How to properly cook rice so that it is fluffy. Colored rice Colored milk rice porridge
If you are tired of the dullness of life, then prepare colored rice. This dish is light and beautiful, like a flower meadow on the morning of a summer day. It will cheer you up and nourish you with all possible vitamins. Flaky rice, vegetables and herbs are included in this simple and tasty dish. Everything is prepared very simply and quickly.
To prepare colored rice we need the following products:
Rice – 250 gr.,
Water - 1.5 liters,
Eggplant (or zucchini) – 2 pcs.,
Onions – 2-3 pcs.,
Sweet peppers of different colors – 2-3 pcs.,
Canned corn (can be fresh) – 300 gr.,
Hard cheese – 100 gr.,
Greens: basil, parsley or cilantro,
Vegetable oil,
Salt and pepper.
Peel the eggplants and place them in salted water for a few minutes to remove the bitterness.
Peel the onions and peppers
And cut into small cubes.
And then put it in a frying pan and saute it in vegetable oil.
We take the eggplants out of the water and also cut them into small cubes.
Add them to the onion and pepper.
Let's leave the vegetables on low heat, and in the meantime, rinse the rice first with cold and then hot water and let it cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes until all the water has boiled away.
The vegetables in the frying pan need to be salted and peppered well.
Wash the greens and chop finely.
By this time the vegetables should be ready. Turn off the heat and add chopped herbs.
Let's mix everything. This is the bright vegetable mass we get.
Open jars of canned corn. I took one can of Mexican mixture. This is also corn, but with the addition of green peas and red pepper.
If your corn is fresh, you need to blanch it for a few minutes and then rinse it with cold water to preserve the color.
Don't forget to hold the corn in a strainer to drain all the liquid.
The rice is already cooked. It turned out quite crumbly.
Add the vegetable mixture to the rice and mix everything carefully.
And when we put it on plates, don’t forget to sprinkle grated cheese on top. By the way, to prevent the cheese from sticking to the grater, you need to grease it a little with vegetable oil.
Well suited for vegetarians, those who fast, and just anyone who loves light and healthy food. If you like this dish, I can recommend another, similar dish: .
- pour 2 times more water than you plan to cook rice
- Place rice only in hot or boiling water
- Before cooking, rinse it under running water several times
- do not add seasonings to water with rice
- While the rice is cooking, cover the pan with a transparent lid
- cook rice over low heat
- Do not open the lid of the pan during cooking to prevent steam from escaping.
- After cooking, open the lid and salt and pepper the rice, add a small amount of oil or toppings
Rice is a staple food for more than three billion people. But few people know how to choose and cook rice correctly...
When cooking normally, the most important thing is not to use the popular proportion: a glass of rice + 2 glasses of water. Due to pesticides in the soil and air pollution, rice accumulates large amounts of arsenic. To reduce its level, you need to cook a glass of rice in five glasses of water (draining off excess water after cooking), or even better, soak the rice overnight (this can reduce the amount of arsenic by 80%).
There are one and a half hundred varieties of rice in the world, but in Ukraine you can most often find on store shelves:
Jasmine – long grains with a delicate aroma. For preparing salads, side dishes and desserts.
Basmati – long grains with a delicate structure and a pleasant nutty aroma. It makes the perfect crumbly side dish for any dish. Ideal for pilaf.
Arborio – medium-sized grains with a high starch content. For soups too.
Camolino – round grains of a pearl shade. For porridges and desserts.
Wild rice – black in color and is considered one of the most delicious varieties, has a pleasant nutty aroma and sweetish taste. It is used for both sweet and savory dishes.
The more the rice grain was processed, the less nutrients and minerals were preserved in it. According to the degree of processing, rice is:
Unsanded – the most useful, the most expensive. It has a light brown color and a distinct taste and aroma.
Sanded – the most affordable rice, of little use.
Steamed – it has a golden, translucent hue. The grains are first washed, soaked, steamed, then dried and ground. Thanks to steaming, this rice retains more nutrients than polished rice.
When you have chosen high-quality and healthy rice, you can prepare an excellent side dish from it according to one of the original recipes of the “Everything will be delicious!” project.
How to cook fluffy rice?
Rice mainly consists of starch, so during cooking, a paste is released that glues the rice grains together. The porridge can turn out to be one lump, and the paste envelops the grains and prevents juices from other products from penetrating into the rice, so it turns out tasteless.
