Please share your favorite rice recipes

Cafe Society
1

I’m craving a rice dish. In particular, a rice I used to get at a nursing home I worked at back in Louisiana. That was more than 45 years ago and I have no idea what it was. I just remember it was creamy and white and it may have had peas. It’s possible it was a risotto of some sort.

I’ve also been craving a “Sunday Chicken Rice Casserole” my ex sister in law used to make. I lost the recipe and none of my recent attempts have been quite right.

So, I’ll turn to you guys. Maybe I can acquire a new favorite from one of your suggestions.

Thank everyone. Happy 4th!

2

Maybe not what you described but a simple dish that’s colorfully appealing, just make some long grain rice and toss in a little saffron or tumeric along with some fresh or frozen peas and chopped parsley. You can even use packaged Yellow Rice to start it, and dried parsley flakes if it’s all you have.

My favorite rice dish is Jambalaya. That’s more than I can type on my phone right now, I’ll add something later.

3

Wild Rice Stuffing

1/2 cup long-grain white rice

1/2 cup brown rice

2 cups wild rice

1 8-oz can of water chestnuts

1 12-oz can of bean sprouts

2 cups of cooked meat from turkey or chicken giblets, cut up (neck, liver, gizzard)

2 tsp sage

Salt and pepper to taste

Chicken or Turkey broth (leftover from last year’s Turkey is ideal)

Boil turkey giblets, supplemented with chicken giblets as necessary to give two cups of meat after it is removed from bone and gristle. Cook white, brown, and wild rice separately, using broth from giblets (supplementing with leftover last-years’ broth, canned broth or bouillon cubes as necessary). Be sure to wash wild rice thoroughly before cooking . Do not overcook any of the three kinds of rice; brown rice especially tends to become sticky when overcooked.

Mix ingredients in a mixing bowl, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add a cup of broth to keep it moist if coasting on the stovetop while other items are still cooking. Serve with turkey (e.g.) and other Thanksgiving favorites

4

I’ve always loved the versatility of rice. Everything from plain, with butter and a bit of salt, to a full-on seafood paella. My go-to with some dishes is pretty simple:

Basmati rice with saffron and golden raisins
Butter
Toasted sliced almonds

I make my rice in a nonstick pot with a tight lid. Bring to a boil with the saffron and raisins, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, let sit, covered, for another ten. Fluff.

Lightly toast the sliced almonds in butter on med-low until lightly browned. Add to the rice along with the browned butter and extra butter, if wanted.

5

Spanish Rice

Cook one cup of long grain rice in two cups of chicken broth (or water with a chicken stock cube added).

Chop up a medium-sized yellow onion and green bell pepper and saute in lots of extra virgin olive oil. (Onions and peppers of other colors can be used too.)

Add as much minced garlic as you like, along with some chopped parsley, oregano, and basil.

Season the vegetables with salt and pepper, and transfer the rice to the pan.

Stir in a large can of plain tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Add some tomato paste to thicken and add flavor.

Add some chopped olives (black and/or green) and red pepper flakes, if desired. Other good additions are shrimp, chorizo, cubed ham, and shredded chicken breast.

I like to serve this with grilled chicken or fish.

6

Chicken, Andouille, and Shrimp Jambalaya

Yields: 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
  • 2 pounds boneless-skinless chicken thighs, cut in 1-inch cubes
  • 1½ cups chopped onion
  • 1½ cups chopped celery
  • 1½ cups chopped green bell pepper
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 cups long-grain rice
  • 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 5 cups chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • 1½ pounds large fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • Garnish: chopped green onion

Instructions

  1. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat; add sausage and chicken, and cook about 5 minutes or until browned. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, stirring for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add rice, and stir about 3 minutes until lightly toasted.
  2. Add tomatoes, and stir until juices are absorbed. Add broth, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and cook for 15 minutes or until rice is tender.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine shrimp, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, paprika, cayenne, and parsley. Add shrimp to rice mixture, and stir until combined. Cook for 2 minutes or until shrimp are pink and firm. Add remaining 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
  4. Garnish with green onion, if desired. Serve immediately.

I keep this one on my phone in Notes, so I can refer to it without having to bring my computer into the kitchen.

7

I just had a rice with corn sidedish from one of my go-to restaurants yesterday, and it was very tasty. No recipe. But it was short grain white rice with a moderate sprinkling of corn kernels, sauteed onion and coriander (ground), also some other herb (parsley/).

But I used to make pork fried rice a lot, but I used to get prepared pork ribs from the fresh food section of a close by market as the pork in my rice. But they haven’t made them in ages, and I haven’t found a substitute yet.

I like to use leftover already cooked rice so I start by sauteeing onion and garlic. Then, stir in the rice, add diced pork rib, a small package of frozen peas & carrots. Let this all heat for a while. Then, form a well in the middle of the pan, crack an egg into the well, wait until it starts to cook, then stir it into the rest of the rice. Drizzle with sesame oil before serving. So simple and really tasty.

8

Breakfast fried rice. Scoop a cup or two of leftover plain white rice into a hot, oiled (canola or veg oil, not olive) skillet and break apart with a spatula while it starts to sizzle. Form a thin layer. Toss in a couple cloves of minced garlic and spread into a thin layer again. Stir occasionally until the rice and garlic pieces start to brown, then toss in a half tbsp or so of minced fresh ginger, respread and continue to brown. When desired brown-ness is reached and the rice is starting to dry and crisp, drizzle with a few drops of sesame oil and a few drops of soy sauce and ground pepper to taste. Stir to distribute, then remove from skillet. Top with a couple of fried eggs and a squirt of sriracha.

9

That sounds yummy and easy! Perfect.

10

Yes, it’s all of those things! The fresh ginger really makes it.

11

And I love ginger.

