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Before I begin I would like to say that I am no chef, I love cooking and experimenting with different foods, herbs and spices.

Rice is an incredibly versatile dish, it is quick and easy to cook and goes with a lot of other foods. I would strongly encourage experimenting with rice by adding different herbs & spices.

The two rices I use are

  • Uncle Bens Long Grain Rice
  • Tilda Basmati Rice

    Both of these are par boiled for speedy cooking.

    First thing first, with all rice's you need to soak them to remove the excess starch, this is extremely important and will effect the outcome if not done properly. To soak rice:-

  • Place the desired quantity of rice in a basin of cold water.
  • Leave to stand for 5 minutes then stir the rice.
  • Drain the rice through a sieve.

    This process needs to be repeated until very little starch comes off the rice (usually about 4 - 5 times).

    Cooking plain rice
    To cook the rice you will need a saucepan with a lid. Place the rice in the saucepan and add adzactly the same quantity of water as their was rice. As a general guideline for two people you will need 1 mug of rice and 1 mug of water. It should take apporximately 10 - 12 minutes to cook the rice.

  • Place the pan on the hob and turn up full, ensuring the lid is on.
  • After the water boils turn the heat down to its lowest setting.
  • After about 5 minutes stir the rice, remembering to replace the lid. Leave for a further 5 minutes and stir again, check periodically when the water/steam has been fully absorbed by the rice it is cooked.

    Cooking Egg Fried Rice

    Egg fried rice is one of my favourites. Its quick, simple and tasty, and can be used as a main meal or served with other foods. Cooking time is approximately 15 - 18 minutes (including rice).

  • Cook the rice as specified above.
  • Whisk two eggs together and add herbs/spices to the mix if required.
  • Add a little oil to a wok or frying pan and pre heat on a medium - high heat (I would reccomend Extra Virgin Olive Oil).
  • Transfer the rice to the wok, cook for about 5 minutes stirring continuously to prevent sticking.
  • Pour the whisked eggs evenly over the rice and continue to stir.
  • Cook for a further 3 - 5 minutes remembering to stir at regular intervals, when the egg mixture is no longer sticking to the pan its ready.

    I hope this has been helpfull! I spent 3 - 4 years cooking rice with bad results until I followed these guidelines, now rice is perfect almost all the time. One last thing to note is that the quality of the rice makes all the difference.

    regards & happy cooking

    Si Carter

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    Comments

    Hmmm that's really easy. I've experimented cooking fried rice with cheese, veggies...I mixed them all, hehe.

    Pasca Maulana's picture
    By Pasca Maulana 46 weeks 1 day

      Who's the author? There's no link!
      Here in the East, to make Egg Fried Rice, we fry the eggs seperately to make them take a scrambled form, then add cooked/boiled rice to the eggs and fry them all together once more. Just adding to the article, so that if someone wants to try it this way, they can. Thanks!

      Sadaf Farooqi's picture
      By Sadaf Farooqi 3 weeks 4 days