This is a one pot Ginger Chicken and Rice dish inspired by Hong Kong clay pot rice – except we’re using a regular pot today! You’ll love the ginger-forward flavour and the secret 2 ingredient sauce that I expect to show off again very, very soon.

One-pot Ginger chicken and rice

I wanted to call this “Hong Kong Ginger Chicken and Rice” because it’s inspired by the traditional method used to make Hong Kong claypot rice where plain rice is cooked in a claypot, topped with meat and vegetables that steams as it cooks, and finished with a drizzle of seasoned sauce at the end.

Everything was written up and ready to go. Then my brother saw it (yes, the same one who tried an early version of my Chilli Lime Fish and gave the famous feedback line “There is nothing about this that I like”), snorted with laughter and declared, “You can’t call it that. Hong Kong will mock you so hard!”🤣🤣

I huffed and puffed and laughingly tried to defend my creative writing. But truthfully, I knew the battle was lost from the moment it started given the absence of a claypot and that my sauce is a (magical! secret!) combination of 2 ingredients not commonly used in Hong Kong.

It’s killing me to think of the smug smirk on this face as he reads this. But I’m placated at the memory of him scoffing down a big bowl of this and giving it his nod of approval! Such is the hilarious banter in my team and family – which, hand on heart, is what keeps our recipe creation bar high.

Ingredients you need

Here’s what you need to make this wannabe-clay-pot chicken and rice. It kind of reminds me of Maze Gohan (“mixed rice”), a Japanese dish where rice is steamed with seasoned meat and vegetables – and my mother always uses Asian mushrooms – except this has a stronger flavour.

1. Chicken and rice part

• Long grain rice – This rice type works best because it is less sticky than other types like short grain, medium grain and jasmine rice which are prone to becoming a little too sticky in these sort of one pot recipes (though they will work). Basmati rice will also work but will add a non-Asian perfume of flavour to this Asian flavoured dish. 🙂

  Not suitable / recipe not written for these – Brown rice, risotto and paella rice. wild rice, quinoa.

• Chicken – I use boneless thighs as it stays juicier than using breast when cooked with the rice, though breast and tenderloin will work.

• Stock/broth – Using chicken stock makes a tastier rice than using just water. I always use low-sodium so I can control the amount of salt in a dish.

• Ginger – This recipe uses a good amount of fresh ginger, for unmissable ginger flavour! It uses both grated ginger and slices of ginger that is cooked with the rice as it steams.

• Garlic – More of a background flavour in this dish, where ginger stars.

• Green onion – We use the firm white part like onion, sautéed with the chicken, and the softer green part is tossed in at the end (it wilts within seconds in the hot steamy rice).

2. Any mushrooms

Try to use mushrooms favoured in Asian cooking. They add more interesting texture and flavour than regular button mushrooms, and they are often good value at Asian stores. I used king oyster mushrooms, oyster and shiitake mushrooms, pictured below left to right.

However, this recipe works just fine with any mushrooms at all! I would absolutely make this dish with regular white mushrooms.

We’re using a good amount of mushrooms today – 500g / 1 lb – because it’s the primary vegetable in this dish and we’re using the juice from the mushrooms to flavour the rice and also provide some of the cooking liquid for the rice (which is why the liquid-to-rice ratio is 1 : 1.33 instead of the usual 1 : 1.5)

3. Tasty drizzle sauce

Hong Kong claypot rice is typically cooked with just water and most of the flavour is reliant on a seasoned soy sauce mixture which is drizzled on at the end when serving. Ordinarily, the clay pot sauce calls for a handful of sauces but for this recipe (intended as a handy midweek-er), we’re taking a shortcut with 2 ingredients not traditionally used but delivers similar layers of flavour:

• Kecap manis (aka Ketjap Manis) – Indonesian sweet soy sauce with caramely flavour and a syrupy consistency. The flavour is so much more interesting than just using regular soy sauce plus sugar!

• Fish sauce – Umami shortcut. No, you won’t taste any fishiness because we don’t use much (we use more kecap manis than fish sauce) and it’s tossed through steaming hot rice which basically “cooks” it anyway.

• White pepper – the preferred pepper in Asian cooking. Substitute with black pepper.

How to cook Ginger Chicken and Rice

A key step here is to just sear the mushrooms on high heat so they just get a light colour on the surface rather than cooking them all the way through ie. when they go watery, then the water evaporates and the mushrooms end up floppy. In today’s dish, we want those mushroom juices to come out when they’re cooking with the rice so the rice can soak up all that flavour!

1. Double duty sauce

First up, we make the sauce as we use some to flavour the chicken and the rest for drizzling on the rice later.

1. Sauce – Just mix the ingredients in a bowl until combined. If your kecap manis was in the fridge, it will be quite thick like honey so be sure to mix well.

2. Flavour chicken – Toss the chicken in 1 1/2 tablespoons of the sauce. This is just to season it lightly. No need to marinate.

2. MAKE THE ONE-POT CHICKEN AND RICE

Tip of the day for one-pot rice cooking: Be sure to bring the liquid up to a very energetic simmer before putting the lid on and lowering the heat. You need to get enough heat going in the pot before turning the stove down else the rice will just be sitting there, wallowing in hot water, bloating rather than cooking = sticky gluey pot of rice instead of lovely soft, separate rice grains.

