Kade in the kitchen: Toasting rice

by Kade Bentley –

It took me years to make rice. The ratio eluded me, and I was frustrated with the blandness of it. I’ve narrowed down a method I’m almost always happy with.  The game changing tricks for me were:

-Patience. The less you touch rice while it’s steaming the better.

-A tight lid and

-Toast the rice!

~~~ serves two or three.

Recipe can be doubled or tripled

Cook time 30 minutes

– 1 Cup Basmati rice

– 1 ¾ Cups water or stock (if your pan     

  lid is loose, use a touch more water)

– a couple tablespoons oil of your

  choice (olive oil, coconut oil, butter)

– Salt to taste

  Optional-seasoning suggestions:

– Garlic – (fresh crushed or minced)

or powder

– cumin

– Fennel

– just a pinch of turmeric

In a sauce pan heat oil on medium. Add dry rice and mix well. If using fresh garlic, it can be toasted now with the rice.

Keep a close watch on the rice, stirring occasionally. The rice will develop a toasted smell, and may brown just slightly.  Measure water and set aside. I prefer to use hot water.

Keep the pan on medium to add optional spices. Allow spices to toast in the oil a couple minutes, but be careful not to burn. If using garlic powder, add last. When the spices have a nice fragrance pour the water in and set heat to high. It may sizzle and splash as you pour.

As soon as the water reaches a rolling boil turn it down to a slow simmer and put the lid on.

Check rice at ten minutes and again five minutes after if needed.

Cook rice until all water has been absorbed and rice is tender. If it starts to smell toasted again it’s definitely over done!

Fluff rice with a fork and let cool for ten minutes.

Serve with veggies, in burritos or tacos, or with your preferred entre. Lovely with cheese melted on top.

Keep leftovers covered in the fridge, and add a little water to re-heat.

Why Rice?

Rice is the staple food source for roughly half of the planet, and is eaten in nearly every region of the world. Requiring impressive irrigation systems and significant labor, Oryza sativa (as it’s known scientifically) has been grown for millennia.

– Rice is inexpensive. Compare larger bags in the Latin or Asian sections of the grocery store to higher priced “specialty” bags-

– Rice is versatile- it can be used in soups, as part of a main dish, as a dessert, a beverage, or milled into flour.

– Rice is an easily digestible high energy food. When eaten with other whole foods rice is an amazing source of carbohydrates,

  including the beneficial “resistant starch.”

– Rice can be a digestive aid. Using rice in place of other grains can be an effective way to manage certain digestive conditions.

– Rice is gluten free, making it appropriate for people with Celiac’s, or gluten allergies or sensitivities.

– Depending on preparation rice is extremely low sodium, benefiting heart health.

– Whole grain rice is high in fiber and other nutrients.

Kade Bentley has collected experience from commercial kitchens, vegetarian and vegan collective living, organic farming, and a general love of food. They can cook for one or 100. As a “kitchen witch,” They believe that how and with what we sustain ourselves has a spiritual significance, and sees eating and cooking as agricultural acts. They support small farms, the right to whole nutritious food, generous use of butter and coconut oil, and the creation of a more just food system.