Rice

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alanmonks
alanmonks Posts: 115 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Any ideas on anything that can be cooked with rice to make it interesting. I prefer Basmati rice, but anytime i put anything in it ruins it. Help.

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  • emederos
    emederos Posts: 25
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    Stay away from white and stick with whole grain. As for making it interesting, I'd suggest mixing in beans which are a good source of carbohydrates and fiber.
  • miqisha
    miqisha Posts: 1,534 Member
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    My husband put mushrooms in the rice this weekend....it was good......You can also make rice and peas

    Sometimes he puts different veggies in there...like carrots and brocolli etc

    Yes we also only eat brown rice

    Goodluck
  • alanmonks
    alanmonks Posts: 115 Member
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    Cheers guy

    I have tried brown rice but found it very stodgy.
    any particular make?
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
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    We have added black and red rice recently to our pantry. I find they have a bit more "structure" than brown rice, you just have to soak it for a bit before cooking. We have also recently tried Quinoa lately and like it and also have whole wheat couscous often. For a bit more added flavor I use chicken stock in place of water, or half water half chicken stock (which I make myself so if you buy this look for low sodium as it can be quite high in stock). The stock is quite good with the couscous and is my husbands favorite carb at present.
  • alphaip
    alphaip Posts: 86
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    I get a three pepper & onion blend (recipe helper) from Kroger frozen at 88 cents. Stir fry that in tiny bit of olive oil spray. Then add in a can of pinto beans or black beans and can of diced tomatoes ( all drained in a colander) .

    Mix in the rice. I love the near east whole grain blends rice. Been losing weight on this mixture. You can additionally mix in egg whites, chicken breast strips...etc.
  • ssmom
    ssmom Posts: 128 Member
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    I use chicken broth (low sodium) to cook my rice instead of water and add either frozen mixed veggies or just frozen peas and corn to make it more interesting. Rice is one of those things you can put anything in. I accidentally got tuna in my rice the other day, but I found it good and will do it on purpose next time.
  • TropicalKitty
    TropicalKitty Posts: 2,298 Member
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    I like adding some aromatics like clove, fennel seed, and cardamom while it's steaming - sort of like Indian style.

    Wild rice has a great nutty taste that I find is fantastic!
  • alanmonks
    alanmonks Posts: 115 Member
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    Lutzsher - I have put chicken stock in with my rice and found that it turned the rice to mush, that with me standing over it and stirring it occasionally.
    i can do the basmati for fun, thats why i have put the request on here, to see how others do it. any tips while the rice and chicken stock is cooking?
  • TropicalKitty
    TropicalKitty Posts: 2,298 Member
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    Lutzsher - I have put chicken stock in with my rice and found that it turned the rice to mush, that with me standing over it and stirring it occasionally.
    i can do the basmati for fun, thats why i have put the request on here, to see how others do it. any tips while the rice and chicken stock is cooking?

    I'd watch out with the stirring...that's how you break up the rice. Think about how you make risotto: you slowly add stock to the rice, stir it to loosen the starch which makes the "sauce". It's generally a no-no to stir rice while cooking it.

    You can use the broth in place of the water. :) You can use that trick for a number of other things too!
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
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    Can't speak for all rices but I did read something about brown rice not long ago that has changed brown rice forever for me. They suggested rinsing it first before cooking to rinse out the excess starch. It keeps it from being sticky when cooked.

    I don't buy any particular brand of brown rice, I buy it bulk from my health Coop so it's very fresh I do think fresh rice cooks up far better and thus tastes better than bagged (who knows how old and how long it's been on the supermarket shelf, right?).

    There's a great rice thread floating around in the archives I'll see if I can find with suggestions on broth etc. for basmatti, brown rice and other various rices and other add ins to flavor it a bit. I love plain brown rice with chicken and green veggie on the side.

    But probably time for me to get more experimental:drinker: :wink:

    Becca:flowerforyou:
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    Last night, I made sloppy joes but instead of a bun, put it on top of white rice (don't remember the exact kind - bf's brother buys it and he dumps it into a bin so i have no idea!). It was DELICIOUS. When I don't eat anything w/ the rice, I like to mix in some mozzarella and salsa and it's sooo good.
  • lucky1ns
    lucky1ns Posts: 358 Member
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    Hmmm yes salsa on rice is very good.
  • disneyfetishboy
    disneyfetishboy Posts: 65 Member
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    Black rice!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_rice

    Just throw a spoonful or two into your other rice before you cook it, and voila! Turns the rest of the rice a lavendar color, and gives all of your rice a mild nutty taste. Also has a lot of fiber, iron, and other vitamins as well. Just be sure not to put too much!
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
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    Lutzsher - I have put chicken stock in with my rice and found that it turned the rice to mush, that with me standing over it and stirring it occasionally.
    i can do the basmati for fun, thats why i have put the request on here, to see how others do it. any tips while the rice and chicken stock is cooking?

    Ah ha . . . now I get why your rice doesn't turn out. Rule #1 about cooking brown (red or black) rice is to NOT remove the lid at all when it is cooking. Most of these types of rice cook anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes. The trick is to use cold water, add the rice and 1 tsp of olive oil (oil is optional), then as soon as it is boiling reduce the heat WAY down to a simmer (so basically on about 2 out of 10) then leave it alone. Don't remove the lid and don't stir it. When the time is up put the pot on a heating pad off to the side for another 5 minutes and again DON'T remove the lid. Your rice should turn out perfect every time using this method.
    I can't cound how many pots I blackened the bottoms of before I figured this out . . . ha ha.

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