1. Sear mushrooms – Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Then sear half the mushrooms but do not cook them until soft, we want to finish cooking them with the rice. Aim for just a light hint of gold on most of the mushrooms which should only take around 2 minutes. Remove from the pot, heat more oil and repeat with the remaining mushrooms.

2. Seal chicken – Next, cook the chicken, just long enough to seal the surface which should take less than a minute.

3. Sauté and stock – Add the grated ginger, garlic and white part of the green onions. Stir for 30 seconds (the ginger will smell so good!). Add the rice, stir to coat in the flavour, then pour the stock in.

4. Mushrooms – Get the liquid up to a simmer then scatter the mushrooms across the surface (like a mushroom rice lid!) and add any mushroom juices accumulated in the bowl.

5. Cook then rest – Bring the liquid back up to a very energetic simmer, then put the lid on and lower the heat to medium low (or low, for large stronger burners). Cook 20 minutes – no peeking, no stirring! – or until the liquid has been absorbed. Take the pot off the stove and rest for 10 minutes (with the lid still on).

6. Sauce – Remove the lid and drizzle the sauce across the surface.

7. Green onion – Add the green part of the green onion.

8. Toss – Then gently toss the rice until most of the rice grains are coated in the sauce and the green onion is wilted. Minimise tossing – excessive tossing makes rice mushy. Then serve!

The sauce!

It’s really, really tasty. The notable step that makes this different to the usual Asian one-pot rice recipes is adding the sauce at the end rather than cooking the rice with it which is what I usually do – like in this One Pot Chinese Chicken and Rice. It makes it taste different, it’s fresher, and coats the rice grains rather than infusing into the rice grains.

And yes, one day I will share a proper claypot rice recipe! Crispy base of rice, actual claypot, proper drizzling sauce and all, one that will do Hong Kong proud! 🙂 – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Ginger chicken and rice (one pot recipe!)

Recipe video above. This one-pot ginger chicken and rice is inspired by the flavours of Hong Kong claypot rice, steamed with a layer of mushrooms and finished with a drizzle of sauce. It's gone straight into my top 3 one-pot recipes!

I've used a mix of Asian mushrooms here which have more interesting textures and impart more flavour into the rice than regular white mushrooms. But I wouldn't hesitate to make this with any type of mushrooms!

Course Mains

Cuisine Asian, Chinese

Keyword asian chicken and rice, chicken and mushroom rice, Chicken and Rice, hong kong chicken and rice

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Resting 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4 – 5 people

Calories 520cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp oil
• 500g/ 1 lb chicken thighs , boneless, skinless, cut into small bite size pieces (Note 1)
• 1 1/2 cups long grain rice , NOT RINSED (Note 2)
• 2 cups chicken stock , low sodium
• 4 green onion stems , white part finely sliced, green flopped part cut into 5cm/2" lengths
• 1 1/2 tbsp ginger , grated
• 2 large garlic cloves , finely minced
• 4 – 5 slices ginger ~5mm / 0.2" thick (large enough to easily pick out later), no need to peel

Mushrooms (use any you want – Note 3):

• 150g / 5oz shiitake mushrooms , fresh (~2 heaped cups), small halved, large thickly sliced
• 150g / 5 oz oyster mushrooms (~2 heaped cups), small kept whole, large cut into 2 or 3
• 200g / 7 oz king mushrooms , halved then cut into thick slices 7mm thick
• 2 pinches salt and white pepper (each)

Simple claypot sauce:

• 3 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy) – Note 4
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/8 tsp white pepper (sub black)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• ABBREVIATED – Toss chicken with 1 1/2 tbsp sauce. Sear mushrooms in 2 batches, remove. SeaL chicken, add garlic, ginger and white part green onions towards end. Stir in rice, add stock and ginger slices, cover with mushrooms, steam 20 min. Rest 10 min, toss with sauce and green onion.

FULL RECIPE:

• Sauce – Mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Toss chicken with 1 1/2 tbsp of the sauce, set the rest aside for drizzling.
• Lightly sear mushrooms – Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a large heavy based pot on high heat. Cook half the mushrooms with a pinch of salt and pepper until some of the mushrooms have a light tinge of golden on the surface, but don't try to cook them all the way through (we want to do that in the rice). Remove into bowl. Repeat with remaining mushrooms.
• Seal chicken – Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil until hot. Add the chicken and stir for 1 minute, just until the surface is sealed but inside still raw. Add white part of green onion, garlic and ginger, stir 30 seconds. Add rice, stir briefly just to coat in oil.
• Simmer liquid – Add stock and ginger slices. Bring to a rapid simmer. Scatter mushrooms across surface (add any pooled liquid too), then let it come to a rapid simmer again.
• Steam 20 minutes – Put the lid on, reduce stove to low (or medium low, for weak burners). Cook for 20 minutes (do not stir) until the liquid is fully absorbed.
• Rest 10 minutes – Remove pot from the stove with the lid still on and rest for 10 minutes.
• Drizzle and toss – Drizzle remaining sauce all over, add green part of green onions. Gently toss until the green onion is mostly wilted. Serve!

Notes

1. Chicken – Because it’s cooked with the rice, thighs will stay juicier than breast though you can use breast or tenderloin if you want.

2. Long grain rice works best for these types of one-pot recipes as the rice grains are less sticky than medium grain, jasmine and sushi rice which have a tendency to get a bit too sticky for my taste. Basmati will also work. Medium grain will also work quite well. Brown rice, risotto, paella and sushi rice are not suitable for the recipe as written.

