How to Make Rice More Exciting

Posted By Kimberly Turner on Jun 11, 2009 in Cooking Tips & Tricks, Ethnic Foods, Rice Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian | 0 comments

Now that you know how to tackle cooking any kind of rice, you need to know how to make it taste amazing.

Don’t just always feed your family plain, white rice with butter and salt. Yes, this is awesome sometimes…

…But you can really take your rice to another level, and make it something to take note of at dinner.

Are you cooking Indian food?
Why not add some curry powder or paste, some sesame seeds and green onion, or some chili paste? Try making it with Coconut Oil instead of butter. I love using coconut milk instead of the water in Indian rice recipes.

Are you pairing rice with an American meal of steak or chicken breast? Why not add some green onions, finely sliced mushrooms, minced garlic and use chicken or beef broth instead of water? If you’re serving pork chops or the like, try using your reserved bacon fat from breakfast instead of butter.

How about an Asian dish? Try using soya sauce in the pot instead of salt, finely sliced green onions are a must, some sesame seeds. How about using lemongrass? Yum!!! You can even try using fish broth instead of the water.

Going for Mexican? Add some salsa and/or hot sauce to the mix, as well as some green onions and chopped tomatoes. Before serving, you can even add black beans and cheese – just stir and serve. I just had some rice made with finely chopped cilantro – Awesome flavor!

Rice with a Tropical Twist? Again, add green onions, and chunked pineapple with a little juice in place of the water. Add some toasted coconut, use coconut oil and/or coconut milk! Delicious!

Italian? Try using some red wine with the water, some freshly minced oregano, thyme and/or parsley and chopped tomatoes, finely chopped peppers, garlic and onions. Be sure to use olive oil instead of butter.

How about a little bit of Cajun in your life? Make dirty rice by using some spicy seasonings like Tony Chachere’s or Emeril’s Essence and be sure to use the broth from your awesome gumbo you may have made or from your boiled beans water. Be sure to add some fabulous green onions and maybe even some crawfish! That’s my speed!

I hope this got your brain running with some really great ideas.

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I hope you enjoyed this Side Dish post on Cooking With Kimberly! Until next time…

Eat Deliciously,

Kimberly Edwards 🙂

P.S. I love to use my rice cooker, as it takes so much less effort to make some really tasty rice dishes that you won’t have to babysit! Get your own here: