3 Kinds of Rice to Dress Up Dinner

Rice is a great staple side dish for weeknight dinners. It’s fast, simple, and versatile. It’s also boring after a while. Here are 3 simple ways to dress up your rice for a little variety in your weeknight dinner routine:

Coconut Rice

For a sweet flavor, replace half the water in your rice recipe with coconut concentrate. This makes a sweetened, sticky rice that is a great addition to Mango Salsa Chicken.

Spiced Rice

Instead of cooking your rice in water, cook it in broth. I love replacing the water in my rice recipe with vegetable or chicken broth, adding a little sprinkle of paprika, garlic, and ginger to the broth before cooking the rice. This gives a really savory, complex flavor that goes great with chicken or even tuna steaks.

Pecan Rice

This isn’t so much a recipe as a product recommendation. I hate buying expensive foods, but I’m addicted to Konriko Pecan Rice. This slightly nutty flavored brown rice is a subtle way to dress up a meal. Perfect served with orange glazed salmon for a little every-day-exotic flair.

Fool Proof Rice

While we’re here, let’s talk about the easiest method for cooking rice. Rather than buy a rice cooker, which requires storing, cleaning, and - ahem - finding a whole extra appliance, I cook my rice on the stove. Add 2 cups of water to a small sauce pan with a tight fitting lid. Turn heat to high, add your rice, bring to a boil. Stir. Turn heat to low, put your tight fitting lid on, and leave it alone for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let the saucepan sit, undisturbed, for another 5 minutes. Fluff your rice with a fork and enjoy!