Don’t rinse. It’s not required to avoid gluey rice because we use the right liquid-rice ratio. If you rinse, it will be mushy and overly soft.

3. Mushrooms – Exact weight and mix of types doesn’t matter here, use about 6 heaped cups in total. Just cut them into similar thickness so they cook in the same time.

4. Kecap Manis (aka Ketjap Manis) – Indonesian sweet soy sauce with caramely flavour, has a syrupy consistency. Find it at most supermarkets in Australia (Woolworths, Coles, Harris Farms). Excellent shortcut ingredient when combined with fish sauce, makes a brilliant sauce.

Make your own: simmer 1/4 cup ordinary or light soy sauce and 1/4 cup brown sugar over medium heat until syrupy.

Leftovers keeps 3 days, or freezer 3 months.

Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 520cal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 897mg | Potassium: 831mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 154IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 3mg

Life of Dozer

Everything Dozer eats in a day:

His homemade food – blitzed, baked in a sheet pan, cut into “Dozer safe” cubes:

• chicken mince (easy to digest)

• chicken liver (for vitamins)

• sardines in water, no added salt (rich in omega-3s, good for joints)

• egg (binding and protein)

• sweet potato (the starch)

• zucchini, kale and carrot (veg)

I live in perpetual fear of running out of homemade food because there’s no shop-bought dog food in a form safe for him to eat (he is at risk of inhaling things into his lungs, due to his laryngeal paralysis, which can be fatal).

His supplements:

• spinal repair and joint protect – special mix by Dozer’s magic dog doctor, Neil Barnsley of Animal Holistic Therapies that replaces a laundry list of pills and supplements Dozer would otherwise be on to make his golden years more comfortable. I can’t speak highly enough of Neil.

• meal completer supplement Complete Me – extra important these days to ensure Dozer gets all the nutrition he needs now that Dozer can’t eat things he used to, like bones and raw offal, which were an important part of his diet in his pre laryngeal paralysis days.

Treats – critical these days to keep him moving, especially when he’s a bit creaky or sore:

• Everything I eat and cook, as long as I can put it into Dozer-safe form!

• Cheese sticks and cheese cubes

• Nossi! (Mini cabanossi sticks) – handy snack that’s easy to transport. I keep finding random ones in the pocket of jackets, pants, the car, handbag – you name it!

I know, he’s soooo spoilt isn’t he. But, as I constantly remind people, he’s a very important company asset!! 😂

The post Ginger chicken and rice appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Hot Buttered Corn Rice is a simple yet delicious upgrade from plain steamed rice. Serve with any cuisine, any dish – it goes with everything. Make lots – everyone will go in for seconds!

I have no idea what you’re planning to make for dinner tonight. But whatever it is, a big steamy mound of garlicky, buttery rice with sweet pops of corn is going to work with it, and it will make your meal even better than you already envisage it to be!!

And such is the beauty of today’s recipe. It is one of those unicorns that just works with any cuisine and any food that can do with a starchy side. A stir fry? Definitely! Lemony Chicken Francese? Oh yes. Firecracker Beef? Oh course! Coq au vin? Try to stop me!

Stir fries

Chicken Francese

Spicy Firecracker Beef

Coq au Vin

Mexican Chipotle Pork & Beans

It’s tasty enough to eat by the spoonful, straight out of the pot but neutral enough to work with full flavoured, saucy mains, like the Mexican Chipotle Pork & Beans pictured below. I also see myself topping it with canned tuna, a squiggle of kewpie mayo and dollop of chilli. Hot Buttered Corn Tuna Rice Bowl! Sounds so much more interesting than tuna and rice. 😂

Ingredients for Hot Buttered Corn Rice

Here’s what you need to make this buttery, garlicky rice! Green onion is not critical.

• Corn – I use frozen corn for convenience so imagine how great it is with fresh corn! Canned corn will work too but it’s not my first pick as it’s a little softer so once cooked, it is a little too soft for my taste.

• White rice – I like to use long grain white rice for this dish as the rice stays fluffier because the rice itself is less sticky than short grain rice (like sushi rice).

  Substitutes: Basmati rice (works just as well, with a little extra perfume of flavour), medium grain rice (next best), sushi rice (works but the rice is a little stickier).

  Do not use: Jasmine rice (too soft, requires different cooking treatment), brown rice, risotto rice, paella rice, wild rice, quinoa, or any faux rice (eg cauliflower rice), any par-cooked rice (those microwave packets). The recipe is not designed for this, it would require tweaking.

• Butter – For buttery goodness! Some is used to cook the corn and rice, then we stir some through at the end for a good hit of buttery flavour.

• Garlic – 3 whole cloves! Garlic + butter + corn = home run.

• Green onion – For a little hit of fresh and lovely green colour. Not the end of the world if you don’t have it. You could also just sauté a little onion or eschalots (US: shallots) with the corn.

• Chicken or vegetable stock/broth – The cooking liquid. Because it’s tastier than water and we’re making a quick recipe here, so we need the extra helping hand. If we were going to the effort of making a homemade corn stock, we could get away with using water. But we’re not! Not today. 🙂 (But if you want to make something using a homemade corn stock, make this Cold Corn Soup! It’s amazing – but it does require more effort than this recipe.)

• Salt – Just a little bit (1/4 teaspoon), so the rice has enough flavour to eat it by the spoonful straight out of the pot. Just lightly salted is best else your overall meal will be too salty when you add a properly seasoned main onto the plate, like the pictured Shredded Chipotle Mexican Pork and Beans.

