Prep guide; how to get perfect rice every time

It depends on how you define perfect, but when I say it I mean rice that is fluffy and doesn’t stick together or go all claggy.

The solution is shockingly simple, you just need to steam it through after cooking.

This requires no extra or special equipment, other than a bit of tinfoil (enough to cover the pan)

Let’s get to it!

What you need

Rice
Saucepan
Water
Tinfoil

How to get perfect rice every time

As you probably know all types of rice cook differently.

When it comes to the amount of water to use a ratio of 1:2.5 is usually a good starting point, so for every 1g of rice use 2.5x more water, e.g. for 100g rice use 250ml of water. For 237g of rice use 593ml of water etc.

Nearly all rice has a recommended cooking time on the packet, which is a handy guideline.

Bring the rice to the boil in 2.5x the amount of water, as it starts to boil turn the heat down low, put a lid on the pan (that fits) and simmer for the ‘recommended cooking time’ on the packet minus 1 or 2 minutes.

Before you turn the rice down to simmer make sure you stir the bottom with a wooden spoon to make sure nothing sticks and burns to the pan.

Once cooked simply turn the heat off and leave the pan there for 30 minutes with the lid still on.

I prefer to remove the lid 1-2 minutes before it’s cooked and wrap some tinfoil tightly round the top.

Leaving the rice covered and on the gradually lowering heat steams it through, when you uncover it 95% of the time you should have perfectly cooked rice 👌

And that’s it!

Nice and easy.

Dirty Cajun rice recipe

Dirty rice come in many (delicious) forms. Cajun is a pretty classic combination so here’s something I’ve put together.

To the recipe!

Ingredients: £2.79 – serves 2 (£1.40) or 3 (£0.93) (per serving)

200g basmati rice
1 chicken stock cube
1 beef stock cube
500ml water
100-200g diced cooking bacon
1 ball of mozzarella, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 large onion, finely diced
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp ketchup
2-3 tbsp Cajun spice
You shouldn’t need any salt here as Cajun spice has a shitload already
Oil, for frying.

Equipmemt

Saucepan
Knife
Chopping board
Tinfoil
Frying pan
Wooden spoon
Plate

Prep and cooking (40-50 minutes)

First cook the rice but be sure to put 1 tbsp of Cajun spice, 1 beef and 1 chicken stock cube in the water when cooking, leave it covered until needed.
Heat some oil in a pan on a fairly high heat until it’s nice and hot. Cook the bacon until the fat is rendered down and nicely crisp. Remove from the pan and keep to onne side.
Add the onion to the pan, you want to get it nicely browned so the flavour develops, turn the heat up but don’t let it burn though. It’s a fairly fine line between nicely browned and burnt.
Add the red pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes, be sure to keep everything moving.
Now add the garlic paste and ketchup cook for another 3-5 minutes while stirring.
Remove to the heat and turn your attention to the rice. Remove the kids and fluff with a fork, and 1-2 tbsp of Cajun spice and mix well.
All that’s left to do is mix the two together! Dirty.

Dirty rice all round

Costing

Looking at cost there are a few bits you can cut to save a bit, you can’t really change the amount of rice as it’s the bulk of the dish, unless you’re just cooking for 1.

Using half the amount of Cajun spice will save about 30p and you can just add some extra salt, the flavour won’t be quite as strong but still good.

The red pepper can be optional, removing it takes off another 45p, as is the mozzarella which saves an additional 45p.

This can cut the cost down to £1.59, or about 80p a serving.

All the prices used are from tesco.com on the date of this post.

Nutrition (based on 1 serving, half the above amount or )

As you can see it’s fairly heavy on the carbs and a nice whack of calories, just about enough for a mealtime.

More recipes soon, keep on sending in your requests!

Fragrant yellow basmati rice recipe

It doesn’t have to be yellow, but why not!

Turmeric, along with cloves, cardamom and a few other tasty aromas give this rice its appetising scent.

Perfect with a curry and easy to master let’s get to the recipe.

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

400g Basmati rice
600ml Water/chicken stock
Salt and pepper
2-3 tsp ground turmeric
4 cardamom pods
4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
4 dried bay leaves
1/2 a star anise
1 tsp oil or butter

The amounts on spices are just guidelines, adjust according to preference.

Equipment

Saucepan with a lid
Measuring jug
Tin foil

Cooking (30+ minutes)

In a saucepan warm the butter/oil on a low heat with all of the spices apart from the ground turmeric, heat for 2-3 minutes to release fragrance.
Add the rice and turmeric and mix well in the pan.
Add the water/stock and turn the heat up full.
Stir occasionally to stop any rice sticking/burning to the bottom of the pan, as it comes to a boil turn the heat down low a cover with a lid. Cook for 9 minutes without disturbing the pan or removing the lid.
After 9 minutes take the lid off (watch out for steam!) and wrap some tinfoil tightly around the top of the pan as airtight as possible like a lid.
Turn the heat off and leave the pan on the cooking ring for 20+ minutes, if recommend a minimum of 30 minutes. The rice should stay hot for 1-2 hours until you remove the tinfoil.
Remove any spices that have risen to the top then fluff with a fork, removing any whole spices you can see.
Serve and enjoy!

Tin foil hats at the ready..

The reason we use foil is to help with the steaming of the rice, which is also why you want to leave it costs Ceres for 20+ minutes before serving.

The rice will be cooked after the initial 9-10 minutes, but steaming it through after will (or should) provide wonderfully fluffy rice that doesn’t stick together.

Try it both ways and you should see quite a noticeable difference!

This rice goes great with most types of curry, or just on its own as a snack.

Rice can be frozen and reheated in a microwave, but it tends to go quite claggy.

More recipes soon!