Step 1
To prevent this from happening, you need to soak the rice first. This will allow it to swell and release less starch during cooking. You need to fill the rice with cold water so that it covers it by 2 fingers. Leave it like this for an hour, or better yet two, until the rice swells and increases in volume.
Step 2
Then drain the remaining water and prepare the container in which we will cook the rice. We need a cauldron. To ensure that the rice is tender and does not stick together 100%, we will cook it with butter. Place 50 g of butter in a cauldron and melt.
Step 3
Since we soaked the rice in advance to boil it, we need less water - the proportion should be 1:1. For example, at 2 tbsp. rice must be added to the cauldron 2 tbsp. boiling water Immediately add ½ tsp to the water. salt and mix.
Step 4
Place the rice in water and leave to cook for 15 minutes over medium heat under the lid. And at this time we do not stir the rice, otherwise the grains will break. When there is no water left, the rice is cooked. The rice needs to sit. Therefore, cover the cauldron with a lid and leave for half an hour.
Lazy rice
Ingredients for Lazy Rice
- rice (steamed) – 240 g
- corn (frozen) – 60 g
- green peas (frozen) – 60 g
- onion – 1 pc.
- garlic – 1 clove
- salt – 5 g
- ground black pepper – 3 g
- coriander – 1 g
- oil – 20 ml
- butter – 40 g
- green tea with jasmine – 3 g
How to cook lazy rice
- Place fried onions and garlic, rice, corn, and green peas in layers in a greased pan. Sprinkle with salt, ground black pepper and coriander.
- Pour green tea with jasmine in a ratio of 1:2. Place a few slices of butter on top.
- Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes in an oven preheated to 180°C. In 10 min. Remove the foil until done.
Colored milk rice porridge
Ingredients for colored rice
- Round rice - 300 g
- Milk – 120 ml
- Butter - 30 g
- Sugar - to taste
- Cherry – 150 g
- Leaf spinach - 50 g
- Blueberries – 150 g
- Sugar - 75 g
How to cook colored rice
Cooking rice:
1. Rinse the rice in cold water until the water runs clear. Pour water into the pan. Add salt.
Pour rice into water, add butter. Cover with a lid and cook for 7 minutes.2. Bring the milk to a boil and pour it into the cooked rice. Cook for another 10 minutes.
Preparing dyes:
1. Squeeze the juice out of cherries and blueberries using gauze. Pink and purple dyes are ready.
2. Pass the spinach through a blender and squeeze out the juice using gauze. The green dye is ready.
Prepare colored milk porridge:
1. Divide the porridge into three parts.
2. Add coloring to each porridge. Mix until the color is uniform.
Preparing berry decor:
1. Place the berries in a saucepan, cover with water, add sugar.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and then cook for another 3-5 minutes.
Rice with vegetables
Ingredients for rice with vegetables
- Long rice - 300 g
- Sunflower oil - 2 tbsp. l.
- Lemon juice - 1 tbsp. l.
- Salt - 2 tsp.
- Bell pepper - 1 pc.
- Medium carrots - 1 pc.
- Frozen corn - 100 g
- Frozen green peas - 100 g
- Champignons – 100 g
- Thyme for decoration
How to cook rice with vegetables
Cooking rice:
1. Rinse the rice first in warm water, then in hot water until the water becomes clear.
2. Pour water into the pan. Add salt. Pour the rice into the water.
3. Cover with a lid and do not open until the end of cooking.
4. Cook the rice over high heat until it boils, then reduce the heat to low and cook for another 20 minutes.
5. When the rice is ready, turn off the heat, open the lid and add sunflower oil.
6. Stir the rice and cover with a waffle towel to absorb excess moisture.
Preparing vegetables:
1. Place a deep frying pan on the fire, pour in oil.
2. Place chopped peppers, champignons, carrots, defrosted peas and corn into a preheated frying pan.
3. Fry for 5 minutes until crusty. Then pour half a glass of water over the vegetables, add salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.
Persian rice
Ingredients for Persian rice
- rice (long grain) – 480 g
- carrots – 1 pc.
- onion – 1 pc.
- peanuts – 100 g
- dried apricots – 200 g
- raisins – 100 g
- walnuts – 100 g
- orange – 1 pc.
