How to make rice that’s so good, you’ll want to taste it straight from the pot.
I have been cooking rice like this for….a long time. I don’t remember a different way of preparing rice.
Actually, I didn’t know there was a different way to prepare rice, unless you were tossing a Trader Joe’s bag into the microwave, which is very practical at times. And, of course, there’s the 9×13 rice dishes like Fabulous Rice and other specialty types like Wild Mushroom Rice.
But when it comes to just “rice,” I thought everyone prepared it this way, until one summer’s day, I prepared a recipe for our “Cook With Us” series (you know, the Tuesday stories where we cook a BCP recipe together and we all pretend its so peaceful and aesthetic and there aren’t 76 utensils in my sink to wash once I’m done).
So I prepared some rice to go along with the meat I was showing, and, let’s just say that nobody cared about the meat and everyone wanted to know where the recipe for the rice was.
I found it quite funny and moved on.
But, people remembered and kept asking for the recipe for the rice. Which even now, as I am writing this post, and while we were shooting the photos, I still felt is kinda silly and kind of superfluous. After all, don’t we all cook rice like this?
Apparently, not.
So here is my recipe/method of preparing rice. The trick is to use minced garlic (fresh is best but the cubes will do as well). The garlic will ‘awaken’ the flavors of your rice, making it so tasty.
About the rice, because, I know you will ask: typically I like to use Uncle Ben’s Long Grain Rice but I have tried this method with basmati, jasmine, and even brown rice. They all worked just fine, the brown rice needed to cook longer and I might have added some water at one point. But I don’t prepare brown rice that often.
Heat oil and add minced garlic
and cook until fragrant, about one minute. Watch out–the garlic will burn fast so make sure to keep stirring and don’t wait until the garlic is browned.
Once it smells really nice in your kitchen, add 2 cups of rice. Keep stirring all the time
and add the salt and pepper.
Keep stirring. Once the rice is starting to get golden and toasted looking,
add water. Give it a quick mix and cover the pot with the lid. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil.
Then lower the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until all the water has absorbed and rice is soft. Set a timer!
Once the rice is cooked, mix it to fluff it up and serve.
Toasted Garlic Rice
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced, or 4 cubes frozen
- 2 cups rice (I used Uncle Ben’s Long Grain Rice but basmati, jasmine work well too)
- 2 – 3 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- In a small pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook one minute until fragrant. Garlic will burn fast so make sure to keep stirring and don't wait until the garlic is browned.
- Once it smells really nice in your kitchen, add 2 cups of rice. Keep stirring all the time, add salt and pepper (the amount of salt is up to your preference, I tend to go for 3 tsp but it might be on the saltier side).
- Keep stirring, using a wooden spoon or a spatula. Once the rice is starting to get golden and toasted looking, add water. Give it a quick mix and cover the pot with the lid. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, lower the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until all the water has absorbed and rice is soft. There is no need to mix the rice while it cooks, simply keep the flame on low.
- Once the rice is cooked, mix it to fluff it up and serve.
In the past year I’ve started cooking rice this way. My mother came upon a similar recipe and let’s just say we eat a lot more rice now! My family loves it. We also toast scallions with the garlic and it adds a great flavor as well! This is now the only way we make rice
Looks yum! Can I do it in the oven?
Honestly never knew there was another way to cooking rice 🙂 We grew up eating rice like this, just with onions and/or peppers etc. instead of the garlic, now I’ll have to try the garlic version! Thank you!!
We do this with orzo- toast the orzo with onions or garlic then add water to boil… it’s so good!
Can’t wait to try this recipe!
What if I prefer to rinse the rice first? Will it still toast well?
Yes I love this recipe and always rinse the rice first. It’s delicious!