8 ways to amp up the taste of the favourite Asian staple.
8 ways to amp up the taste of the favourite Asian staple.
Spice, Spice Baby
Spiced rice not only adds a flavour punch, but it also goes well with many Asian dishes. Try Cajun, pepper, paprika, chilli powder or cinnamon. Tip: Use just ½ to 1 tsp of the spices for each small pot of rice so you don’t overwhelm the delicate aroma of your rice.
Make A Toast
Toasting and seasoning the grains lightly with some sesame oil or olive oil before cooking will improve the flavour of your pot of rice.
Stock Up
Some vegetable bouillon or chicken stew left over from dinner? Don’t throw them away, keep them in the fridge and use the stock to cook the rice the next day. It injects a nice flavour for a hearty meal.
Add Herbs
Make aromatic rice by adding some herbs; Cardamom or coriander seeds work really well for a middle Eastern flavour. Or try oregano, parsley or basil which are popular herbs to cook rice with.
Get Saucy
Add tomato ketchup to your cooked grains to get tangy, aromatic rice! We seldom think of this even though tomato sauce is easily available in our kitchen, but there’s a reason Spanish rice is so delicious!
A Pinch Of Salt
Dissolve a little salt (1 tsp or a pinch) in the water to wash your rice, and allow some of the salt to remain in the final rice water you cook with. This way, the rice cooks better and you also get a mild seasoning.
Better With Butter
One of the easiest way to make plain rice instantly more flavourful is to cook your rice with a small roll of butter mixed in.
Mix It Up
The Koreans love mixing their rice grains to get texture and flavours that a bowl of singletype grain lacks. Try mixing two to different types like brown rice, black rice, barley, buckwheat, kidney bean or wild sweet rice with plain white rice.
Get Your Rice Right
For fluffy, fragrant and evenly-cooked rice, first make sure you have a good rice cooker you can rely on. The Tefal Pro induction Rice Cooker RK8055 features an efficient spherical heating convection that cooks rice fast and evenly, so you get grains with perfect texture and taste each time. It comes with 48 Cooking Programs to handle all types of grains and recipes, plus userfriendly features and a recipe book. At $499, from major electronic and department stores.