How to make Hot Buttered Corn Rice

Use a small pot or large saucepan (20 – 22 cm/8 – 9″+). If your saucepan is too small, the depth of the rice will be too deep so the rice will cook unevenly, with mushy rice on the base and raw rice on the surface. If you use a pot that’s too large, then the depth of the rice will be too shallow so the liquid will evaporate too fast, leaving your rice undercooked, and likely with some burnt patches.

The pictured pot is 24cm / 9.4″ and it is a wee bit on the large side, but OK for experienced rice makers!

1. Sauté – Melt the butter over high heat. Add the garlic and stir for 15 seconds until it smells amazing, but don’t let it go golden. Add the corn (still frozen is fine) and stir for 2 minutes. It will thaw and coat the surface in the tasty garlic butter.

   If using fresh corn, it won’t cook through in this time which is fine because it will steam cook with the rice.

2. Coat rice – Add the rice and stir to coat it in the tasty garlic butter flavour.

3. Bring to simmer properly – Add the stock and salt. Stir then let the stock come to a simmer.

   ⚠️ Make sure the whole surface is bubbling or rippling, not just around the edges, before you lower the heat and put the lid on. We want to make sure the stock gets enough heat in it to make sure the rice actually cooks, rather than sitting in hot water just bloating.

4. Cook the rice for 12 minutes with the lid on. No peeking (this lets steam escape) and no stirring (express path to mushy rice!). At the end of this time, the water should be absorbed by the rice. Tilt the pot and peek quickly to check.

5. Rest 10 minutes – Remove the pot from the the stove and leave it to rest for 10 minutes with the lid still on. This step is so important anytime you cook rice, whether plain or fully-loaded! The rice will finish cooking and the residual water on the surface of the grains gets absorbed, leaving the rice beautifully fluffy. See FAQ for more information about this and for more rice-making rantings, see my How to cook White Rice post. Writing that was so therapeutic!😂

6. Butter & fluff – Remove the lid and add the butter. Gently fluff the rice. Once the butter is mostly melted, toss the green onion through. By the time you’ve finished, the butter should be fully melted. Time to serve, while it’s hot and fresh! After all, it’s called HOT Buttered Corn Rice, not Lukewarm Corn Rice (well there’s an average recipe name for you!).

Hot Buttered Corn Rice will last for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. And it will reheat really well, so this is a good one to add to your menu planning for a big gathering because you can make it well in advance then just reheat until steamy!

I’m also thinking this might be a good one to add to the RecipeTin Meals rotation! (This is my food bank where we make and donate meals to the vulnerable). Though possibly my team will make a version with more vegetables in it so it will be a complete two-in-one side dish (ie starch plus vegetables). Then we can just add a piece of protein and we’ll have a complete, nutritious meal that’s efficient to make on a large scale! Must run this past them. 🙂 – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Hot buttered corn rice

Recipe video above. Hot Buttered Corn Rice – a simple yet delicious upgrade from plain steamed rice. Serve with any cuisine, any dish – goes with everything. Make lots – everyone will go in for seconds!

Course Rice, Sides

Cuisine Western

Keyword corn rice, rice side dish

Prep Time 7 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Rice resting 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 29 minutes minutes

Servings 4 – 5 as a side

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 50g/ 4 tbsp unsalted butter , divided
• 3 big garlic cloves , finely minced (can use garlic press)
• 2 cups frozen corn (no need to thaw), or fresh corn kernels (Note 1)
• 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
• Pinch of pepper
• 1 cup long grain rice , uncooked, not rinsed (Note 2)
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock/broth (+ 2 tbsp extra if using fresh corn)
• 2 green onion stems , finely sliced

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Pot size – Use a small pot or large saucepan about 20-22 cm/8-9". (Note 3)
• Sauté – Melt half the butter in a pot over high heat. Add the garlic and stir for 15 seconds. Add the corn and half the salt. Stir for 2 minutes.
• Bring to simmer – Add the rice and stir for 30 seconds. Add the stock and remaining salt, and pepper. Stir, bring to a simmer (make sure the whole surface is bubbling/ripplling), then put the lid on and turn the heat down to medium low (or low, if your stove is strong). (Note 4)
• Cook for 12 minutes (no peeking, no stirring!). The liquid should be absorbed by now – tilt the pot and take a quick peek to check.
• Rest 10 minutes – Remove the pot from the stove and let it rest for 10 minutes with the lid on. This step is key, do not skip it! (Note 5)
• Toss – Lift the lid, add the remaining butter, fluff the rice to melt the butter through. Add green onion and toss through.
• Tumble into serving bowl. Serve hot!

Notes

1. Frozen corn – Delicious with frozen corn so imagine how great it is with fresh! The same cooking times applies to either. Recipe will work with canned corn too but it’s not quite as good (it’s wetter, so doesn’t sauté as well and gets overly soft when cooked, I find). Use one 400g/14oz can, drained.

2. Rice – Long grain best (this is what I use), also basmati works just as well. Next best is medium grain. Short grain (sushi rice) will also work but the rice is a bit stickier.

 No need to rinse rice unless you’re concerned about cleanliness. Don’t worry, the rice is fluffy (see video proof) because we’re using the right water to rice ratio of 1.5:1. If you can’t shake the habit, go ahead and rinse but reduce the stock by 2 tablespoons (to account for waterlogged rice).