- butter – 70 g
- oil – 20 ml
- salt – 5 g
- cardamom – 2 g
- anise – 2 stars
- barberry – 10 g
How to cook Persian rice
- Place rice soaked in water in melted butter. Pour boiling water (1x1), add salt, and boil for 15 minutes.
- Fry chopped onions and carrots in a mixture of butter and vegetable oil. Add orange zest, cardamom, anise, barberry, soaked raisins and pieces of dried apricots, chopped nuts.
- Let it simmer for a few minutes and remove the zest. Transfer the mixture to the cooked rice. Stir and leave to infuse for 30 minutes.
Rice is the most popular food product not only in the East. When boiled, it is a favorite side dish for vegetables, meat, fish or sweet sauces. This cereal is also the basis for many cereals and desserts. Thanks to its easy combination with many foods, fluffy rice has become a main component of the human diet.
The variety of varieties and types makes it possible to use this product to its fullest: enjoy the excellent taste or use it as a prevention of gastritis and stomach ulcers. Unlike other grains, rice does not contain gluten, making it very healthy for your diet.
There are so many varieties of rice that it is easy to get confused among them. In cooking, this cereal is divided according to the length of the grains, stickiness, and processing method. Therefore, each type requires a specific cooking method and is suitable for certain dishes. In India, they prefer long-grain rice, while the Japanese love round grains and cook them so that later it is convenient to make sushi with rolls. But most often, cereals are divided according to color content.
The most popular varieties of rice are:
- white (round or long grain);
- brown (aka red);
- black.
But no matter what type is chosen, all housewives wonder: how to cook fluffy rice so that it turns out perfect. After all, this is often the side dish that is required. In order for a cereal dish to turn out “grain to grain,” you need to know several secrets inherent in each cooking method.
There are 3 options for preparing fluffy rice or any cereal porridge:
- on an open fire, i.e. on the stove;
- in the oven, like simmering;
- using household appliances (multi-cooker, steamer, microwave).
Any of the chosen methods will provide impeccable fluffy rice as a side dish, in which each grain of rice will be separated from each other, and the notorious messy porridge will be a thing of the past.
Three ways to cook fluffy rice over an open fire
Rice is the No. 1 product in many Eastern countries. And who, if not they, should know how to properly prepare fluffy rice. If all the subtleties of this culinary business are sorted out, the result will be excellent.
Since white rice has many subspecies, you should understand a little about the main varieties in order to know the features of their preparation and scope of application.
- Arborio- Italian type of rice with large grains and high starch content. It is basic for making risotto. Average cooking time is up to 25 minutes.
- Basmati- Indian species, king among all varieties. It is light and crumbly, the best option for side dishes and main dishes. Average cooking time is 15-25 minutes.
- Jasmine- the most popular Thai variety, one of the worthy options for making rice crumbly. Average cooking time is 18-25 minutes.
- Camolino- Egyptian type, very tasty, but rather sticky. Suitable for all oriental dishes, ideal as a side dish - rice with vegetables. Average cooking time is 20-25 minutes.
No matter what kind of rice you cook, a few useful secrets will tell you how to make it so that after cooking it remains tasty, healthy, and has the consistency you need.
How to boil in a thick-bottomed pot - the Indian way
A common cooking method in the East, especially in India. It will allow you to properly cook fluffy rice in a pan, because... The thick bottom of the dish allows for uniform heating, then the grains do not burn to the dish.
Rinse the cereal grains well. Boil them in water in a portion of 1 to 2.
Place rice on the bottom of a pan without oil and water. Immediately fill it with the required amount of cold water.
With this method of cooking, it is very important to bring the rice to a boil at the highest possible temperature, and then reduce it.
When the cereal swells, it should be stirred only once, and then evaporate the water without a lid.
After the water has boiled by half, the cooking can be considered complete. The pan should be removed from the heat and covered with a lid. Wrap it in a towel and leave it warm for 20 minutes. During this time, all remaining liquid will be completely absorbed into the grains. It is very important not to stir the dish again until the end of cooking. Only at the very end, when the last of the water has been completely absorbed, can you add a small piece of butter and stir the rice.
How to steam in an enamel pan
What to do if there are no dishes with a thick bottom? Then you should use another simple way to get a side dish.
A wonderful and healthy recipe for steamed boiled fluffy rice. This method is often used by oriental celebrities such as Padmi Lakshmi. This is a simplified method of “double boiling” for home use.
