What Do You Put In Rice To Make It Taste Good?

[Guest cassidy]

I love rice and thankfully I can tolerate it. I used to add a bouillon cube to the rice to give it some flavor. I know the HerbOx ones are gluten-free, but they still bother me a little. I have been eating mostly natural foods and I think it may be all the preservatives.

Sometimes I would add bbq sauce or salsa, but I'm staying away from tomatoes.

What do you add to rice to make it taste good? Are there any box mixes like Uncle Ben's that are gluten-free?

[gf4life]

I like to add a little bit of garlic olive oil. Star brand Olive Oil with Garlic is awesome. It has a really good garlic flavor and only a little bit of oil is needed to give a nice flavor.

For a good chinese flavoring I love Greta's sesame-soy marinade. It is gluten free and really good. I only have it occasionally since I am allergic to soy and have to take benadryl to eat it, but sometimes it is worth it! You can usually get the Greta's at Costco and I've seen it at some retail grocery stores, or you can get it online.

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[kochac]

I like to add some salsa verde to plain rice. It's made from tomatillos, not tomatoes, and is generally a little bit spicier than red salsa but very yummy. I know the Goya brand is gluten-free.

[jerseyangel]

I've just started incorporating rice back into my diet about one a week. My favorite way to cook it is in Pacific Free Range Chicken Broth. It's so good that way!

[HawkFire]

I enjoy spanish rice. 2 tbs oil, 2 cups rice, one med onion diced, some green pepper diced, 2 cloves garlic minced- stir fry until rice is golden brown.

Add 1 1/2 cup warm water to pan. Add 1/2 can diced tomatoes. Add a tbs chili powder. Salt to taste.

Cover for 15 minutes- check if done. Fluff.

oh, no. I see now where you said you are staying away from tomatoes. Just don't add the tomatoes.

[lonewolf]

Try adding a tablespoon of coconut oil and a pinch of saffron to the water. When it's done cooking, stir in a finely grated carrot and a handful of raisins and let it sit for 5-6 minutes before serving. It has a kind of middle eastern flair.

[burdee]

I NEVER liked white rice. So I can't do anything to disguise its flavor. However I LOVE brown rice or even brown/wild rice mixes without much seasoning. Nevertheless I often use sesame oil and garlic salt to season plain ol' brown rice. Lundberg makes fantastic brown rice mixes to which I add garlic and onions cooked in olive oil plus salt. I also have a favorite Arabic recipe for rice and beans plus onions and garlic. I use that as a vegan meal base and add other vegies or alter the kinds of beans or rice.

BURDEE

[BFreeman]

Does anyone else eat brown rice for breakfast? I cook it with raisins, and add to the bowl a tiny bit of Smart Balance "butter", some brown sugar, flaxseed, and sunflower seeds; stir it up, and it's like eating a bowl of oatmeal if you ignore the texture.

BF

[kabowman]

I either add olive oil and salt, BBQ salt, or stir in salsa at the table...I like to cook my rice in my homemade chicken broth when I have extra available.

[Guhlia]

I add butter, minced garlic, and pepper to my white rice sometimes. That's very good. You may also enjoy a chicken or turkey gravy, homemade of course, mixed in.

I like to add some salsa verde to plain rice. It's made from tomatillos, not tomatoes, and is generally a little bit spicier than red salsa but very yummy. I know the Goya brand is gluten-free.

Last I contacted them Goya said that NONE of their products should be considered gluten free. Has this changed?

[Michi8]

Lots of good suggestions already. May I suggest, as well, to experiment with different types of rice. I find basmati rice has a wonderful aroma and taste...much better than standard white rice.

Cabbage rolls (or similar dishes such as Greek dolmades) are good way of using rice too. Although cabbage rolls traditionally use tomato juice or sauce, there are many recipes of wraps with rice that don't use tomato.

Michelle

[ArtGirl]

One of my favorite breakfasts is sausage or bacon in rice. This is a good way to use leftover rice (actually, I make enough to use for at least three meals). I use turkey sausage and turkey bacon, but it's still very good.

I also make a hot "cereal" with rice, raisins, cinnamon, sugar, topped with almond milk (I'm dairy-free).

As far as just flavoring cooked rice, I'l sprinkle on garlic and onion powders (although sauted fresh onions and garlic are better), maybe add some herbs (basil, oregano, marjoram, etc.), and some olive or sesame oil. I also like to add chopped black olives with the oregano.

I stay away from packaged mixes because of all the added preservatives, etc. - and it's much safer.

As Michelle mentioned, there are a lot of rice varieties and its fun to experiment with them. I have at least three types in my cupboard all the time, and two or three variety mixes, too.

Rissoto (sp?) rice will thicken the water it's cooked in, making a sort of creamy sauce.

The red rices are very chewy.

[shai76]

I like it with olive oil and salt.

[kochac]

I add butter, minced garlic, and pepper to my white rice sometimes. That's very good. You may also enjoy a chicken or turkey gravy, homemade of course, mixed in.

