 |
Tips and tricks - Learn and improve your cooking skills.. |
 |
Know all about spices - use spices and herbs in cooking, marinades and seasonings. |
Quantities, metric cup conversion, liquids, mass (weight) and cup conversions for metric and imperial.
No matter how you cook it, spicy or sweet, in soup, salad or even dessert rice is fabulous. Your family and friends will be delighted by your mouth watering, eye catching creations. Rice recipes pairs nicely with a variety of flavorful trendy ingredients perfect for creating rice recipes and ideal for those pressed for time. Each simple rice recipe uses only six ingredients and can be made in 30 minutes.
There's no need to rinse most domestic rice before cooking, as the rice was cleaned before being milled. You should, however, rinse wild rice and imported varieties such as basmati or jasmine, which may be dirty or dusty. Brown rice and sticky (glutinous) rice will cook more quickly if presoaked overnight, but do not soak any other kinds of rice.
There are two methods for cooking rice:
Immersion; in this method, the rice is boiled like pasta in a large unmeasured amount of salted water until tender, then drained. Unfortunately, the nutrients are also drained away.
Absorption; here the rice is cooked in a measured quantity of liquid, all of which is absorbed, thus conserving the nutrients. The cooking time and amount of liquid depend on the variety of rice.
The delicate flavor of rice combines readily with foods ranging in taste from sweet and mild to highly seasoned. Cook rice, tightly covered, in a measured amount of liquid, so all liquid is absorbed. Heck for doneness by tasting a grain it should be tender throughout. These creative quick and easy rice recipes are sure to impress, and no one will believe how quick and easy they are to prepare! From cheesy rice casserole with spinach and cranberry rice recipe, to rice and shrimp recipe or brown rice tabbouleh salad, here are amazingly super delicious simple rice recipes.
Regular white rice: milled to remove outer coating of bran and sometimes polished; available as long, medium or short grain. Long grain rice is best in curries, stews, salads and main dishes. Medium and short grain rice is preferred for puddings and rice rings. May be nutrient enriched; check label. One cup uncooked regular rice yields about 3 cups cooked.
Precooked rice: fully cooked and dehydrated, milled, long grain rice with short preparation time. Follow label directions for preparation and yield.
Parboiled rice: a long grain rice subjected to a special process before milling so it retains vitamins and minerals. It requires slightly longer cooking than regular rice. One cup uncooked parboiled rice yields about 4 cups cooked.
Brown rice: unmilled so grains retain most of their food value. Brown absorbs more liquid and takes longer to cook than white rice. Nutty in flavor. One cup uncooked brown rice yields about 4 cups cooked.
Wild rice: not a true rice but served as an accompaniment like rice. Cook as label directs. One cup uncooked wild rice yields about 3 cups cooked.
When directions are not available, use one of these easy methods (makes 3 to 4 cups):
Stove top: combine ingredients in 2 to 3 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil; stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 40 to 50 minutes, or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Fluff with fork.
Conventional oven: bring water to a boil. Combine water and remaining ingredients in 2 to 3 quart baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 F 45 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is tender.
Microwave: combine all ingredients in deep 2 to 3 quart microwavable baking dish. Cover and cook on high 5 minutes or until boiling. Reduce setting to medium(50% power) and cook 30 minutes, or until tender.
Rice cooker: using a rice cooker is very convenient. For best results, prepare rice according to the directions included with your cooker.
The USDA divides rice into three categories: long, medium, and short grain. In general, shorter grains contain the most starch. Most Americans are familiar with long grain white rice, which has had the hull and bran removed. Brown rice retains its bran layer, as do other whole grain rice varieties that are covered with a black or red bran layer. Store rice in a cool, dry, insect free area in its own package. White rice will keep for up to two years, brown rice for up to one year.
Not truly a rice but the seed of a water grass. The hand harvested variety of wild rice, manohmin, is gathered the traditional way: in canoes. The rice grains vary in both length and color and have a slightly smoky, earthy flavor and a chewy texture. Commercially cultivated wild rice is uniform in size and color, less expensive than the true wild variety, and available in supermarkets.
