Rice will taste better with 'more flavour' if you add one ingredient to the pot
Elevate your and give it much more flavour with a simple move.
Rice is so versatile, pairing well with everything from chicken, beef and fish to curries, stir-fried vegetables and a range of sauces. It's a great kids' meal with something simple like peas or even pineapple.
Common mistakes made when cooking rice include not rinsing it properly, not having the right water-to-rice ratio. This can result in undercooked, mushy or dry rice, none of which are particularly pleasant to eat. You might also find it hard to judge the right amount of rice to add to your pot and end up with too much or too little. Even if you do get everything right, you can still end up with a flavourless side dish.
Luckily, there's an easy, cheap fix. Writing on food blog The Kitchn, Emma Christensen shared her favourite ways to make "a boring pot of rice taste amazing". Her first trick to "keep rice flavourful" is to toast the grains.
"Toasting the dry rice grains in a little butter or olive oil before adding the water brings out their flavour and adds a fantastic nutty note in the finished dish," she explained.
She recommended trying this trick with brown rice or whole grains like barley.
Her second tip involved adding just one extra ingredient to the pan during the cooking process.
Emma suggested cooking the rice with chicken or vegetable stock, which can either be in the form of leftover homemade stock or a stock cube. She said: "I sometimes find that using 100 percent chicken broth can make the rice feel gummy or overly-starchy. I usually go for a 50/50 mix of broth and water. This adds a layer of flavour and richness without going overboard."
Her final suggestion was to season the rice with whatever you're already cooking, like the some of the same seasonings you're using for the main dish.
The expert urged home cooks to use whole spices for subtle flavours and ground spices for a stand-out dish. She also explained she "almost always" adds a bay leaf, regardless of what she's cooking.
But don't just take Emma's word for it. There are plenty of home cooks who say cooking rice in stock instead of plain water is a game-changer. Home cook Sarah-Louise Kelly said she will "never go back" after making the change, which "made such a difference to the flavour".
Mimi Harrison, writing on the Beat The Budget blog, said "making this creamy rice with chicken broth is the best and easiest way to enjoy rice with the same amount of cooking time". She said: "Cooking rice with chicken broth will transform the flavour and turn a flavorless side into the most versatile, delicious, well seasoned pairing for just about anything. It’s buttery, creamy and feels luxurious."