Last I contacted them Goya said that NONE of their products should be considered gluten free. Has this changed?

I called them to ask about the modified food starch in the salsa verde earlier this fall, probably in September. The woman I spoke to on the phone said it's made from corn. Since then I've eaten a fair amount of the salsa and haven't noticed any problems, so I think it's safe.

[Nantzie]

I like Jasmine rice. It has a really nice smell.

After we have dinner that we've had rice with, for dessert I make a bowl of rice with butter and sprinkle sugar on it. Never thought to do it as breakfast as a sub for oatmeal. That's a great idea.

Nancy

[tarnalberry]

brown rice with butter and braggs (or soy sauce)... there's something about that combo which I just love.

or make it into a fried rice.

or with boullion.

or mexican spices.

or chicken broth, italian spices, and a bit of olive oil.

or with a bunch of cut up veggies to make a pilaf.

or made into rice pudding.

or made into risotto.

hehe... check out a bookstore and look for a rice cookbook. i'll bet you'll find one with all kinds of good hints.

[codetalker]

Does anyone else eat brown rice for breakfast? I cook it with raisins, and add to the bowl a tiny bit of Smart Balance "butter", some brown sugar, flaxseed, and sunflower seeds; stir it up, and it's like eating a bowl of oatmeal if you ignore the texture.

BF

I do. Before going gluten-free, it used to be oatmeal and raisins. Now, it's brown rice and raisins. None of the extras but may try them for variety. Thanks for the ideas.

[codetalker]

May I suggest, as well, to experiment with different types of rice. I find basmati rice has a wonderful aroma and taste...much better than standard white rice.

I have been trying different types of rice now that my local grocery has started carrying alternatives. The best so far has been Bhutanese Red Rice. Expensive but a nice change of pace.

I tried it in a simple dish of rice, sliced olives, sliced mushrooms and a Herb-Ox chicken boullion cube. Unfortunatel, the boullion cubes contain corn and I recently developed a corn allergy. Will probably have to start making my own chicken broth now.

[mamatide]

When we were growing up, we'd eat a lot of minute rice. My step-mother would substitute clamato juice, V8, tomato juice or orange juice for the water (maybe half of the water replaced I'd say).

I remember quite enjoying the orange rice when I was a kid. Not sure how it would work with regular long grain rice but might be fun to try out.

I'll have to try the breakfast ideas we have here. Do you just mix brown sugar and raisins and cinnamon into the cooked rice (after the rice has been cooked) or are the ingredients in there while the rice is cooking? My DD loves oatmeal so a warm cereal substitute would be fun to try.

mamatide

[Helena]

A variation on brown rice for breakfast:

grind up dry, uncooked brown rice in a blade-style coffee grinder

add to saucepan. add 4 parts water to one part rice + sea salt + spices + honey etc.

cook on medium to high heat stirring constantly

I eat this all the time for breakfast. It reminds me of cream of wheat . . . .sort of. Much cheaper than buying the rice porridge cereal commercially available.

[BFreeman]

When we were growing up, we'd eat a lot of minute rice. My step-mother would substitute clamato juice, V8, tomato juice or orange juice for the water (maybe half of the water replaced I'd say).

I remember quite enjoying the orange rice when I was a kid. Not sure how it would work with regular long grain rice but might be fun to try out.

I'll have to try the breakfast ideas we have here. Do you just mix brown sugar and raisins and cinnamon into the cooked rice (after the rice has been cooked) or are the ingredients in there while the rice is cooking? My DD loves oatmeal so a warm cereal substitute would be fun to try.

mamatide

I put the raisins in just a few minutes before it is done so they will plump up a bit. If I was putting in diced apple, I would put it in at the beginning. The rest just goes in the bowl.

BF

[katrinamaria]

i like to make rice pudding... there are lots of different recipes available if you just google it. some have eggs and some don't, others you have to cook them in the oven for like 2 hours and stir them a lot (it's worth it) but others you don't have to. anyway, if you like oatmeal it has a similar texture.

the recipe i use is:

old fashioned creamy rice pudding

1 qt. scalded (brought to the verge of boiling in saucepan) milk

4 oz. long grain white rice

1/4 C. sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 300F. in a 1 1/2 quart baking dish, combine all ingredients. bake for 2 1/2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes.

it's delicious topped with raisins and cinnamon. i like it for breakfast or a dessert.

[Michi8]

I like taking leftover plain rice, and simply heating it up with a bit of milk and sugar. Not a full-fledged rice pudding, but tasty anyway. Cinnamon would be good in it too, but raisins in rice pudding is just wrong. LOL!

Michelle

[wildkat]

I'm with Michelle on the raisins. Just almond milk and sugar. It does taste pretty good with chocolate almond milk. MMMMM chocolate!

Kathy

[Guest cassidy]

Thanks for all the good ideas. I found some organic risotto in the pantry and I checked - it is gluten-free so I'm heating it up now. I think I will try different types of rice, I didn't think of that.

I've never tried any of the sweet combinations - that might be a good thing to try.