Cooking Rice The Easy Way

Seemingly cooking rice should be one of the easiest kitchen tasks but a lot of cooks have a real problem with getting that perfect pot of rice cooked. Basically what you want to end up with is a pot of fluffy white cooked rice but if you've tried to cook rice and failed I bet you wonder how did anyone ever end up with white fluffy rice out of that mess you have in the pot.

Read The Cooking Instructions On The Bag Or Box Of Rice.

Let me let the cat out of the bag so to speak. Do you know the reason that most people fail so bad when they cook a pot of rice? They don't slow down and read the label. Yes with most rice the cooking instructions are right there on the bag or box of rice. And you need to take the time to read those instructions.

Be sure that you use the right amount of water called for, the correct heat, and a tight fitting lid to keep the water and moisture in your pot of rice.

One thing the label may not tell you is that you should wash and rinse your rice well under cold running water. You'll need a colander with small holes to do this with. I always wash and rinse my rice very well under cold running water.

If you want to speed up the cooking time of your rice you can soak the rice for thirty minutes before you proceed with the cooking process.

The Resting Period Is Always Very Important For Your Rice.

Once your rice has finished cooking turn the heat off and let it set with the lid on the pot for at least 10 minutes and you will end up with a much better pot of rice.

How To Cook The Perfect Pot Of Rice

Ingredients

1. One Cup Long Grain Rice.

2. One Teaspoon Ground Sea Salt.

3. One Tablespoon Butter Or Margarine.

Rinse the rice very well under cold running water in a colander with very small holes that the rice can not fall through.

You want a heavy duty saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Put 1 3/4 cups water, the sea salt, and the butter or margarine in the pot. bring the pot to a boil over high heat but as soon as the water boils reduce the heat to a simmer and put the lid tightly on the pot or sauce pan.

Cook on a low simmer about 12 minutes until the water is absorbed and the rice is done. As soon as you see the rice is done turn the heat off.

Let the rice set for at least 10 minutes before you fluff the rice up with a fork and serve the rice. Some people like a little more butter and some people like no butter.

Broccoli With Cheese And Rice Recipe.

Make your rice by the above directions and then follow the below recipe.

1. One Cup Broccoli Florets, cooked and well drained.

2. One Half Cup Velveeta Cheese Cubes About 1 " X 1".

3. One Tablespoon Sweet Onion Sauteed soft in butter, soft but not browned.

Mix all your ingredients together in a 13" X 9" buttered casserole dish and bake for 25 - 30 minutes until the cheese is well melted. Stir up and smooth out. You can sprinkle the top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and just melt under the oven's broiler if you want to. This makes a really wonderfully delicious rice recipe that almost everyone loves.

You can make the broccoli and rice dish and add a fourth cup of crisp well drained bacon to it. Or use a fourth cup of diced cooked ham. Some people including me like to garnish the top of the cooked rice dish with very fine diced green onions including the tops. You can make excellent fried rice out of any left over rice. Just fry it in butter in a non stick skillet and mix in scrambled eggs. Some people like to mix in a just cooked fine diced jalapeno pepper as a last step. Fried rice made this way is oh so delicious and it goes great with fried or grilled chicken.

Cook Perfect Rice First Time Every Time

A lot of people I know have a real problem with cooking great tasting rice that turns out right. But if you follow the below instructions you will produce perfect white rice each and every time you cook it. But keep in mind that one of the number one problems of people cooking rice is that they raise the lid to often and really ruin their rice. So resist the urge to keep raising the lid on your pot of rice.

You will need

1. 2 Cups of White Rice.

2. 1 Teaspoon Ground Sea Salt.

3. 1 Tablespoon Margarine.

4. 2 Cups Water.

You can if you wish add fresh squeezed lemon juice and freshly grated lemon zest to your rice when your cooking it for a unique tasty rice. Rice prepared this way goes wonderful with seafood.

You will need a heavy pot with a lid for your rice pot. Put the two cups of water, salt and margarine into your pot and bring to a boil. Once you have the water at a boil add two cups of uncooked white rice to the water and place your lid on the pot. Reduce heat to a simmer and in 15 minutes you should have perfectly cooked rice.

And if you follow the above instructions you will be able to cook perfect white rice each and every time. And if you are able to cook perfect white rice there are all kinds of other things you can cook and make from it. Everything from delicious rice pudding to Chinese Fried Rice. So what are you waiting on why not get busy cooking your rice now.

Rice Is Easy To Cook If You Know How

Rice really is that easy to cook. As I said above you have to resist the urge to raise the lid and keep looking at the rice. When you raise the lid you often let needed heat out and your rice won't cook correctly. So keep the lid on the rice pot until the time is up. After the time is up you may want to take a fork and fluff up your rice. Some people also like to add a little more butter.

If all else fails you can buy minute rice or instant rice but there's no reason that anyone shouldn't be able to follow the above recipe and make a perfect pot of rice. So what are you waiting on. Why not get busy making that perfect pot of rice now.

More Quick And Easy Ways To Jazz Up Rice And Take It To A New Level.

1. If your going to be serving rice with beef then cook your rice in beef broth instead of water for more flavor.

2. Cook a half pound of ground beef along with a fourth cup of diced green bell peppers and a fourth cup of green onions including tops along with a can of Rotel tomatoes and peppers and mix it with a pot of rice for a delightful rice dish that will taste a lot like stuffed bell peppers.

3. You can mix a pound of cooked country sausage that you have drained well and mix it with a can of sausage gravy. Serve it over hot buttered rice for a tasty country treat.

