Pilaf and Flavoured Rice
Cooking Skills: Rice 1
Chapter 5 · Pilaf and Flavoured Rice
Skill goal
Cook rice in flavour: toast the grain, add hot seasoned liquid, and finish with fresh touches.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
A pilaf (also called pilau or polo) is rice cooked by absorption with flavour built in. Compared with plain absorption rice there are three extra ideas:
- Fry the aromatics first. Onion, garlic or whole spices cooked in a little fat flavour everything that follows.
- Toast the rice. A minute or two in the fat coats each grain, so it stays separate and develops a nutty taste.
- Add hot, flavoured liquid. Hot stock (or coconut milk) keeps the pan simmering, and it is salty and tasty from the start.
| Ingredient | When it goes in | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Onion, garlic, whole spices | In the fat, before the rice | Their flavour dissolves in the oil |
| Ground spices (turmeric, paprika) | With the rice, for under a minute | They burn easily if left in a dry hot pan |
| Stock or coconut milk | Hot, with the rice | Flavours the grain as it absorbs |
| Lemon, herbs, spring onion | At the end, after the rest | Heat dulls fresh flavours |
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Simple onion pilaf
A pilaf starts like absorption rice (chapter 3), with two additions: the rice is fried briefly in fat first, and it cooks in hot, flavoured liquid. Same ratio, far more taste.
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 100 ml long-grain white rice (about 80 g)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 tsp olive or rapeseed oil
- 200 ml hot reduced-salt chicken or vegetable stock
- Heat the butter and oil in a small pan with a lid over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and soften for 5 minutes, without browning.
- Rinse the rice and drain it well, then add to the pan. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes until the grains look glossy and smell slightly nutty.
- Pour in the hot stock, stir once, bring to the boil, then cover and turn to the lowest heat for 12 minutes.
- Leave covered and off the heat for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Mind the salt
Stock cubes are salty. Use a reduced-salt one, or half a cube, and taste before adding any more salt.
Level 2 · Fresh and light
Lemon and herb rice
Delicate flavours such as lemon and fresh herbs go in at the end, so the heat doesn't dull them.
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 100 ml long-grain white rice (about 80 g)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 200 ml hot water
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ lemon, zest and juice
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley or dill
- 1 spring onion, sliced
- Heat the oil in a small pan, add the rinsed rice and stir for 1 minute. Add the hot water and salt, bring to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes. Rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Fluff the rice with a fork. Stir in the lemon zest, a squeeze of juice, the herbs and the spring onion.
- Taste, and add more lemon or salt if needed.
Level 2 · Spiced
Turmeric rice
Spices taste best when they are warmed in fat first, which releases their flavour. Turmeric also dyes the rice a cheerful yellow.
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 100 ml basmati rice (about 80 g)
- 1 tsp oil
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 cardamom pod, lightly crushed
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 150 ml hot water
- 1 pinch salt
- Warm the oil in a small pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and cardamom and sizzle for 20 seconds.
- Stir in the turmeric and the rinsed, drained rice. Stir for 1 minute until coated.
- Add the hot water and salt, bring to the boil, cover, and cook on the lowest heat for 10 minutes.
- Rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff and remove the cardamom pod before serving.
Level 3 · A treat
Coconut rice
Coconut milk replaces half the water. It gives rice a rich flavour without the fat of cream, and goes well with curries, grilled fish or spicy food. Light coconut milk keeps it lighter; full-fat is a treat.
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 100 ml jasmine rice (about 80 g)
- 100 ml light coconut milk
- 100 ml water
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 lime wedge, to serve
- Shake the tin well. Rinse the rice, drain it, and put it in a small pan with the coconut milk, water and salt.
- Bring to the boil, stir once, cover, and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes. Watch for the base catching: coconut milk catches more easily than water.
- Rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff and serve with a lime wedge.
Level 3 · Rich
Tomato rice
The tomato purée is fried first to deepen its flavour, then dissolves into the liquid. Because it is concentrated, the stock is cut back slightly.
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 100 ml long-grain white rice (about 80 g)
- 1 tsp oil
- ½ small onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 190 ml hot reduced-salt stock
- Heat the oil, soften the onion for 4 minutes, then add the garlic, tomato purée and paprika and fry for 1 minute.
- Add the rinsed rice and stir for 1 minute.
- Pour in the hot stock, stir, bring to the boil, cover, and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes. Rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
Experiments
Experiment
Toasted or untoasted
What does the frying minute actually do?
- Make two pans of the simple onion pilaf. In one, stir the rice in the fat for 2 minutes. In the other, add it with the stock without toasting.
- Cook both in the same way.
- Compare how separate the grains are, and how they taste.
Look for: The toasted rice should be a little more separate and nutty. If you can't tell, the toast matters less than the hot stock.
Experiment
Stock or water
How much flavour does stock add?
- Make the lemon and herb rice twice, once with hot water and once with hot reduced-salt stock.
- Taste both before adding the lemon and herbs, then again at the end.
Look for: Stock adds depth and saltiness. With plenty of herbs and lemon, water may be all you need.
Experiment
Spice early or late
Does cooking turmeric in oil change the rice?
- Make two small pans of turmeric rice. Fry the spices in the oil in one. In the other, cook the rice with plain water and stir the spices in with the hot water.
- Compare the colour, smell and flavour.
Look for: The oil-fried spices should smell stronger and taste rounder. Raw turmeric can taste dusty.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onion pilaf | ||||
| Lemon and herb rice | ||||
| Turmeric rice | ||||
| Coconut rice | ||||
| Tomato rice | ||||
| Toasted vs untoasted | ||||
| Stock vs water | ||||
| Spice early vs late |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Rice is stuck to the base | Heat too high, or coconut milk catching | Lowest heat; use a heavy pan; add a splash of water and steam |
| Too salty | Strong stock cube plus salt | Use reduced-salt stock and taste before adding salt |
| Spices taste bitter or burnt | Fried too long or too hot | Keep the heat medium and stir quickly; start again if burnt |
| Bland rice | Water instead of stock, no aromatics | Add onion or garlic, use stock, finish with lemon or herbs |
| Mushy grains | Too much liquid, or stirred | Measure carefully and don't stir after the lid goes on |
Food safety: cooked rice
The chapter 2 rules apply to every flavoured rice: cool within 1 hour, fridge, eat within 24 hours, reheat once until steaming hot. Rice cooked with coconut milk or stock spoils just as quickly as plain rice.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can fry aromatics and toast rice before adding liquid.
- I know why the liquid goes in hot.
- I can cook a pilaf with the right amount of liquid.
- I know when to add fresh flavours at the end.
- I have a flavoured rice I'd make again.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Rice 1, chapter 6 is Fried Rice: using cold rice and high heat, from egg fried rice to a clear-the-fridge supper.