How To Cook Rice In Three Different Ways

Rice is one of the oldest basic ingredients for dishes from all over the world, regardless of the local gastronomy. It is cheap and very handy to always have at home. Rice goes great with both meat and fish, and can even be the main ingredient of a dish. Cooking and preparing rice can be done in different ways  and in this article we share three of them. These tips will be well worth the effort and your guests will really love the dishes you prepare for them.

1. Cooking rice the perfect way

Simply cooking rice, especially white rice, can be a little more complicated than it seems:  good rice should not be sticky and should have the perfect texture. The result and cooking method depend on what kind of rice you use (there are more than 2000 types), the weather, etc.

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons salt (20 g)
• 2 cups of rice (400 g)
• 4 cups boiling water (1 L)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (20 g)

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pan and then add the rice.
2. Stir through the rice until the grains become transparent.
3. Then add the boiling water and salt and stir well.
4. Then put a lid on the pan and let the rice cook for about 17-20 minutes on low heat.
5. Finally, let the rice rest for another five minutes before serving.

This white rice goes well with meat, fish and vegetables and is great to use in salads. You can also add some garlic or onion to give it more flavor, or replace the water with chicken stock or vegetable stock.

2. Cooking rice with lemon

This is another very tasty and perfect way to cook rice. Lemon rice goes well with all kinds of dishes.

Ingredients

• Salt (to taste)
• Juice of 2 lemons (50 ml)
• ½ cup finely chopped coriander (50 g)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (20 g)
• ½ teaspoon curry powder (3 g)
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger (5 g)
• 2 cups cooked white rice (400 g)
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (10 g)
• ½ cup nuts (walnuts, almonds, etc.) (100 g)

Preparation

1. Put the oil in a frying pan. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, nuts, ginger and curry. Stir constantly for two minutes.
2. Then add the cooked rice and lemon juice and stir well. Let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the rice is warm.
3. Finally, add a little chopped coriander and serve the rice.

3. Cooking rice with mushrooms

Risotto is an Italian rice dish that has become very popular worldwide. It is a perfect rice variety that you can easily prepare yourself at home. Risotto rice is a type of short grain rice that contains a lot of starch, and can be combined with many different ingredients.

It has an irresistible, creamy texture that is excellent for homemade rice. It is different from dry rice because the water does not evaporate. To make risotto, you need to add a little water at a time during cooking, after most of it has been absorbed by the rice.

Ingredients

• 1 onion (40 g)
• 2 cups of rice (400 g)
• Olive oil (to taste)
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• ½ pack of butter (50 g)
• ½ cup white wine (50 ml)
• Grated Parmesan cheese (to taste)
• 1 liter vegetable stock (celery, carrot, onion and garlic)
• 2 cups mushrooms. (400 g) You can use any kind of mushroom you like, including Portobello or other types.

Preparation

1. To start, prepare the vegetable stock. Put two liters of water in a pan. Then add celery, onion, carrot and garlic. Also add some salt and let it cook on low heat for 35 to 40 minutes. Then set the broth aside.
2. Clean the mushrooms and cut them into slices. Lightly fry them in a frying pan with olive oil and a little garlic. Then put this aside for a while.
3. Then cut the onion into small cubes. (‘brunoise’)
4. Put a little olive oil in a large frying pan and then add the onion. When the onion becomes translucent, add a little butter. Stir well so that the butter does not burn.
5. Then add the rice and let it brown for 2 or 3 minutes.
6. Pour in some white wine and let it evaporate, stirring constantly.
7. Finally, add the mushrooms and a spoon full of stock and stir constantly, making a figure eight with your spoon.
8. When the rice has almost completely absorbed the stock, add another spoon. Keep stirring. Repeat this process a few times.
9. When the risotto is ready (which should be after about 17 minutes) remove the pan from the heat and add a generous amount of butter and parmesan cheese.
10. Stir everything together well and serve.