, crunchy apple chunks, curry powder, dried cranberries, toasted almonds, a bit of cayenne, and dressed with oil and vinegar.

[pinkytoe]

Not the healthiest dish in the world but whenever we have smoked fish tacos with red cabbage slaw, we make up a batch of cilantro rice:
Add to warm, cooked rice:
2-3 TBSPs of butter, a cup of chopped cilantro, chopped green onions and the juice of one lime.
Stir and salt to taste.

[treehugger]

I find myself with a large quantity of (quite yummy) basmati rice. Like 15 pounds.

I generally eat brown rice, but feel as though I need to use this up before it starts getting dry and even rancid.



Is it white or brown basmati rice? If it's white, I don't think you'll have to worry about rancidity, even if you don't use it all up for a couple of years. That said, I think you can get through 15 pounds of rice in a year. :) Great ideas already in this thread (I love the Mexican ones). I also want to add rice pudding to the list. Yum!

Kara

[Simplicity]

Not the healthiest dish in the world but whenever we have smoked fish tacos with red cabbage slaw, we make up a batch of cilantro rice:
Add to warm, cooked rice:
2-3 TBSPs of butter, a cup of chopped cilantro, chopped green onions and the juice of one lime.
Stir and salt to taste.

OMG that sounds good!! Cilantro is probably my favorite herb. I'd like to grow it, but I think I'd have to have half an acre to supply my addiction! lol

[Rosemary]

Arroz con pollo, biryani, Indian-style pilafs.

[puglogic]

I agree, SImplicity. So much yum on this page already!

My experience with rice has been that if it sits around too long, it dries out and also takes on an "old" smell. Cooking it becomes a little dicey as well, as it takes longer to cook all the way through, so the outside's often mushy by the time the inner core is cooked (one of the interesting things about living with low humidity :) )

But with your help I'll have no problem getting through it now. Thanks.

[Greg44]

My dw a "standard" white sauce, mixes with rice and canned green bean and chunked up chicken breast. I guess it is layed but I eat the white sauce and rice right out of the pan - oh so good. I usually make myself sick!

Fried Rice, Spanish Rice - all great rice dishes that I don't know when to stop eating. :sick:

[Rosemary]

rice pudding with cardamom & cinnamon.

[puglogic]

rice pudding with cardamom & cinnamon.

pug swoons and faints !thumbsup!

[happystuff]

Fried rice. I usually add diced ham, diced carrots, chopped cabbage and cooked egg along with the sauce. Yum!!!

[Mrs-M]

Holy smokes Simplicity, those are super duper recipes! Thank you so kindly for posting! Thank you as well Pinkytoe for the rice idea.

[Mrs-M]

Rosemary and Happystuff, talk about awesome additions!

[Maxamillion]

Not the healthiest dish in the world but whenever we have smoked fish tacos with red cabbage slaw, we make up a batch of cilantro rice:
Add to warm, cooked rice:
2-3 TBSPs of butter, a cup of chopped cilantro, chopped green onions and the juice of one lime.
Stir and salt to taste.

I love cilantro and onions, so I'll have to try this.

Here's a recipe I modified from one I found on the web. I use this sauce with rice and veges and sometimes I'll throw in some chicken. This makes a lot of sauce. I keep the ginger root in the freezer but next time I buy ginger root, I'm going to peel and slice it before it goes in the freezer.

Orange Ginger Sauce
-------------------------------------------
1 1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Add all ingredients to a pot. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture reaches desired consistency (between 5 to 10 minutes). Serve with rice, veges, chicken, etc.

[RCWRTR]

Steamed rice is a wonderful addition to soups made with vegetable broth, chicken broth, beef broth or tomato bases.

You can sauté sliced button mushrooms (canned or fresh), chopped onion and/or minced garlic and baby green peas in a bit of butter or extra virgin olive oil and add it to rice steamed in water, vegetable broth, chicken broth or beef broth for a wonderful main course or side dish.

Leftovers can be reheated in a skillet with a splash or two of soy sauce and you can add some scrambled egg to it to make fried rice the next day. It's also good with crumbled bacon in it.

Here's a recipe that works with brown rice (my favorite), basmati rice, jasmine rice, etc. to make homemade rice hot cereal:

Homemade Rice Hot Cereal
Really delicious used in various bread recipes. Also can use basmati, jasmine or regular white rice, but brown is the healthiest.
1 serving
10 minutes
4 cups short-grain brown rice or long grain brown rice
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

In clean, dry skillet (preferably cast iron) toast brown rice on medium heat. Lower heat if rice starts to smoke.

Toast rice for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly so that grains do not burn. Rice should turn a medium brown. Set aside to cool slightly.
In blender fitted with steel blade, or in grain mill or food processor grind browned rice to the consistency of medium coarse cornmeal (grainy but not powdered.).
The grinding process will have to be done in 3/4 cup portions to allow the rice grains to grind effectively.

To store: Place ground rice cereal in airtight container or "ziploc" bag. The cereal must be kept either refrigerated or frozen.

To prepare hot cereal: (1 serving/thick consistency*):

In small saucepan with 1 cup of rapidly boiling, salted water gradually add 1/3 cup scant of prepared brown rice cereal using a fork to stir well. *For thinner consistency cereal, either increase amount of water, or reduce amount of cereal. Continue to cook rice on high for about 30 seconds breaking up any lumps. Reduce heat until boiling subsides, cover pan tightly and simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve with your favorite toppings if desired. Season with salt if necesary. My favorite additions are toasted nuts, raisins and cardamom!