For it, you need to pre-soak the rice by pouring hot water for 2 hours.
A sieve will be used instead of a steamer. You can replace it with several layers of gauze. Then the material should be hung by the handles of the pan in the form of a hammock.
The swollen and infused rice is placed in a sieve or cheesecloth. It will be steamed, so it is extremely important that the sieve or gauze does not come into contact with the water.
After the water boils, pour the soaked rice into a sieve. Cover the pan with a lid and leave it over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Thanks to the action of steam, each grain will be brought to perfect condition.
Pre-frying rice in a frying pan
This recipe for fluffy rice as a side dish was invented by the Italians, because... traditional risotto must be toasted over a fire.
Place a dry frying pan over medium heat. When a light smoke begins to rise above it, the dish is ready for use.
Pour a little olive oil (1 tablespoon) into a hot, but not hot frying pan. If you overheat it, the oil will simply burn and give the dish a bitter taste.
Pour the washed rice into the heated oil, let it fry a little, stirring constantly.
Saute the rice until the grains begin to lighten. The essence of this process is that each grain is covered with a thin layer of oil. This will prevent them from sticking together during further cooking.
Add water to the fried rice at the rate of 1 to 1.5. Those. Add 3 cups of hot water to 2 cups of rice. Cook the dish without a lid to speed up the evaporation of water.
When all the water has evaporated, the top of the rice will be dry, but the middle will remain moist. It should be covered with a lid and left under it for 20 minutes.
This side dish would be a great addition to vegetables.
How to boil fluffy rice using household appliances
Often household appliances come to the aid of housewives. Modern ovens or kitchen appliances allow you not to think about cooking and, thanks to the built-in functions, you can cook fluffy rice in a slow cooker, microwave, or other appliances without much hassle.
Quick microwave recipe
A microwave will help you cook fluffy rice as a side dish quickly and always with the expected results.
Steamed grains work well with this method of cooking.
Mix all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. For 1 cup of washed rice, take 2 cups of water, 5-7 grams of salt, 1 teaspoon of butter. Stir the ingredients and place the dishes in the microwave. Do not cover the bowl with a lid; let the water evaporate.
If there is no special “Pilaf”/”Porridge”/”Rice” mode on the microwave, then run the program yourself. First, cook for 10 minutes at medium power, and then 12-15 at full power. Let the finished side dish rest for 5-7 minutes and then serve.
Recipe for crispy rice for slow cooker
Fluffy rice in a slow cooker often turns out tastier than cooked on the stove, because... The automatic mode of the technique first uses cooking the dish, and then steaming it.
Grease the multicooker bowl with 1 teaspoon of butter. Place the washed rice grains inside and pour in cold water. Its quantity should be 2 times more grains. Salt the liquid to taste.
Cover the bowl with a lid, cook according to the established “Rice” program or another, according to the instructions of the model.
Thanks to this feature, there is no need to select a cooking time. There is also no need to stir the cereal. because It won't burn in the slow cooker.
To prevent the cereal from boiling and turning into a sticky mass, the multicooker should be turned off after the automatic program ends. And leave the porridge itself in a tightly closed bowl for another 2 hours.
Universal recipe for the oven
Another great option for loose cereal is the oven. Using it, you can prepare healthy fluffy rice as a side dish in 30-40 minutes. With this method of cooking, the dish retains much more nutrients.
Rinse the cereal well and pour into a fireproof dish or mold. Pour boiling water over the grain in a ratio of 1 to 2. Add 1 teaspoon of butter and, if necessary, salt the dish.
Cover the pan tightly with foil and place in the oven.
Bake rice for 25-30 minutes at 180C.
Before serving, let the finished side dish sit for another half hour.
Features of cooking colored rice varieties
Multi-colored types of rice are becoming increasingly popular among chefs.
Brown/brown/red rice- an amazing product with a delicate and complex taste. The unpolished type contains countless useful microelements in its shell. Suitable for stuffing vegetables, but unlike white varieties, it takes longer to cook. Average cooking time is 35-45 minutes.
Black rice- another type of cereal in a shell. It is a leader in the amount of useful substances, contains many antioxidants, thereby protecting our body from damage and cancer. Indispensable as a filling, salad component and original side dish. Average cooking time is 1 hour, not including soaking.