One of my favorite dishes at Happy Family was the ginger chicken where the two ingredients were in approximately equal proportions.

12

Looks pretty good. Very close to how I do it.

@not_what_you_d_expect , the same recipe for Jambalaya can be used with any type of meat or combination of meats.

13

These all sound very tasty! Thanks so much all of you. I can’t wait to try them all.

14

I like simple rice pudding; here is a recipe using rice, milk, sugar, cardamom, nuts, and rose water:

15

I came up with this recipe when I was hitchhiking through England and living on less than £5 a day:

St Ives Hostel Rice

Boil one cup of long grain white rice in two cups of water.
Chop up one medium yellow onion, one green hot pepper, and some cloves of garlic.
Saute the veg in butter.
Transfer the rice to the pan and pour in one can each of beef and chicken broth.
Stir well until heated through and most of the liquid has evaporated or been absorbed.
Season with salt and pepper.
Top with a dollop of sour cream and serve as a side or main dish accompanied by bread and butter.

I made this one day for some coworkers after I returned to the US, and they all asked for the recipe!

16

My paella recipe:

Whole shrimp in shell
Parsley sprigs (flat-leaf, not frilly)
Olive oil
Chicken
Squid rings
Onion
Tomate
Short-grain rice
Saffron

Shell shrimp, setting aside the “meat” and sautéing the shells and heads in olive oil in a big enough saucepan to make a quart or more of stock. Mash down with wooden spoon, sautéing until fragrant and slightly browned. Add water, parsley and salt and cook with lid for around 15 minutes. Strain and set aside.

Brown salted chicken in oil in large frying pan (must be browned) and set aside. Peel and deseed tomato, finely chop it and onion and sauté with salt in the same pan over low heat, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes or until browned and no liquid remains. Add rice, saffron, salt and hot shrimp stock. Give pan a gentle swirl to mix ingredients and distribute rice. Add chicken pieces, making sure the grains of rice are submerged and not sitting on top of chicken, and do the same with the squid rings if you’re using them. Turn up heat to high until boiling, then reduce to low/medium and cook for about 10 minutes. Check rice to see if it’s cooked, adding more stock if necessary. Add shrimp in last few minutes of cooking time. Once they’ve changed color, turn off heat and let the paella sit for a few minutes before serving.

Ideally, there should be no liquid when the rice is cooked, so make enough stock and adjust heat accordingly toward the end to boil away excess liquid, making sure rice doesn’t end up overcooked.

Things to consider:

For best results, use pan big enough for a layer of single rice grains (not piled up).

Skip the squid rings if they’re unavailable.

The salt quickly adds up, so be careful not to overdo it. Concentrated stock may be salty.

Use short-grain rice and real saffron (threads, not powder).

Cook the sofrito until it’s dry and browned. Lots of people miss this key step.

Garlic adds a lot of flavor but burns easily, so don’t cook it in the sofrito.

To prevent rice from releasing starch, don’t stir or jostle while cooking.

For extra flavor, cook until rice is browned on bottom. It’s not always possible, as it will depend on the amount of cooking liquid that’s left when the rice is done.

If you’ve used too much liquid, it’s better to eat a soupy paella than to overcook the rice.

Let sit for a few minutes before eating.

If you use chorizo, pay no attention to the naysayers. Some cooks from Spain’s east coast used chorizo in the past. So long ago, that it’s not done any more in Spain, but the antecedent is there.

17

I like jasmine or rice with sliced almonds and snow peas. Gotta have the snow peas.

18

Very Simple Dressing/Stuffing for Roast Chicken

Boil two cups of long grain white rice in four cups of chicken broth or water with two chicken stock cubes.
Chop up a good-sized yellow onion, 8–10 mushrooms, and at least six cloves of garlic.
Saute the veg in extra virgin olive oil and/or butter.
Transfer the rice to the pan and mix thoroughly.
Season with salt and pepper, and add some chopped parsley.
Rub a little oil over your chicken and season it inside and out with salt and pepper.
Spread most of the rice mixture over the bottom of a roasting pan and use the remainder to stuff the chicken.
Place the chicken on the bed of rice and roast the lot uncovered at 325°F until the chicken is golden brown. Baste it periodically with juices collected from the pan, but allow the rice to absorb most of the liquid.
Let the chicken rest before cutting it up. Serve the chicken alongside the rice and a green vegetable (I like buttered broccoli).

Brown rice or a mixture of brown and wild rice can be substituted for the white rice. (Wild rice on its own is much too tough and chewy.)

I’ve made this dish with sage-based poultry seasoning and just some paprika. Both versions are delicious.

19

Rice Stuffing/Dressing for Thanksgiving Turkey

Boil the turkey giblets in four cups of water to make a broth. Remove the giblets and boil two cups of mixed brown and wild rice in the broth. (If desired, chop up the giblets and add them to the cooked rice. Otherwise, give them to your dog or cat as a holiday treat.)

Chop up a large white onion, 2–4 stalks of celery, and 8–10 mushrooms. Add a cup of peas (frozen or fresh) and saute the lot in extra virgin olive oil and butter.

Transfer the rice to the pan and stir thoroughly. Season the mixture liberally with salt, pepper, and sage-based poultry seasoning. Add some chopped parsley.

Divide the mixture into two portions. Use one to stuff the turkey and put the other into a casserole dish. Add some chicken broth to the casserole dish to keep the rice moist and put it in the oven alongside the turkey.

Serve along with Native American foods like squash and cranberry cornbread and eat like the Pilgrims!

(Actually, venison was probably the main dish at the first Thanksgiving. But what the heck…)

20

So do I, but I never thought of using a recipe. I always am using a small amount of leftover rice, so I just add some milk and start simmering. Other stuff is added as I move along. Some raisins, nutmeg, cardamom, etc.