I am in a complicated relationship with plain white rice. Growing up in a Pap-eating household, rice was eaten on special occasions only e.g Sunday After-church Lunch, Christmas day lunch, wedding receptions, etc. It was not a food staple.
One time when we were watching TV at home, my kid brother randomly remarked "Mom, I've never seen you cooking RICE before", this humoured my mom because it's true.
When i left home to go to University i acquired some survival skills since i was no longer under my mom's shadow and food was no longer always readily cooked whenever i wanted so i had to learn how to cook for myself and since i could not cook pap due to too much admin i mostly cooked rice...plain white rice.
I liked it a lot but over the years it became boring and unappetizing, hence i have tried different ways to cook rice, here are my 3 go to recipes:
DISCLAIMER: I am not a qualified Chef nor do i aspire to be one, i am a home cook, so if this doesn't taste good..........something is wrong with your taste-buds!JK😆😐
1. Savoury rice
Ingredients:
- 2 cups Regular long grain rice
-1 cup Red and 1 cup Green peppers
-2 tablespoons of Turmeric powder
-1/4 cup of Butter/Margarine
-1 lemon(squeeze the juice out, duh?😀)
-1 and 1/2 tablespoons of Olive oil
-1 teaspoon of salt
-3 cups of water
Directions:
1. Pour rice in a pan, add Turmeric powder and cook for 10-12 minutes until cooked(but not fluffy because rice will continue to steam cook after heat is turned off) then drain excess water
2. In a separate pan ,fry the peppers in Olive oil until tender
3. Add the fried peppers, butter and lemon juice into the rice
Serve with Sweet and sour pork or any meat of your choice.
2. Afro-Spanish rice
Ingredients:
-2 cups regular long grain rice
-1 cup Red bell pepper
-1 cup thinly chopped onion
-1 Cup tomato sauce(not Ketchup, for my ZA friends)
-3 tablespoons Robertson's spice for rice
-1 teaspoon of Rajah medium curry powder(or any curry powder)
-1 Chicken bouillon cube(cut into tiny pieces)
-3 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
-1 tablespoon of freshly chopped Garlic
-1 teaspoon of peri-peri(Chilli powder)
-1 tablespoon of salt
-2 tablespoons of Olive oil
-1 and 1/2 cup of water
Instructions:
1. Rinse rice in cold water multiple times to get rid of the excess starch, rinse it till the water is transparent, get rid of excess water
2. Heat olive oil in a pan then fry the uncooked rice for 2-3 minutes on high(until its a little crispy, it will release a nice nutty flavour)
3. Add Garlic, ginger, Red bell pepper, chopped onion, bouillon cube and all the spices+ salt and fry on medium heat for 3 minutes
4. Add tomato sauce and fry for another 2 mins then add water
5. simmer on low for 12-15 minutes till all the water is gone and rice is cooked(it will be a bit crunchy to taste, not mushy😃)
Serve with Fried Kielbasa sausage or any meat of your choice
3. Chinese Egg-fried rice
-2 cups White rice(Cooked the day before and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator)
Don't use freshly cooked rice.
- 1 cup frozen veggies(Carrots and green peas only)
-2 eggs
-4 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
-1 tablespoon of salt
-1 tablespoon of white pepper
-3 tablespoons Olive oil
-1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
Directions:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and fry frozen veggies for few minutes till tender/crispy
2. In a separate pan fry eggs and scramble until well done
3. Add the scrambled eggs to the fried frozen veggies and fry for 30 seconds
4. In another pan, heat 2 tablespoon of oil on medium then fry the cooked rice while adding soy sauce gradually, tasting occasionally. Add the eggs and frozen veggies to the fried rice and fry for 2 minutes.
Serve with Chinese Orange chicken (It's only logical)
IF YOU DO TRY ANY OF THIS PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW THEY TURNED OUT! MORE RECIPES COMING SOON😃
Will do 😍😍😍
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