Brown rice is a storehouse of vitamins
Unpolished cereal is healthy and tasty. It is an excellent alternative to white rice and can be used in many dishes. But unlike light varieties, it requires pre-soaking to obtain softness.
The recipe for fluffy red rice is very simple and similar to preparing the white variety, if the unpolished grains are allowed to swell in water in advance.
Rinse the cereal thoroughly to remove dust. After washing, you should pour boiling water over it and only then proceed to further cooking. Pour the washed cereal with plenty of clean water and leave it to swell for 5-6 hours.
Place the prepared rice in a bowl and add water, maintaining a ratio of 1 to 3.
Boil the rice at maximum heat with the lid closed for 5-10 minutes.
Then reduce the heat and continue cooking for another 30 minutes.
To completely absorb the liquid into the grains, leave the pan with the rice covered for another 15 minutes.
Black rice - food of aristocrats
In ancient China, wild black rice was considered the preferred food of the nobility. Now anyone can buy it.
It contains 7 times more iron and 6 times more calcium than white. However, the main feature of this type is the cooking time.
1 way
The side dish takes almost 24 hours to prepare, because... it must first be soaked for at least 12 hours. Pour water over the washed grains to swell at a rate of 1 to 3. In 12-14 hours, the volume of rice will increase significantly, and some grains may open.
Soaked rice is also cooked in plenty of hot water. Boil 3 cups of water, add 1 cup of prepared grains to the boiling water. Cook the cereal for 20 minutes.
Do not drain the remaining water, but let the grains steep in it. To do this, wrap the pan in a warm towel, then leave it for 2 hours.
You can add oil, soy sauce, and salt to the finished dish to taste.
Method 2
You can boil the rice so that it becomes crumbly faster, but then all the grains will not open and will remain slightly dense.
Rinse the rice well, because... black color can stain the dishes and spoil the taste of the side dish. Pre-soak the grains for 40-60 minutes. Then drain the water and add fresh rice. For 1 cup of rice you will need 1 and ¼ cups of liquid.
Bring the cereal to a boil over maximum heat (about 4-5 minutes), and then cook over low heat until the moisture has completely evaporated (about 10-15 minutes).
Remove the finished rice from the heat and keep covered for another half hour.
Several rules will tell you how to cook rice so that it is crumbly, how to fix overcooked grains, and how to add additional color to the dish.
- Before buying any type of rice, you should make sure that it does not have any pieces or fragments of grains, as well as the presence of grains of a different color and size. After all, small halves will boil, which will spoil the dish, and a mixture of different varieties is also not suitable for cooking.
- It is very difficult to cook round rice so that it becomes crumbly, because... it's already polished. Such grains do not have a hard natural shell that would prevent the grains from sticking together.
- Before any cooking method, rice must be washed at least 5 times. The method of washing the grains does not matter. During this time, plaque and starchy substances that whiten the water should disappear. Rinse only in cold water until the water runs clear. After all, most often the taste and appearance of the side dish do not meet expectations precisely because of poorly washed cereals.
- To give rice a perfectly white color, add apple cider vinegar to the water during cooking. For 0.5 kg of grains, 1 teaspoon of vinegar is enough. This is a great way to whiten a dish. This type of bite should be used, because the apple variety has a neutral aroma, so it will not harm the side dish.
- Sticky rice is almost impossible to save. It can only be improved a little. To do this, the failed grains should be washed with cold water and poured into a pan. Cover the dish with a lid and wrap it with a towel. Leave everything for a while. The residual heat brings the grains of rice to the desired shape and washes away excess starch.
- While the rice is in water, it does not stick together. The “gluing” process occurs later, after the liquid has boiled away.
- You can salt the rice at the very beginning of cooking by pouring salt into the water. Often grains with a neutral taste are prepared, because... subsequent additions (curry, seasonings) will enrich it.
- 1 tbsp will help give the rice a bright color. spoon of turmeric. It should be added to an already prepared dish.
- It is important not only to boil the rice for a fluffy side dish, but also to serve it beautifully. After all, even ordinary cereal should look appetizing.
How to serve fluffy rice beautifully:
- Place well-cooked rice in a heap in the center of the plate, and place pieces of meat or vegetables around it.
- Grease a small bowl with butter. Place rice in it and compact well. Turn the bowl over onto a flat plate. The resulting beautiful rice ball will be a wonderful side dish for anything.