Flavoring rice?

[camellian]

I like throwing things in the rice cooker and then eating them. Rice with frozen veggies and lentils, rice with mushrooms, etc. But I am getting a little tired of the blandness - even if the veggies/mushrooms/etc. have flavor, the flavor stays in them, the rice surrounding them is still bland.

I am a total novice cook, so my first thought was "maybe I should pour some soy sauce in there with the rice and see what happens" (which I may still try, although I suspect that like many of my food experiments, it will not turn out to be a good idea).

How else can I add some flavor to the rice?

[AlwaysAgnes]

I like throwing things in the rice cooker and then eating them. Rice with frozen veggies and lentils, rice with mushrooms, etc. But I am getting a little tired of the blandness - even if the veggies/mushrooms/etc. have flavor, the flavor stays in them, the rice surrounding them is still bland.

I am a total novice cook, so my first thought was "maybe I should pour some soy sauce in there with the rice and see what happens" (which I may still try, although I suspect that like many of my food experiments, it will not turn out to be a good idea).

How else can I add some flavor to the rice?

The video at this site may give you some ideas.
http://www.thescramble.com/cooking-basi ... amed-rice/

[GeoffreyLevens]

Soy sauce will taste good but be sure to only use a very small amount or it will be overpowering. My go-to's are a curry powder blend I buy online in bulk, Kirkland's Organic No Salt Seasoning I get from Amazon, and often a little nutritional yeast

[patty]

BrandNew Vegan has a Spanish Rise recipe that looks delicious: http://www.brandnewvegan.com/?s=spanish+rice

Making vegan fried rice, cooking left over rice, people sometimes add a little soy sauce for flavoring or vegan oyster sauce. I wouldn't try adding it when making the rice. Adding it after it is much easier to know how much.

Aloha, patty

[Timaca]

I have a Mexican Rice recipe on my blog: http://www.youseasonwithlove.com/recipe/mexican-rice/

I always have cooked rice on hand. I use a blend of brown and red rice. Here's that recipe for the IP. Maybe it would work in a rice cooker too: http://www.youseasonwithlove.com/recipe ... stant-pot/

I don't tire of the rice being plain since I am always putting things on top of it. Right now I'm eating some Navy Bean soup (recipe to be on blog soon) on top of my rice. Often I will put a medly of cooked vegetables on top of it.

But I do love the Mexican Rice recipe. I just keep eating and eating it! I'll have to check out Brand New Vegan's recipe!

[GeoffreyLevens]

Maybe it would work in a rice cooker too

So far as I know, rice cookers all have a gizmo of some sort to measure temperature of the cooking vessel. As most of the water is absorbed and evaporates, the temperature rises and that tells the cooker to shut of or switch to the "keep warm" setting. So you should be able to cook any grains or legumes and it is just a matter of adjusting how much water you put in at the start.

[MINNIE]

I know this is obvious, but what about adding herbs and spices, soy sauce, or whatever, after the rice is cooked.

My experience with putting flavor ingredients in the rice cooker is that a lot of the flavor cooks out while the rice is steaming.

I do like putting other solid foods in to cook with the rice, and that seems to work well. But then I add the spices when I'm ready to start eating.

I like making a lentil/brown rice/tomato combo in the rice cooker. I don't use a recipe, just learned by trial and error. Last night I also put some shredded fresh ginger in with the rice, and that worked okay( although not as intense as just addind fresh ginger to the finished bowl).

[patty]

I know this is obvious, but what about adding herbs and spices, soy sauce, or whatever, after the rice is cooked.

My experience with putting flavor ingredients in the rice cooker is that a lot of the flavor cooks out while the rice is steaming.

I do like putting other solid foods in to cook with the rice, and that seems to work well. But then I add the spices when I'm ready to start eating.

I like making a lentil/brown rice/tomato combo in the rice cooker. I don't use a recipe, just learned by trial and error. Last night I also put some shredded fresh ginger in with the rice, and that worked okay( although not as intense as just addind fresh ginger to the finished bowl).

Interesting I never thought about adding lentils when cooking rice, with tomatoes. I will have to try that:)

Aloha, patty

[AlwaysAgnes]

http://veggieprimer.com/rice-cooker-pasta-and-veggies/
http://www.brandnewvegan.com/recipes/ri ... brown-rice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX8mmMpucJg
http://www.instructables.com/id/EASY-ON ... oa-Veggie/
http://www.food.com/recipe/pandoras-fea ... ish-225500
http://www.eatgood4life.com/caribbean-rice-beans/

[Dougalling]

Hi

Pineapple in rice.
Tomatos and peas in rice.
Red onion in rice.
Garlic in rice.
Cajun spice in rice.
Chili powder in rice.
Cilantro in rice.
Curry powder in rice.
Paprika in rice.
Shredded or finely chopped apple in rice is really good.

[GeoffreyLevens]

Cajun Dirty Rice

[Franchesca_S.]

Yellow crookneck squash with salsa, on rice. My new fave.

[patty]

Cajun Dirty Rice

Do you have a favorite recipe?

Aloha, Patty

[GeoffreyLevens]

Cajun Dirty Rice

Do you have a favorite recipe?

Aloha, Patty

Unfortunately only remember it from SAD days eating in restaurants. That had lot of meat in it so if you made it you'd have to add spices to fill in the holes and maybe a bunch of mushrooms for that meaty texture and umami

[AlwaysAgnes]

Cajun Dirty Rice

Do you have a favorite recipe?

Aloha, Patty

Unfortunately only remember it from SAD days eating in restaurants. That had lot of meat in it so if you made it you'd have to add spices to fill in the holes and maybe a bunch of mushrooms for that meaty texture and umami

You can find vegan recipes online. Here's one that uses eggplant instead of innards. It's not made in a rice cooker, but I think it could be adapted. http://www.vegkitchen.com/recipes/down-and-dirty-rice/

Here's one that uses kidney beans that could probably be adapted to cooking in a rice cooker. https://www.simplyorganic.com/community ... -and-beans

This one uses rice and quinoa. http://thevegan8.com/2013/10/30/quinoa-dirty-rice/


You could use the seasonings and vegs from any of those in rice cooked in a rice cooker.