Rice is tasty enough on its own, but with a few tweaks, you can take it from tasty to damn delicious. For example, next time you make rice, try toasting and seasoning it beforehand.
Photo by Maggie Hoffman.
This tip comes via The Kitchn, where they suggest:
While the water heats to a boil, use this time to toast the rice with a little bit of fat, like cooking oil or butter. But don’t grab just any cooking oil — this is your chance for something more flavorful. Save the canola and grapeseed oil for another time. Instead, use oils like sesame oil, coconut oil, olive oil, or even butter. A small amount will do — just enough to lightly coat the grains of rice.
Once the grains are coated and start to toast (you should smell a deep nutty aroma), take it a step further by tossing some aromatics — like chopped shallots, garlic, ginger, or spices — into the pan.
I tried this myself with a little olive oil and garlic, and the outcome was enough to make me want to cook rice like this from now on. It’s an easy enough step, and it makes for extra tasty rice. For more detail, head to the link below.
The Tastier Way to Cook Rice [The Kitchn]
Comments
3 responses to “Toast And Season Your Rice Before Boiling For Unbelievable Flavour”
Quick suggestion: add spices like either 1/4 teaspoon of Asafoetida + 1/2 teaspoon of Cumin or 1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds + 2 sprigs of Curry leaves and this will raise it to a new level of awesomeness.
Bonus: Doing this will significantly alter the starch content of rice and make it healthy. This is because a lot of the starch will be converted into a non-absorbable variety.
I could be totally off the mark on this one, but it was my understanding that toasting rice made it less healthy, as you’re caramelising the sugars and making them easier to absorb.
Ha! came here to say the same thing – I love a but of cumin and whole black pepper in mine.