Do not use: jasmine rice, brown rice, risotto rice, paella rice, wild rice, black rice, quinoa, or any faux rice (eg cauliflower rice), any par-cooked rice (those microwave packets). 

3. Pot size matters for cooking rice well on the stove! Too small = cooks unevenly. Too large = liquid evaporates too quickly = undercooked rice. If doubling or tripling, use a very large pot or stock pot. See in post for more information.

4. Bubbling stock – Make sure the whole surface of your liquid is bubbling / rippling, not just around the edge, to make sure the stock is hot enough before lowering the heat and starting the timer.

5. Resting rice is key to allow the rice to finish cooking and become fluffy. Read in post for more rantings about why this is so important! (In the How To Make section).

Keeps for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. Reheats extremely well. Excellent one to make ahead for gatherings!

Life of Dozer

Me: He failed.

Dozer: Winning!

The post Hot buttered corn rice appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Garlic Rice is the easiest, best tasting side dish that you can serve with anything! From roast chicken to chops, stir fries to fish, Middle Eastern to Mexican food, this buttery rice is so flavourful you can eat it plain. Have some tonight, freeze some for later!

Garlic rice

Garlic Rice is one of my most-used side dish recipes and I feel a little selfish for keeping it to myself all these years! It’s a rice side dish that’s quick to make and literally goes with anything. Any cuisine, any food type. From an Argentinian Chimichurri steak to Chinese Char Sui Pork, French Ratatouille to Moroccan lamb meatballs, a slow roasted Greek Lamb Leg to Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken, I challenge you to think of a dish that this Garlic Rice wouldn’t go with!

Think of it like mashed potato. Or the rice version of everybody’s favourite garlic bread! Or – an easier version of fried rice. Make it today and heat it up tomorrow, keep a stash in your freezer. It’s just as much at home on your dinner plate as it is as part of a big buffet.

No sauce required

One specific thing about this Garlic Rice is that it’s flavoured enough to eat without smothering with sauce, like saucy stir fries and plain white rice. Here’s an example of what I mean – a dinner plate with Lime Chicken. I’d ordinarily serve it with something that stands on its own two feet, like Mac and Cheese, Potato Salad, or maybe some roast vegetables or hefty salad like my favourite Quinoa Salad.

But Garlic Rice is much faster to make!

Ingredients in garlic rice

So – hard sell done. 😂 Here’s all you need to make Garlic Rice!

• Rice types – This recipe will work with long grain (my default), medium grain, short grain (sushi rice) or basmati.

  Not suitable as written for brown rice, jasmine rice, wild rice, black rice or faux rice (cauliflower rice, quinoa etc). Jasmine rice can be made as Garlic Rice but you’ll need to follow the preparation steps per the recipe (rinse + less water).

• Butter (unsalted) – The cooking fat of choice, for lovely buttery flavour. We use half to sauté the garlic that the rice is then cooked in, then the other half is stirred in at the end. Maximum butter flavour!

  I used unsalted butter which is my default for cooking because then I can control the amount of salt from other ingredients. If you only have salted butter, skip the salt in the recipe.

  Extra virgin olive oil makes a lovely alternative to butter. Use 4 tablespoons.

• Garlic – Garlic minced with a knife will sauté better. A garlic press/crusher works ok here because we are using enough butter (garlic is wetter so doesn’t sauté quite as well unless you use plenty of fat). Jar garlic paste, however……don’t talk to me about that stuff! Sour, wet and barely resembles the flavour of real garlic!

• Liquid chicken stock/broth OR water + stock powder – This rice really is tastiest made with liquid chicken stock/broth. It’s a standard pantry item for me which I stock up on when it’s on sale because I use it so much in my cooking.

  However, as a cost effective alternative, stock powder plus water can be used. Use whatever amount the jar specifies. Usually it’s 1 teaspoon of powder plus 1 cup of water = 1 cup of liquid stock.

  My favourite stock powders for this recipe:
  1. Vegeta vegetable seasoning
  2. Knorr Chinese chicken bouillon powder – cleaner, less “fake” chicken flavour than Western ones
  3. Any other chicken or vegetable stock powder

How to cook garlic rice

It’s just like cooking plain rice – except we start with garlic butter, and finish with more butter. 😇 You know this is going to be good!

My default way to cook rice is on the stove but the recipe notes includes directions for rice cooker and oven.

1. Sauté the garlic in half the butter for 30 seconds or until it turns light golden and smells amazing.

2. Coat rice in that awesome garlic butter until it becomes a little translucent, like we do with risotto!

3. Steam 15 minutes – Add the stock and salt, turn up the heat and bring to a simmer. Once you see bubbles on the surface of the water, immediately put the lid on and turn the stove down to low (or medium low if you’re using a weak/small burner). Then cook for 15 minutes.

4. Rest 10 minutes – Take a quick peek to ensure the water has been absorbed. Then remove off the stove – lid still on – and rest for 10 minutes.

5. Butter and fluff – Fluff the rice, then toss the butter in and fluff through until melted.

6. Optional parsley – Also fluff the parsley through, if using. Little green specks looks pretty but doesn’t add anything for flavour, so it’s optional. Then it’s ready to serve!

Quick tips

• Use a large saucepan or small pot (~24 cm / 10″) – we’re making 2 cups of rice which is 6 cups cooked. If your cooking vessel is too small, the depth of the rice will be too high which means it will take longer to cook and the rice will cook unevenly (the bottom layer is soggier).

