Tag: Rice

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)

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Add the red pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes, be sure to keep everything moving.
  5. Now add the garlic paste and ketchup cook for another 3-5 minutes while stirring.
  6. 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.
  7. All that’s left to do is mix the two together! Dirty.

Dirty rice all round

Costing

Cutting the cost

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 )

Nutrition information

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!