Gourmet Spy Essentials: Rice

One of the basic foods around our house is rice. We cook it in bulk and then freeze the remainder in individual mealtime servings so that we can have "ready rice" for any meal. Fast. Forget white rice. It's simply brown rice with all the nutrition removed. It has no fiber. It spikes your insulin (white rice has a Glycemic Index [GI] rating of up to 128, whereas brown rice has a much lower rating of 36-55). Brown rice has all kinds of health benefits, tastes better, and is a much better choice. A health practitioner we know calls no-fiber foods like white rice, white bread, and white potatoes "bum glue," for reasons I won't elaborate here.

So at our house, we use long grain brown rice. Yes, the kids in our family turned up their noses at the prospect of eating brown rice. Until they tasted ours. Every one of them was an immediate convert. Now we have trouble cooking enough to freeze the leftovers. But what a joy to see people eat the food you cook for them. In my book, there is no better gift than a nutritious, home cooked meal.

And since September is National Rice Month, what better recipe to share than our basic rice recipe? (Yes, I know September is also Apple Pie Month, and I'll get to that soon. I promise!) Sorry, but I somehow missed National Catfish Month (August). You'll just have to wait until next year to celebrate that one.

NOTE: Contrary to other recipes, we make our brown rice recipe in a 1:1.5 ratio of rice to water. In other words, one part rice, 1.5 parts water. In this recipe, I use 4 cups rice to 6 cups water. You can use more or less rice -- whatever suits your family's needs -- and adjust the water accordingly.

What you'll need:

4 cups long grain brown rice
6 cups boiled water
1 large onion, diced
2 natural chicken bouillon cubes
2-3 Tb olive oil
NOTE: you can skip the bouillon cubes and substitute some or all of the water with chicken stock.

What to do:

Using either a skillet or your cooking pot, saute the diced onion in olive oil in over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, until it just begins to clarify. Add your uncooked dry rice and fry for several minutes, stirring regularly (so as not to burn), until it browns lightly. Remove from heat and dump rice into your cooking pot, add your hot water (and crumbled bouillon cubes, if not using stock), COVER, and bring to boil. (NOTE: we use freshly boiled water so that it takes less time to bring to the boil.) Once it has boiled, turn heat down to low and simmer for 25 minutes. Remove from heat.

NOTE: the rice will be al dente (slightly undercooked), which is the way we love it (pasta, too!). Letting it stand covered for another 5-10 minutes will complete the cooking process.

BEYOND THE BOX: Our brown rice makes an excellent side dish to Mexican, roast, New Orleans classic red beans -- about anything. But don't think of rice merely as a side dish, sitting there on its own. We often use rice in lieu of pasta. Or as part of the filling in enchiladas and burritos (it moistens the meat or cheese filling, and adds both fiber and flavor). Use it in a casserole with veggies and cheese. Or to make paella. Or risotto. Or as a component to a stir-fry, which is how we're enjoying it tonight. After fast-cooking our chicken and veggies (with sultanas/raisins and Patak's Korma (curry) paste), we will toss in a two-cup serving of rice (one of our frozen zip-lock baggies, thawed), stir and cook for a minute, then serve with roasted cashews, diced fresh tomato, fresh coriander/cilantro, and a drizzle of sweet chili sauce. Oh, yeah!