Do you mean one-dish type meals like fried rice, or rice as a side dish?

I generally make rice in a pressure cooker and add some raw vegetables at the time of cooking, such as celery, onion, pepper, mushrooms, broccoli, etc. If I use asparagus, I chop the stems and add those at the beginning of cooking, but I add the tips at the end. When I use watery vegetables like the ones mentioned above, I reduce the amount of water I use.

Do you have a pressure cooker? If not, what methods are you comfortable with for cooking rice?

Basic pilaf. I prefer rise like basmati or jasmine. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to a heavy bottom saucepan with a lid. Brown finely minced onion a bit in the oil (about 1/2 a medium onion). Add the raw rice (1 c.) in the oil along with some nuts (a few tablespoons up to about 1/4 c.). I like slivered almonds, pine nuts or unsalted pistachios. I also like a little bit of something sweet added in the last minute or so of the saute - again no more than about 1/4 c. - like currents, golden raisins or chopped dried apricot. You're really just toasting these ingredients a bit in the oil. Then, add liquid. If using basmati or jasmine, I use about 2:1 liquid to rice. Plain water, low fat/low sodium broth, or a combination of the two. Add salt - usually about 1/2 to 1 tsp for this amount. Stir, cover and reduce heat. Can stir in fresh herbs like chives or Italian parsley at the end of cooking. There are about a million variations on this basic theme. If you use vegetables with a fair amount of moisture, remember to reduce the cooking liquid a bit.

Pierre Franey's "Baked Rice" is a simple classic pilaf that's very nice as is and also can easily be developed into something more elaborate by adding other ingredients (dried shiitakes that can be soaked in the chicken broth are a staple in our pantry). I've never served it to anyone who hasn't liked it, and for a mere supporting player it's drawn a lot of compliments over the years.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/6157-baked-rice

hamamelis, the link won't let us see the recipe unless we sign up. Can you c/p the recipe?

Oh, the stinkers. Not really. They allow non-subscribers a number of articles each month, and I didn't realize that didn't apply to recipes. Here's another link. The recipe's been "out there" for decades now. I didn't know he was supposed to like converted rice; it works very well for regular long-grains also.

http://www.pierrefraney.com/recipes/pasta_rice_and_grains/baked_rice.html

I make rice in an old beat up sauce pan. The rice turns out perfect every time. I usually use jasmine rice with just water. I make a very good fried rice but I get tired of making it all the time. A rice dish as a one step meal or as a side dish is fine. It is too bad I guess that I can not just make plain rice and eat it that way. Maybe I should try a different liquid every now and then. As I get older my approach is Less...Less instead of More.. More. In any case I am open to looking at different approaches. Thanks

I love to have cooked rice in the freezer....then I can sautee some veggies, like onion celery peppers, mushrooms, halved cherry tomatoes, broccoli...whatever....add some wine and broth, seasonings...soy sauce at the simplest, and the leftover rice....cook a bit and poof dinner.
You can also add chopped scallions, bean sprouts, hearts of palm, egg stirred with some soy sauce and broth and stir it all together.

I like brown rice better than white rice, and I bake it in the oven as per Alton Brown's recipe, so I have some left over for other things. I also have a rice cooker, but seldom use it, I can't remember all the buttons and so have to drag out the instruction book every time I want to make rice. Or better yet, get Elery to do it, he actually uses the thing and remembers...

I just made fried rice, I like it very much, and I like nasi goreng even more, with the kecap manis and a fried egg. I use leftover rice to stuff burritos, either steak or chicken. I make "spanish rice" or a similar filling for acorn squash or peppers, and my girls like rice just cold with milk and sugar for breakfast in lieu of cereal. We sometimes use leftover rice to make pancakes, which are just rice, a couple of eggs, a splash of milk and seasonings, usually onions and chives. They make a nice substitute for injera. I make a side dish with rice, broccoli and cheese too.

Or you can just dump some into chicken broth and make chicken and rice soup!

Annie

Speaking of Spanish rice, I made that last week, and my recipe is very simple:. one cup rice, one can Rotel tomatoes, and one can water. If I rinse the rice first, I reduce the amount of water. I also use less water in the pressure cooker. On occasion, I will sauté the rice in butter/olive oil first, and then I do not rinse it.

Spanish rice, make it with brown rice, canned diced tomatoes and cumin. We use the rice cooker but if you bring the casserole to a boil in microwave or burner then transfer to the oven that works fine as well. Chicken or turkey mole on top of rice and kale cooked with onion on the side. Yum. Mole is the easy canned paste kind, you just add liquid and follow simple cooking instructions. We roast turkey so we can save it in the freezer just for this dish! Don't know why kale is perfect with mole and tomatoey rice, just is. I'm allergic to nuts so look for a mole that uses sunflower seeds instead.

That's interesting about the Spanish rice, mine has onions and ground beef and tomatoes and chili powder, it's an old recipe from the 1969 version of the Betty Crocker cookbook. It was my Grandmother's and she gave it to me when I graduated and married the first time, in 1974.

IT was not a side dish, it was/is an entree. I love it and Elery does not, so I seldom make it now.

Annie

Rice dishes can be very simple using pantry ingredients. Spices and such. But everyones pantry is so different.

My pantry has the usual onions, two or three kinds, shallots, garlic, A few good varieties of organic sweet potatoes, and a few spuds....tiny and large. Choices. Not an abundance of any. Just choices.

Crisper drawer has its usuals of fresh produce we like. Leeks, carrots, celery. cilantro, sometimes parsley and dill...greens like collards, beets, asparagus...whatever is in season. Freezer full of past harvest.

Not really enough information as to your own pantry or what you like in a rice. What you may have enjoyed in a restaurant, etc. Rice is used world wide so can go in all directions. If i only had pantry cans to choose from i would be lost.

We've gotten away from the basic white and brown rice, and now use only black or red. Both work well in fried rice with just about anything, but I usually do shrimp and mushrooms.

I keep dried cherries or cranberries on hand for adding to anything that resembles the doldrums.

Tonight I was inspired. Had leftover cooked quinoa (cooked in water-soy sauce-bouillon) but weather has turned chilly so nix on the intended quinoa mango salad.

I cooked 1/2 c. jasmine rice + 1 T. lentils in 1 c. salted water. When done, added 3 T. each cooked quinoa and dried cranberries. The lentils were red ones so still a bit crunchy when the rice was done. I was going to add leftover cooked chicken but I think not.

Tomato pilaf is good, too. Fry a couple of slices of bacon in a large deep skillet till they are crispy. Remove and crumble. Sauté a chopped onion in some of the fat, then add one cup white rice and stir till the grains are coated. Add one pound of fresh chopped tomatoes and their juice or a 15 oz can of tomatoes, the crumbled bacon, and a little hot sauce (optional). Cover and cook till the rice is done. If the rice gets too dry, add a little chicken broth during cooking.