Rice delicacies from across the globe

Rice is a staple food for over half the world's population. Different countries consume it differently and each country has made the grain their own, with original recipes and distinct spices. There are so many famous and distinguishably flavourful rice dishes consumed all over the world such as Indonesian 'Nasi Goreng' to Mexican 'Arroz Rojo' and vibrantly colourful Vietnamese glutinous rice 'Xoi Ngu Sac' to Korean "Bulgogi' plain rice bowl.

Although rice is commonly tied to obesity, it is an excellent source of energy, vitamins and minerals. 

Without further ado, let's dig into some appetisingly dainty and delicious rice recipes inspired from some of the world's most popular dishes.

THAI STYLE PRAWN FRIED RICE

Ingredients

¼ cup cooking oil

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 large size onion, chopped

2 tbsp ready-made Thai chilli paste

1 cup prawn

2 cups cooked rice

2 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

8-10 fresh Thai basil leaves

Method

Heat the frying pan with oil on medium heat. Add chopped garlic, onion and fry until colour becomes light golden. Add prawns along with chilli paste and sauté for few minutes. Add rice and soya sauce, fish sauce and give it a good stir and fry until all the ingredients mixes together. Then transfer to a bowl and garnish with fresh Thai basil leaves.

MEXICAN STYLE YELLOW RICE

Ingredients

1 large tomato, cut into cubes

1 big size onion, cube cut

2 garlic cloves

1 Jalapeno

1 green chilli

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp paprika powder

¼ cup chopped carrot

¼ cup chopped red bell pepper

¼ cup chopped yellow bell pepper

2 cup chicken stock (1 ready-made chicken stock cube diluted in 2 cups of water)

1 cup long grained rice (uncooked)

Olive oil ¼ cup

Salt to taste

Method

In a grinder, put tomato, garlic, onion, and jalapeno, grind together and make a smooth paste and set aside. Heat a cooking pot with oil on medium heat. Add all uncooked rice and fry until grains turn slight brown colour. Add the tomato paste, turmeric and paprika powder, salt and chicken stock. Stir it and cover with a lid. Boil on low-medium heat until the rice gets cooked properly. If needed, add extra water. Add chopped carrot, bell peppers and give a good mix, then cover the lid again and cook it for another 1-2 minutes on low heat.

Ready to serve.

INDONESIAN STYLE CRAB MEAT FRIED RICE

Ingredients

2 medium size onion

3 garlic cloves

Shrimp paste 1 tbsp

2 red chillies

1 egg

1 cup crab meat

2 cup cooked rice

2 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

¼ cup oil

Method

In a grinder, put onion, garlic, chillies, shrimp paste and grind together. Make a smooth paste and set aside. Heat the pan with oil on medium heat.  Fry the egg as crispy fried poached egg and set aside. In the same pan, on remaining oil, put the paste and sauté for 1 minute. Add crab meat, stir fry for another minute. Add cooked rice, soya sauce and fish sauce, and stir fry for a few minutes. Transfer into a plate. Garnish with crispy fried poached egg and crispy fried onion on top.

KOREAN STYLE BEEF RICE BOWL

Ingredients

2 tbsp cooking oil

2 tbsp sesame oil

½ cup chopped onions 

2 tbsp chopped garlic 

1 tsp chopped ginger 

½ tsp black pepper powder

1 tsp red chilli flakes

1 cup ground beef

2 cups cooked rice

2 tsp soya sauce

1 tbsp sesame seeds

Method

In a bowl, put soya sauce, sesame oil, black pepper powder and red chilli flakes. Mix together and set aside. Heat the pan with cooking oil on medium heat. Add chopped onions, garlic, ginger and fry until it turns golden. Add beef along with the sauce-oil mixture and stir fry until the meat gets cooked and water gets dry. Meanwhile, take a bowl with plain cooked rice and serve the beef over the rice and garnish with sesame seeds. 

VIETNAMESE STYLE RAINBOW RICE

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked glutinous rice/basmati rice

2-3 cups water

5 tbsp sugar

10 tbsp orange juice

Natural food colouring using strawberry, beetroot, saffron, blueberry, and spinach

Shredded coconut

Different types of nuts

Banana leaf (cut according to steam cooker size)

Method

In a cooking pot, put water and grained rice. Boil and cook the rice about 80 percent. Drain remaining water (if any) and divide the rice into 5 separate bowls.  Add 2 tablespoons of orange juice with 1 tablespoon of sugar in each bowl. Add different food colourings to each bowl and stir to give a good mix. 

In a steam cooker, place a banana leaf. Put coloured rice side by side according to the cooker. Steam it for 15 minutes on medium heat or until the rice get cooked. Transfer into a plate and garnish with shredded coconut and nuts.

Recipe, food, and photo by Chiangmi Talukder Lena