If you are bored of cooking and eating the same simple white rice, it is time to learn new ways of making rice dishes. Try some international cuisine like Asian gastronomy.
Rice is one of the main staple foods in the world. More than half of the worldwide population eats it almost every day. So, imagine the number of rice dishes and the combinations you can make.
You can completely turn your white rice into superb preparations. It is arduous to know where to start since you can find many options. Most countries have traditional dishes based on rice.
But, the ones that have mastered rice preparations are Asian countries. It’s hardly surprising when it was reported that Asia is the birthplace of rice.
The first rice cultivation was found approximately 13,000 years ago in the Yangtze River valley in China. From there, it dispersed to Sri Lanka, India, Greece, Europe, and the rest of the world.
In each country, rice flavor made it possible to absorb all typical flavors and create delightful icon dishes. Let’s discover some of them and learn how to cook delicious rice preparations.
Rice Different Savors
One of the most distinguished features of rice is its mild taste. It favors pairing with any ingredient. Thus, it is used to cook salty dishes, sugary desserts, and refreshing drinks.
This characteristic allows the creation of countless rice dishes. Colored side dishes, stuffing, salads, one-pot meals, pudding, cakes, and fried preparations, are some of the most succulent rice preparations.
Even the most basic recipe can become a stunning dish only by changing or adding new components.
Once you have learned how to cook more than plain white rice, you will prepare new creations every time you enter your kitchen.
Getting Closer to Asian Flavors
Asia, as the place of rice, has the most diverse and flavorsome rice dishes. Fried rice, pilaf, wild rice salad, and sushi are a few icons of oriental cuisine.
It is famous for the authenticity of its flavors given by local vegetables, herbs, and spices. These ingredients create a balanced combination of bittersweet, sour, sweet, and spicy.
The most common ingredients used as seasonings include soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, turmeric, coriander, galangal, chili oil, peanuts, coconut paste, basil, and tamarind.
As for meat, beef, chicken, pork, mutton, and seafood are the most used. The vegetables are Opo squash, taro root, lotus root, daikon radish, eggplant, Napa cabbage, Choy sum, and Bok Choy, among others.
The perfect blend of some of these components resulted in delicious dishes. In addition, the multiple ways of cooking enhance this grain-renowned texture.
Trying Some Asian Dishes
To make your white rice more impetuous, you can try different Asian recipes and end up with delicious preparations.
But, before being creative with your bowl of rice, learn how to cook some easy Asian dishes. You can start with the simplest recipes such as a recipe for shrimp salad, or shrimp and rice bowls.
Salads are an effortless way of learning how to use Asian flavors. Generally, salads are a combination of raw greens and vegetables dressed with oil, vinegar, herbs, and spices.
Sometimes they may include meat and pasta or rice. Salads work well as a side dish or as the main meal when they have meats and rice.
Try this shrimp salad with a Thai flavor.
Thai Rice Salad
Ingredients (4 servings):
- 1 cup of jasmine rice.
- 2 cups of water.
- 1 teaspoon of salt.
- 1/4 finely chopped red cabbage.
- 1 shredded carrot.
- 3 sliced spring onions.
- 1 bunch of coriander leaves.
- 250g of bean sprouts.
- 1 sliced green chili.
- 1 sliced yellow bell pepper.
- 1 sliced cucumber.
- 1/4 cup of chopped unsalted roasted peanuts.
Thai Dressing:
- 2 limes.
- 2 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce.
- 1 tablespoon of fish sauce.
- 4 tablespoons of soy sauce.
- 2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce.
- 2 tablespoons of sesame oil.
- 1 minced garlic clove.
- 1 tablespoon of grated ginger.
- 1 tablespoon of chili flakes.
Preparation:
- In a pot, pour water and bring it to a boil. Then add salt and rice.
- Cook until rice is tender. Drain it and set it aside for cooling.
- Mix red cabbage, carrots, spring onions, coriander leaves, bean sprouts, green chili, yellow bell pepper, cucumber, and rice in a big bowl. Reserve.
- For the dressing, combine the juice of the limes, sweet chili sauce, fish sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, garlic clove, grated ginger, and chili flakes. Whisk this mixture very well.
- Add dressing to the mixed vegetables. Be sure all vegetables have the dressing.
- Serve with chopped unsalted roasted peanuts at the top.
If you want to make some variations to this recipe, you can try the following substitutions:
- Use brown rice instead of jasmine rice.
- Change or add other vegetables like baby spinach or romaine lettuce.
- Incorporate pecans, almonds, or hazelnut.
- Turn it into a complete meal by adding grilled chicken, boiled eggs, or shrimps.