• A clear lid saucepan is super useful for rice cooking because you can see what’s going on! ie Ensure water is simmering, can check to ensure the water has been absorbed without lifting the lid.

• DO NOT STIR, DO NOT LIFT LID while the rice is cooking! That is the surefire path to mushy, unevenly cooked rice.

• DO NOT skip the resting time! This is super important – the rice is actually not fully cooked even once the water is absorbed (try some, you’ll see). Also, the rice is wet. During the resting time, the rice finishes cooking and the water on the surface of each grain gets absorbed. There is no shortcut for this!

The most versatile recipe I’ve ever shared?

This really may be the most universal recipe I’ve ever shared. I honestly can’t think of a single dish that it wouldn’t go with – except, of course, recipes where starch is already built in, like pasta, pizza etc.

Make this tonight and freeze some for later.

I hope you love it as much as I do. And use it Forever! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Garlic rice

Recipe video above. Garlic Rice is the easiest, best tasting side dish that you can serve with anything! From roast chicken to chops, stir fries to fish, Middle Eastern to Mexican food, this buttery rice is so flavourful you can eat it plain.

Have some tonight, freeze some for later! See notes for recipe scaling tips.

Course Rice, Side Dish

Cuisine Asian, Western

Keyword butter rice, garlic butter rice, garlic rice, rice side dish

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Resting 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 308cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 50 – 75g/ 4 – 5 tbsp unsalted butter , divided (Note 1)
• 5 garlic cloves , finely minced (Note 2)
• 2 cups white rice (uncooked) – long grain, medium grain, short grain (sushi rice) or basmati (Note 3)
• 3 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium (stock powder option – see Note 4)
• 3/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp table salt)
• 1 tbsp parsley , finely chopped, plus extra for garnish (optional)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• No need to rinse the rice. The rice will be fluffy because this recipe uses the right ratio: 1.5 cups liquid for every 1 cup of rice.
• Sauté garlic – Melt half the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Once foamy, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until it turns light golden.
• Coat rice – Add the rice and stir for 30 seconds or until the grains turn translucent.
• Simmer – Add stock and salt. Turn heat up to high, then once the water starts bubbling, put the lid on and immediately turn the stove down to low (or medium low, if your stove is weak/small). (Note 5)
• Cook 15 minutes – Cook the rice for 15 minutes. No stirring, don't lift the lid.
• Rest 10 minutes – Tilt the saucepan and have a quick peek to ensure all the water is absorbed. Then remove off the stove, with the lid still on, and rest for 10 minutes.
• Fluff rice, then fluff through remaining butter until melted. Toss through parsley, then tumble into serving dish. Sprinkle with extra parsley then serve!

Notes

RECIPE SCALING – Click on servings and slide to change the recipe scale. Scaling down: don’t go below 1 cup of uncooked rice, it’s hard to cook less. Use a smaller saucepan and 12 minutes cook time with lid on. Scaling up: Don’t exceed 4 cups of rice for a single batch (hard to cook evenly). Use a large pot, and expect to cook for longer (~ 20 min). 

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1. Butter – I provide a range because more is tastier (and I fully endorse it), but the lower end of the scale is the minimum for a tasty dish that some might consider to be more sensible for a Monday night dinner. 🙂

2. Garlic minced with a knife will sauté better but a garlic press/crusher works ok too – garlic is wetter so doesn’t sauté quite as well. Jar garlic paste, however, don’t talk to me about that sour stuff!

3. Rice types – This recipe will work with the listed rice grains. Not suitable for brown rice, jasmine rice (you can add garlic butter to the jasmine rice recipe), wild rice, black rice or faux rice (cauliflower rice, quinoa etc).

Alternative method – Cook brown rice etc per recipe. Sauté the garlic in butter, then tip the cooked rice in and toss in the garlic butter. Flavour infusion not quite as good but still extremely tasty!

4. Liquid stock will give a better flavour but a good substitute is to use stock powder plus water. My favourite is Vegeta, a vegetable stock powder. Chicken stock and other brands of vegetable is also suitable.

To use stock powder, make this recipe with 3 cups water (750 ml) + stock powder for this amount of water per the jar instructions (usually 1 teaspoon per 1 cup water) + 1/4 tsp salt (NOT 3/4 tsp per recipe, rice too salty).

5. Rinsing is not the secret to fluffy rice, the correct liquid to rice ratio is (1.5 cups liquid: 1 cup rice). However, you should rinse if you are concerned about rice cleanliness (if you buy in packs at grocery stores, you shouldn’t be) or if you just can’t break the habit. But if you do, you MUST reduce the stock by 1/4 cup, to account for the water logged in the rice. If you don’t, your rice will end up overly soft and slightly mushy.

6. The liquid should have small bubbles / actively rippling when the lid is on and the stove is on low/medium low. If the heat is too low and the water is doing nothing, then the rice is just sitting there, bloating in hot water instead of cooking!

7. Other cook methods:

• Rice cooker – Follow the recipe up to stirring the rice in the garlic butter. Then scrape it all into the rice cooker, add the stock and salt and cook per the rice cooker instructions. 
• Oven – Follow the recipe up to bringing the stock to a boil in a pot. Then pour it all into a casserole pot with a lid. Bake for 35 minutes until liquid all absorbed. Rest 10 min with lid on, then fluff, stir through butter and parsley.

