Why should I do a whole post on cooking white rice, when I have a primer on how to make perfect white rice here?
Normally I try to cook brown rice, but lately my stomach’s been a little touchy and brown rice has been difficult to digest.
So tonight I was making white rice, and honestly, I just wasn’t down with the boring whiteness of the dish. To spruce it up I added a bunch of goodies to my rice cooker to make my boring white rice much more interesting.
This impromptu rice pilaf goes to show that you can throw pretty much anything into rice and have it taste good.
Some days I use water as the cooking liquid but add in a few shakes each of coriander, cumin, and cinnamon, plus one or two cardamom pods.
(Be sure to pull them out before serving… cardamom pods are insanely intense if you bite into them.)
Cooking white rice is super easy.
You could also sweeten the deal by using coconut milk as your cooking liquid and adding a few shakes of cinnamon and nutmeg, plus a spoonful of honey. Anything goes!
Spice Up That White Rice! (or Brown Rice) — Stovetop Method
Ingredients
- 1/2 onion
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup basmati rice or any white rice (not minute rice)
- 2 cups vegetable stock or water
- Small handful dried cranberries
- Small handful raw cashews chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cardamom pod whole, optional
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Chop the onion. Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chopped onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion browns gently.
- Add the rice to the pot and stir well. Fry rice for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour stock into pot. Add dried cranberries, cashews, spices, and salt to pot.
- Cover pot and bring to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling, set heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat and leave covered for 10 minutes, until rice is done.
- Fluff rice with fork and remove cardamom pod. Serve immediately, or cover pot to keep warn and set aside for up to 10 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Spice Up That White Rice! (or Brown Rice) — Rice Cooker Method
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice or any white rice (not minute rice)
- 2 cups vegetable stock or water
- Small handful dried cranberries
- Small handful raw cashews chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cardamom pod whole, optional
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Pour rice, stock, dried cranberries, cashews, spices, and salt to pot.
- Cover rice cooker and set it to the appropriate settings, according to your specific rice cooker.
- When the rice is done, fluff fork and remove cardamom pod. Serve immediately, or cover rice cooker again to keep warn and set aside for up to 10 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This content was originally posted on FearlessFresh.com.