4. You can make a delicious Parmesan and Broccoli rice by mixing a half cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese with two cups of chopped cooked broccoli and two cups of hot buttered rice. Mix it all up and serve it with poultry for a delicious tasty treat.

5. Mix a cup of fine diced mushrooms cooked in butter, a cup of green onions cooked in butter and two cups of hot buttered rice and stir it all up very well. This rice dish is very good by it's self or you can serve it with poultry for a delicious flavor combination.

6. A well drained can of baby shrimp will make a great fried rice. Just add what you want to the rice and it will turn out wonderful.

7. Mushrooms always make a great fried rice. Buy them as fresh as possible, cut them up in thin strips and cook in butter before you add them to the rice. Sweet onions diced fine goes great with mushrooms and rice.

8. Add steamed cooked asparagus that you have chopped up, lemon juice and lemon zest to make a delicious rice that goes wonderful with almost any meat dish.

9. Add strips of fried egg, fried green onions, and some fish sauce to white rice and then sauté everything in butter for a few minutes. You'll have a quick fried rice that will be delicious.

10. Mix fresh steamed broccoli and a fourth cup of shredded cheddar cheese into hot cooked buttered rice for a tasty treat.

And those are just a few of the things that you can do with rice. Of course you can think outside the box and come up with all kinds of things you can do to jazz up your rice.

The most important thing you need to know is that one cup of raw rice will give you three cups of cooked rice. Brown rice is much better for you than white rice. White rice has been washed out and has no nutrients. But some people prefer white rice over brown rice. If you've never tried brown rice you should give it a try.

You'll find that white rice is highly refined and and polished and it needs no washing before cooking. Other types of rice will often call for soaking it or washing it before you cook it. Be sure that you read the instructions before you cook any type of rice.

Fried Rice Recipe

If you have left over rice you can make it quickly with a little left over rice, some cut up fried egg, fine diced green onions, a little chopped up sandwich ham, and some soy sauce and fish sauce. Fry it until everything including your veggies and rice are cooked completely. You can really put anything you want in your fried rice.

Easy Way To Cook Rice

In a sauce pan with a lid put one and one half cups of water and one cup of rice. You want the pot to have a tight fitting lid.

2. Bring the pot to a boil. You should be seeing steam coming out from under the lid. Keep the lid on the pot and resist the urge to look under the lid. For people new to cooking rice a glass lid will let you look through the lid and see what is going on.

3. Now reduce the lid to very low. You should know that the rice grains will confine to grow and absorb water as it cooks. Be sure that you have the pot of rice turned down real low because if the pot is too hot the rice will scorch and burn in the pot and ruin the rice your cooking. Once you turn the burner down to it's lowest setting set a timer to 20 minutes and when the timer goes off you should have perfectly cooked rice.

4. You can now turn the burner off and fluff the rice with a fork to separate the grains of rice and also fluff the rice. And remember that for food safety reasons the rice should never be left out for over two hours. As soon as the rice is cool put it in a covered container and put it into the refrigerator.

Pecan Rice

If your looking for a great new rice recipe then this may be it. And it goes perfect with most poultry dishes.

Ingredients For Your Pecan Rice.

1. One Cup Brown Rice.

2. One Half Cup Very Finely Chopped Pecans.

3. One Fourth Cup Fine Chopped Sweet Red Or Purple Onion.

4. Two Tablespoons Minced Parsley.

5. Two Tablespoons Margarine.

6. Two Cups Chicken Stock.

7. One Teaspoon Ground Ginger.

Put all your ingredients on in a small stock pot with lid and bring to a boil until steam starts to come under the lid. Reduce the heat to a low simmer or number 1 on most stoves and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the rice set in the pot for 10 minutes. Use a fork to fluff your rice. I guarantee you that this pecan rice will be one of the most delicious rice dishes that you'll ever taste. And it's wonderful with almost all poultry dishes. So why not give it a try to see what you think.

A variation of this rice dish was once one of the most popular rice dishes in Charleston South Carolina. There this rice dish was often served with duck or quail and it was really popular at one time.

Bacon And Chicken Fried Rice

Here were going to do a variation on fried rice. Here were going to use skinned boneless chicken thighs cut into small bite size pieces and bacon as the main ingredients in our fried rice.

Ingredients

1. Three Cups Chicken Broth.

2. Three Cups Instant White Rice.

3. Two Teaspoons Vegetable Oil.

4. Twelve Slices Bacon.

5. One Cup Chopped Green Onion Including Tops.

6. One Fourth Cup Soy Sauce.

7. Two Cups Chicken Thighs Cut In Small Bite Size Pieces.

Start off by cooking your chicken and onion until done in the vegetable oil. In a separate pan cook the bacon slices until crisp and then drain the bacon and crumble it up.

Now in a large stock pot add all your ingredients and cook covered until steam starts to come out from under the lid. Reduce the heat to simmer or 1 on most stoves and let it simmer about twenty minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice.

Remove from the heat and you'll have one of the best fried rice dishes you'll ever eat. You can eat this dish as a meal or you can make it a part of a larger meal.

You may not know it but chicken thighs are about a third the cost of chicken breasts and chicken thighs have much more flavor than other parts of the chicken. So why not give this delicious fried rice a try as soon as you can. I bet you'll be surprise at how wonderful it will taste.

As I said above you can chop up anything you want to real fine and add it to your fried rice. In time you'll learn what flavors go together to enhance the flavor of each ingredient. Some people use a main ingredient like shrimp, ham, steak, eggs, or etc and then add to the main ingredient what is available in the refrigerator. Mushrooms are always a great addition to any fried rice dish.