 

8. Keeps for 2 days in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave. Or, freezer for 3 months.

Nutrition per serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 308cal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 331mg | Potassium: 188mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.3g | Vitamin A: 265IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg

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Crispy rice is just rice that’s packed in a pan, cut then pan fried until golden and ultra crispy. Can’t-stop-eating-them good! Munch on them plain like chips, or use as a base for toppings to make modern Asian-style canapés – like Nobu’s Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice.

Crispy rice cakes

These are the base for the Nobu copy-cat Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice recipe that I also published today. But everyone who’s tried the plain crispy rice cakes declared them so good, they insisted they should be published as a separate recipe. So here it is!

Ingredients

All you really need to make crispy rice cakes is rice, oil for frying and salt for seasoning. However, the rice is tastier if you add sushi rice seasoning which is just sugar and rice vinegar. Especially if you plan to serve these as plain snacks with no toppings.

• Sushi rice – Find this type of rice labelled as such alongside other rice at the grocery store. It’s a short grain type of rice that is stickier than other types of rice, so the rice sticks together to make the rice balls for sushi.

  For the same reason, it’s the best type of rice to make rice cakes! Other rice types won’t stick together as firmly so the rice cakes won’t cut as neatly or fry up as golden and crispy. Medium grain rice should work nearly as well (because it’s fairly sticky too) but I don’t recommend trying this with long grain rice, brown rice, wild rice or basmati rice.

• Rice vinegar – An Asian vinegar made from….wait for it….rice! Smoother and milder than plain white vinegar, this is used to flavour rice to make sushi. As noted above, it can be skipped but it makes the rice cakes tastier.

• Sugar – Also for seasoning the rice.

• Salt – For sprinkling on the cooked rice cakes. I use 3/4 teaspoon. It will seem like a lot for the amount of rice cakes but they can take it! They are like potato – they take more salt than you think. Also, some salt falls off when you turn them to sprinkle the other side.

How to make crispy rice cakes

You simply cook rice, press in a pan, cool to make it solid, cut, then pan fry until golden. Then munch away!

1. Cook and flavour rice

No need to rinse. Use the right amount of water. And don’t peek! My full rice-making rants here.

1. Cook rice – Place rice and water in a small pot (no lid) over medium high heat. Once it’s bubbling, put the lid on and turn down to medium low. Cook for 13 minutes or until water is absorbed – no peeking!

2. Rest for 10 minutes with the lid on.

3. Sushi rice seasoning – Mix the vinegar and sugar together until the sugar dissolves.

4. Fluff – Pour seasoning over the hot rice. Fluff with a rice paddle or rubber spatula. The rice will absorb the flavour as it cools in the pan.

2. Press and cut

For really crispy rice cakes, be sure to press the rice in firmly.

1. Press – Place a sheet of baking/parchment paper on a 20cm/8″ square pan. Scrape the hot rice into the pan and spread evenly. Cover with another piece of paper and press the rice in very firmly, concentrating on the corners and edges. The rice should be around 1.25cm / 1/2″ thick.

2. Weigh down (recommended) – For best results, place something flat on top then weigh it down with 4 or 5 x 400g/14oz cans. I used a second pan that is the same size.

   Weighing down the rice packs the rice together more tightly as it sets in the fridge. This means you can cut neater pieces and they will crisp up better. It’s also just generally really irritating when you get little loose bits of rice in the pan when you’re frying up the rice cakes!

3. Cool – Fully cool, then refrigerate overnight (minimum 6 hours). As it cools, the rice will stick together and become a solid slab you can lift up and cut.

   Speedy option for the impatient: Put the rice in the fridge until it’s fully cool (around 1 hour), then freezer for 1 hour (edges will semi-freeze, centre should be perfect), then back in the fridge for 1 hour (to thaw edges). Warning: Do not let the rice freeze fully, it will become loose and wet when it thaws so not suitable for rice cakes!

4. Cut – Lift rice out using paper overhang. Wet the knife blade (neater cuts). Cut rice into desired shapes. I do 15 rectangles for the pictured Nobu Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna (5 strips, then each into 3). Smaller and more would make great snacking options, albeit lots of turning in the pan!

3. Cooking:

1. Pan fry – Heat about 1/4 cup of the oil in a large non-stick pan over medium high. Place in half the rice cakes – they should sizzle gently. Lower heat to medium. Cook for 4 minutes until really golden and crispy. Turn and cook the other side for 4 minutes.

2. Salt – Remove onto a paper towels lined plate. Sprinkle each side with salt while hot.

3. Keep cooking – Add remaining oil and cook remaining rice cakes.

4. Serve as snack (you won’t be able to stop!) or use as a base for canapés. See the separate recipe for the spicy tuna topping I also shared today which is a blatant Nobu restaurant copy-cat. See next section for more topping suggestions!

How to serve crispy rice cakes

Serve them plain for snacking or add toppings to make irresistible appetisers.

Serving plain

Eat like potato chips! You won’t be able to stop. I probably wouldn’t say no to some kind of dip either – French Onion Dip immediately comes to mind.

Topping suggestions

As noted above, I’m sharing this crispy rice cakes recipe as a base for a creamy spicy tuna topping to make a copycat of a signature Nobu restaurant appetiser, Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice (raw or canned). However, given the flavour of the rice cakes is fairly neutral rather than specifically Asian, there’s stacks of topping options! Here’s some ideas that come to mind:

• Creamy spicy tuna or salmon – Nobu copycat made with sashimi grade tuna or salmon. Canned tuna option included.

