Rice is a staple in many homes all over the world. We eat rice at least three times a week.

The beauty of rice is that it is a blank canvas waiting to be transformed with flavours and textures. But sometimes we are at a loss for ideas to help in that transformation.

We have created this graphic to help inspire some new ways to infuse character and flavour into any rice dish, whether as a side or main.

Our Lemon Basil Rice is an example of how to put this generator into practice. For this recipe, we opted to include ginger and garlic with the rice’s cooking water to create a great flavour base to the rice.

We decided not to add any fruits or vegetables, and completed the flavour profile with lemon and basil at the end.

Do you get frustrated when cooking rice, especially with all of the different directions out there? Here is some insight about where most rice recipes fail and how you can cook perfect rice every time.

While experimenting make notes about things that worked or didn’t work. Once you discover a variation you love, create your own recipe card so you won’t forget what you did. We have free printables to lend a hand.

Rice

Step 1: Select your Rice: White, Brown, Jasmine, Basmati

Step 2: Choose your Cooking Liquid: Water, Chicken Stock, Vegetable Stock, Coconut Milk, Nut Milk

Step 3: Create Flavour: Dried Herbs, Sliced Garlic, Sliced Ginger, Whole Spices

Step 4: Fruits and Vegetables: Dried Fruit, Cooked Corn/Pea/Carrot/Onion, Diced Peppers

Step 5: Flavour Options: Fresh Herbs (Basil, Parsley, Cilantro, Mint), Grated Cheese, Fresh Citrus Juice (Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit), Sesame Oil, Vinegar

Tips:

• Experiment with the by adding layers of flavour.
• Start with your favourite flavour combinations and then expand from there.
• Fresh herbs are best added to already cooked rice, whereas many dried herbs work their magic in the cooking water.
• A great variation: cook different rice (ie. brown and rice) and then combine them.