If you’re the kind of person that loves your food, you’ll know that rice is the perfect accompaniment to a variety of dishes. Whether you’re making a curry, a burrito, a rice pan dish or just something you want to add rice to, these tiny little grains can take your meal up a notch. However, if you’re simply boiling rice in a pan and serving it without any particular pizazz, rice can get pretty boring. It’s bland, it’s tasteless, and it can seem utterly monotonous to eat. So, how do you upgrade the way you cook rice?
Toast your rice
You toast bread, you toast bagels, you toast toasted sandwiches, but have you ever heard of toasting rice? Well, if you want to spice up your meal and add an extra crunch into the mix, then this toasting method could be your new best friend. All you need to do is toast the dry grains with either olive oil or butter, before adding some water into the pot. This will not only cook the rice but will also give it a crunchy and flavorsome texture and taste that will provide something extra special. If you want, you can also toast the rice with a few herbs to really make the flavor pop.
Make sure you season
It’s a general rule of thumb that seasoning your food always makes it taste better, and rice is no different. When cooked on its own, rice can be a little bland and boring. However, using herbs or spices can really help to compliment the dish. If you’re not sure on which herbs to use, you can always play it safe and use the ones that you are using to season the main bulk of the dish. This way you will create a cohesive and tasty addition to your whole meal.
Get some broth involved
If you’re looking to take your rice cooking skills to the next level, why not add some moisture into your life? Although dry rice does work in terms of curries and rice pan dishes, sometimes a broth-style texture will add an incredible amount of taste to your dish. It’s easy to do this because all you need is water, a vegetable stock cube, or a chicken stock cube. This will not only give your rice another dimension, but it will also automatically enhance the flavor.
Explore the realm of coconut
More and more people are getting onboard with coconut oil and flavoring, and it seems that even rice isn’t spared. Yes, coconut cream or milk will be the perfect addition to your bowl of rice because it will allow it the chance to become fluffy and rich, while also adding a delicate new flavor into the mix. All you need to do is stir in this oil or milk into the rice before you steam it, and then let all of the heat do the work.
Looking to spice up your rice game? These little tips and tricks will make dinnertime more fun.