• Tuna poke – A no mayo topping option with sashimi tuna in a gingery soy sauce dressing

• Kingfish ceviche – YES! I can’t wait to try this. (Chop everything smaller so they stay on the rice cakes or use the rice cakes for scooping)

• Salmon mousse – I pipe this on cucumber rounds for a fancy(ish) healthy(ish) canapé. Would be perfect on rice cakes!

• Any crostini toppings

• Chicken or egg sandwich fillings – I’d add finely chopped pickles or green onion for freshness

• Spread with guacamole then top with Pig Out Salsa or Mexican Corn Salad

Cucumber Canapés with Smoked Salmon Mousse

Holiday Crostini – 8 DELICIOUS ways!

Tuna Poke Bowl

Chicken sandwiches – gatherings, picnics, lunches!

Ceviche

Egg sandwich

Guacamole

Pig Out Salsa (Chorizo, Black Bean and Corn Salsa)

I’d love to hear your suggestions! What will you top these with? – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Print

Crispy rice

Recipe video above. Crispy rice is just rice that's packed in a pan, cut then pan fried until ultra golden and crispy. They make a great snack just as they are – you will DEVOUR a whole pile – or a base to make irresistible appetisers. Think – modern Asian canapés topped with spicy tuna (Nobu style!), tuna poke, egg or chicken salad sandwich filling, ceviche or salmon mousse!

Course Appetiser, canape

Cuisine Asian

Keyword crispy rice cakes

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Cooling 6 hours hours

Servings 15 pieces 4 x 6.5cm/ 1.5 x 2.5″

Calories 68cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 1 cup sushi rice (Note 1)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/3 cup canola oil (vegetable, peanut or other neutral oil)
• 3/4 tsp cooking / kosher salt , for sprinkling rice cakes (Note 2)

Sushi seasoning:

• 1 tbsp rice vinegar (Note 3)
• 1 tsp caster sugar (Note 3)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

SUMMARY RECIPE

• Cook rice, rest, pour over seasoning, fluff. Press firmly into 20cm/8" lined pan, weigh down. Cool, fridge overnight (min 6 hrs). Cut into 15 rectangles, pan fry 4 min each side, sprinkle with salt.

FULL RECIPE

• Sushi seasoning – Mix together until sugar dissolves.
• Cook rice (Note 4) – Place rice and water in a small pot (no lid) over medium high heat. Once it's bubbling on the edges and the middle is rippling, put the lid on and turn down to medium low (or low for strong stoves). Cook for 13 minutes or until water is absorbed.
• Rest – Remove from heat then rest for 10 minutes with the lid still on.
• Season – Remove lid. Pour over sushi seasoning. Fluff rice with rubber spatula.

Press, cool, cut:

• Press – Place a sheet of baking/parchment paper on a 20cm/8" square pan. Scrape hot rice into the pan and spread evenly. Cover with another piece of paper and press in very firmly.
• Weigh down (recommended, Note 5) – For best results, place something flat on top (2nd same size pan is ideal) then weigh down with 5 x 400g/14oz cans.
• Cool – Fully cool, cover with cling wrap, then refrigerate overnight (min 6 hours). Speedy option: Fridge uncovered until fully cool, cover, freeze 1 hour, fridge 1 hour.
• Cut – Lift rice out using paper overhang. Wet the knife blade (neater cuts). Cut rice into 15 rectangles (5 strips, then each into 3).

Cooking:

• Pan fry – Heat about 1/4 cup of the oil in a large non-stick pan over medium high. Place in half the rice cakes – they should sizzle gently. Lower heat to medium. Cook for 4 minutes until really golden and crispy. Turn and cook the other side for 4 minutes.
• Salt – Remove onto a paper towels lined plate. Sprinkle each side with salt while hot.
• Keep cooking – Add remaining oil and cook remaining rice cakes.

Serving:

• Serve as snack (you won't be able to stop!) or a base for canapés.
• Topping suggestions – Spicy tuna (Nobu copycat), tuna poke, salmon mousse, crostini toppings.

Notes

1. Sushi rice – Find it labelled as such alongside other rice at the grocery store. It’s a short grain type of rice that is stickier than other types of rice, making it ideal for making rice balls for sushi. For the same reason, it’s the best type of rice to make rice cakes. Other rice types won’t stick together as firmly so the rice cakes will be a bit more crumbly and untidy looking.
2. I know this seems like a lot but these can take a lot of salt. Use less if you doubt me then add more later when you realise you need it!
3. Seasonings for sushi rice. They can be skipped but it makes the rice cakes tastier, and in the spirit of crispy sushi rice!
4. Rice cooking – Use a pot ~17cm/7″ wide. Not much larger else the rice doesn’t have enough depth = risk of burning base. No need to rinse the rice if you bought it in packs at the shop, the rice will be fluffy cooking it my way and with the right water/rice ratio. If you insist on rinsing the rice, reduce water by 2 tablespoons (to account for water logged in the rice).
5. Packing the rice in tightly makes the rice cakes firmer so you can cut neat squares, plus they are crispier. Weighing down while cooling is best, but still ok if you just press the rice really tightly with your hands. If you don’t, then they will crumble on the edges when you cut and fry. Not fatal, but annoying – and not quite as crispy.

Nutrition

Calories: 68cal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 118mg | Potassium: 1mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.3g | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 0.02mg

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