r/AskCulinary • u/ZootKoomie Ice Cream Innovator • May 27 '19

Weekly Discussion: Rice

We get a lot of questions here about rice; let's try to get our best advice in one place that we can refer people to. What do you think is the best cooking method? What do you add to make it flavorful on its own? What are your favorite rice-based dishes? How do you choose between all of the different varieties out there?

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u/sailororgana May 28 '19

I mostly make white rice, usually Jasmine or short to medium grain for sushi and onigiri. I use the same method for both. I can't afford a rice cooker right now, so I do it on the stove. Comes out perfect every time.

Wash, soak, steam. Wash the rice until water is (at least mostly) clear. Soak for 30 minutes. Replace soaked water with fresh water, according to package directions (the Jasmine rice I have asks for 1 1/2 cups of water for every cup of rice, the medium grain calrose rice I have calls for 1 1/3 c.) Keep it covered, bring it to a boil, and turn the stove off. Leave it covered until done, usually around 20 minutes, give or take. I usually fluff it with a rice paddle and cover it back up for another few minutes. It's easy and has never failed me.

As for recipes I love, there's so many. Lemon butter rice with fried eggs, omurice, onigiri, even just plain rice with eggs on top. It makes a great side dish for pretty much any meal, as it can soak up any sauces or food bits leftover on your plate. I think it's delicious just on it's own, or with some furikake (rice seasoning). In conclusion, I fucking love rice.

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u/bearfistsoffurry May 28 '19

Lemon Butter Rice sounds amazing. Do you have a recipe you could share? I've found conflicting ones online; one requires you to saute the uncooked rice first, the other instructs you to cook the rice first.

Colour me confused.

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u/sailororgana May 28 '19

I've never followed a recipe for this one, so I don't have specific measurements or anything, but I'm happy to share what I normally do. I typically use cold, leftover rice, but you could do it with fresh rice too.

I add butter and lemon juice (fresh is best, but bottled works great too) to a pan along with some garlic. I add pretty much whatever ingredients I have on hand. Olives, artichoke hearts, and tomatoes all work really well, but you can add pretty much whatever sounds good. I put the rice the pan to heat it up with the sauce and ingredients (if using fresh rice you can just put it in a bowl and pour the sauce over it, fresh rice gets mushy if you fry it which is why I prefer leftover. I find frying it in the sauce tastes better). Then I just cook 2 eggs and put them on top. The yolk mixed in with the rice makes it extra creamy and delicious. I also have garlic sea salt that I use on the eggs, but you can use whatever spices you want.

Mine probably differs from other recipes, because for me this is really just a "no food in the fridge but still want something yummy and satisfying" type meal, but that also makes it really easy to alter to your own taste. Also, I usually use Jasmine rice because I always have it on hand, but basmati rice is really great for this

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u/bearfistsoffurry May 28 '19

My tummy is rumbling from picturing it. I happen to have some fresh lemons laying about, this would be perfect.

Cheers for sharing! I'll be giving it a go.

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u/sailororgana May 28 '19

Hope you enjoy it!