For several thousand years, rice has been an essential part of the human diet. It appeared in Asia and quickly became a favorite product of Asians, due to its satiety, versatility and accessibility. Rice came to Europe in the eighth century, to Russia in the tenth century. Of course, Russians cannot compare with the Chinese or Japanese in the amount of rice eaten, but any good housewife knows how to cook rice for a side dish, because this dish is very popular in Russia. It does not take much time, is distinguished by a variety of options, perfectly combines with many dishes, and most importantly - it is useful.
Benefit
It is difficult to list all the useful properties of rice. Here are just the main ones:
- Three-quarter rice consists of complex carbohydrates that fill the body with energy and do not tend to turn into fat.
- Rice grain contains vitamins and nutrients that have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart, brain, nervous system, kidneys, and the genitourinary system.
- Starch has an enveloping property, so rice cereals are welcome in the diet of people who have problems with the digestive system.
- Boiled rice on the side dish does not lead to obesity, on the contrary - it stimulates the metabolism, helps to remove salts from the body, thanks to fiber, it is involved in cleaning the body of toxins.
Kinds
There are a lot of varieties of rice. Grains differ in size, shape, processing method. All this diversity can be reduced to the following classification of rice:
- Brown. The grains are brown because they are not polished. In the outer shell is the lion's share of nutrients, the shell itself is fiber, so unpolished rice is famous for its excellent healing properties. It cooks a little longer than polished, but it does not stick together and has a wonderful taste.
- White polished. Grinding is needed to extend the shelf life of grains. Together with the outer shell, rice loses a fair amount of useful substances, however, it remains nutritious, cheap and one of the most sought-after products on the planet. When cooking, it often sticks together due to its high starch content.
- Steamed polished. To preserve more vitamins in the grain and at the same time increase its shelf life, the rice is treated with hot steam, which is supplied under high pressure. As a result, its white color changes to translucent and golden. When cooking, the grains do not stick together and again become white.
- Wild. In fact, wild rice is not a rice crop; it is produced from cereal weed, which grows in water. But the visual similarity of its dark grains with long rice grains, usefulness, original nutty flavor and growing popularity made it possible to at least formally attribute wild rice to a large rice family. Before you cook rice for a side dish, you must first soak it in water, and then cook for a long time.
- Crushed. In fact, it is a waste of production. Rice flour is made from very small pieces; larger pieces are used in food. Starch from chopped grain freely enters the water during cooking, rice sticks together in a homogeneous mass, for this reason it is poorly suited for the preparation of side dishes.
General principles of cooking
There are many rice recipes for a side dish, but they are all prepared according to the general rules, which include successive steps: preparing cereals, choosing the right dishes, preparing a side dish, serving. All stages are interconnected, affect the final result and deserve separate consideration.
Cereal preparation
Before you cook rice for a side dish, you need to prepare the grains. Some people are nonchalant about this stage, they simply pour dry rice from a pack of water or throw it in boiling water, and then they are surprised at a sticky mass with a not very pleasant taste, which turned out at the exit.
But the preparation of cereals takes very little effort and time. It is enough to thoroughly rinse the rice in a colander under running water or in a deep bowl, periodically changing the water until it becomes transparent. With muddy water, grains leave dust, dirt and excess starch, which is the main cause of rice sticking together.
There is another trick that helps to properly cook rice for a side dish. As a rule, it is used when cooking pilaf. Pure grains are poured with drinking salted water for several hours. During this time, as the culinary experts say, rice "gets drunk" of water, that is, it absorbs it into itself and practically does not stick together in a side dish.
Tableware
Almost any pan will do. But it is better to choose dishes with thick walls and a bottom: cauldrons, ducklings, cast-iron pots. In them, the temperature is evenly distributed throughout the volume, the food does not burn, each grain heats up equally. It is very convenient to cook rice for a side dish in a slow cooker. You just need to follow the instructions and set the correct mode. The car will do the rest. There is no need for a person to time, follow the cooking process, be afraid that the food will burn.
However, even when cooking rice for a side dish in a slow cooker, you need to consider an important criterion for choosing the right dishes, its volume. The fact is that after cooking, rice grains increase two to three times. Therefore, the volume of dishes should be at least three times larger than the volume of dry rice.
How to cook rice on a side dish?
There are three main ways to make friable rice garnish:
- In a large amount of water. The easiest and most reliable method. Rice is poured into a large pot with boiling salted water, the volume of which is five or more times the volume of cereals. Rice is cooked until cooked, it is determined to taste. Then they are thrown back into a colander and washed with water. The advantages of the method: guaranteed friable rice, which does not burn and does not stick; simplicity, this is ideal for a beginner who wonders how to cook rice on a side dish.
- In a small amount of water. Rice and water are taken in a volume ratio of 1 to 2. For example, two glasses of water are poured into a pan, and then a glass of washed rice is poured. The salted water is brought to a boil, the fire is reduced, the cereal is boiled until the water disappears completely. The lid of the dishes must be closed, otherwise part of the water will be wasted and not absorbed into the rice, and it will not be completely ready. Advantages of the method: a clear ratio of ingredients, rice will not fall apart. Disadvantages: the cereal can burn out if you overdo the dishes on a fire, and stick together if there is too much starch in the rice.
- In oil and water. Rice is first fried for several minutes, sometimes pre-aromatizing the oil with spices, garlic or onions. One to two water is poured into the fried cereal and brought to readiness. It turns out fragrant and delicious rice garnished with fish, any meat, vegetables. Advantages of the method: roasting enriches the taste of cereals. Disadvantages: in addition to water, rice absorbs oil, so its dietary properties are leveled.
How to cook rice of different varieties for garnish?
Steamed long-grain rice is best suited for garnish, as well as brown unpolished and wild rice. These species do not cause trouble. There is little starch in them, so they turn out friable. But crushed or white round rice for a side dish is better not to cook. Of course, they can also be made crumbly if thoroughly washed and boiled in a large amount of water, but at the same time they will lose most of the beneficial substances contained in them. These types of cereals are best used in the preparation of cereals, puddings, casseroles, soups.
Long-grain rice is cooked either in large quantities of water until cooked, or in a ratio of 1 to 2 with water for about half an hour. Brown rice is boiled for about 40 minutes, and the ratio with water is 1 to 3. The longest time is required to prepare wild rice, in addition, it must first be soaked in water for 8-12 hours, and then cook for about an hour in a ratio of 1 to 3.5 with water . The cooking time of cereals in large quantities of water is determined by the readiness of rice.
How to enrich the taste?
Cooked rice has a neutral, rather poor taste, but this is fully offset by its ability to absorb the tastes and aromas of the products surrounding it. There are hundreds of rice recipes for a side dish, in which it turns from a neutral extras to the main highlight of the dish. Rice can be cooked in meat, fish or vegetable broth, fried or stewed with vegetables, any meat, fruits, fill it with the tastes of spices and herbs.
How to color rice?
The color of rice resembles an empty canvas, it is not surprising that culinary creators, in search of original solutions, often give the rice side dish the most unexpected colors. This can be done with food colors, but not all cooks want to contact them, considering them to be chemistry. Moreover, there are natural products that will help make rice colored: soy sauce will color the white cereal brown; algae - in green; turmeric - in yellow; saffron - in orange; tomato paste - in red; plum vinegar - in pink.
How to file?
Of course, to know how to cook rice for a side dish, how to enrich it with taste and color is very important, but no less important is the beautiful presentation of the dish, which helps a person get additional pleasure from food, aesthetic. You can simply lay out the loose rice on a plate and put the meat next to it or pour it with sauce. It will look appetizing, but too trivial.
There are many ways to serve a rice side dish in an original way. For example, using a small bowl, slightly oiled. Rice fits tightly into it, then the bowl is turned on a portioned plate, and it turns out a beautiful rice dome. For this purpose, cooking rings of different diameters are also used. Russian resourceful housewives make such rings from plastic bottles.
Craftswomen are able to turn boiled rice into a side dish into a work of art, wielding only a spoon. With its help, flat and voluminous figures of hares, hedgehogs, bears and ladybugs are fashioned from groats. An ordinary dish becomes an adornment of any table and causes delight among children, however, without leaving indifferent adults.