What to put on rice?

Question

After watching my Indian (from India) co-worker eat some really cool looking lunches for the last few months, all piled on a bed of rice, I broke down and purchased a nice rice cooker, It makes a lot of great rice.

The problem is........ I have run out of ideas for the topping. I am asking you folks, what is your favorite thing to put on or eat with rice.?

 I live close to all flavors of ethnic markets and can get just about any ingredients out there. The only thing I don't care for is seafood, but my cooking skills are fairly good.

My last successful attempt was a Thai inspired cashew chicken dish that was pretty good.

Ok, here we go...... What is your favorite dish with rice?

Answer

Chili or stew

Answer

Get yer wok on, son.

Figure out how to use Black bean paste and use it with Chicken, tofu, Beef, etc.

Almost anything in this book:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/344418

Answer

As a child , my Austrian Mother would often serve me chili over rice. Delicious!

Answer

I made this by accident last night in about 5 minutes and it was phenomenal. I'd previously made jasmine rice (the Trader Joe's store brand is great out West) that I'd turned into coconut rice with the addition of some canned coconut milk for a bit of the water toward the end. I froze a little of the leftovers.

So last night I thawed it out, heated it briefly (microwave), fried a few bits of green onion in a teaspoon or two of coconut oil, and then tossed in a handful of trimmed cilantro leaves and a couple tiny bits of fresh basil, and threw in the rice - really just to toss it a little.

Put it on a plate and it was just amazing. Sometimes in coconut rice they put little sweet corn kernels also. (And if you want to get fancy, I'm sure fresh coconut milk with a few shreds of fresh or frozen coconut would add to it.)

OK, so that is the RICE part. Something like tender beef strips stir-fried with fresh mint and basil would be great with that.

On a different rice topic, if you use basmati and make a biryani (add tart berries/nuts etc.), chicken koobideh (a kind of kabob) is amazing. Also a good whitefish with mango salsa on coconut rice.

Answer

I just had it for lunch several hours ago. 
 
Chana Masala over basmati rice. I'm not a vegetarian, but I play one in real life.

Answer

Dal and rice. Your Indian co worker can probably help you with a recipe or two. Legumes paired with rice make a complete protien as well.

Answer

A better question might be what can't you put on rice?

Anyhow, here are some ideas, from the very basic and convenient side of things:

1. Canned sardines in tomato sauce
2. Scrambled or fried eggs
3. Chili
4. Soup
5. Stews
6. Cubed tofu with some soy sauce and chili oil, garnished with some diced scallions
7. Curry
8. Pickled veggies
9. Pork chops
10. Chicken breasts, or thighs
11. Oxtail 
12. Pot roast
13. Eggplants tossed with soy sauce and diced garlic

etc.

You get the idea.

Answer

Make Bibimbap.
Seasoned spinach, bean sprouts, fern sprouts, carrot shreds, potato shreds, bellflower root, shredded beef, sunny side up egg, and some gochujang (chili paste).
I have been working on a guide to bibimbap and can post some more detailed info if anyone is interested.

Answer

Try adding things to the rice pot before you turn it on. This opens up a whole chapter of new ideas.

Mushrooms and Rice:
 http://tokyostation-yukari.blogspot.com/2009/04/kinoko-takikomigohan.html

Chestnuts:
http://tokyostation-yukari.blogspot.com/2009/03/japanese-breakfast.html


Fava beans:
http://tokyostation-yukari.blogspot.com/2009/03/fava-beans-and-rice.html

Also, see if there is a switch on your rice cooker to make rice porridge.

Answer

Here are some things that come to mind: Japanese Style Curry and Oyako donburi (chicken and egg over rice). Some other favorites that require no cooking: ochazuke (tea, crumbled rice crackers, nori and sometimes salmon), natto (fermented soybeans- I love it, but I may be in the minority), furikake ( dry Japanese condiment sprinkled on top of rice. Typical ingredients include dried fish, sesame seeds, and chopped seaweed,) and Gohan desu yo (seasoned seaweed paste).

Answer

Wonder if your co-worker would share some recipes?

Answer

Sometimes I like it plain with some of that really thick black Chinese soy sauce. 

Any sort of condiment or sauce with cubes of tofu. 

Saute sliced garlic and chili with 

Moroccan tagine--either chicken (see Claudia Roden) or veggie (Deborah Madison's Veg Cooking for Everyone has a great chickpea/greens with Moroccan spices recipe). 

Kimchi

Put rice in the next pot of soup you make, if appropriate. 

Lime Pickle

Black beans!

Answer

The Indian toppings on the rice can be: 

Lentils: (there are tons of varieties in indian grocery stores, and each of them have a different taste)
Chicken: plain gravy with onion-ginger-garlic-tomatoes, gravy with coconut milk, or gravy in cream sauce.
Lamb/Goat: Same style gravies as with Chicken 
Vegetables: Mostly in sauces, with onion-tomatoes or coconut milk.

Other Asian dishes like stir fries and most of malaysian and thai dishes are also served with rice.

Answer

Oh me oh my, rice. I don't' use my rice cooker, I just use a pot most of the time, but they are a great thing for large families.

Well to start with I make a big ol pot and then put the rice in the fridge to chill, and make yummy fried rice or what I call Indonesian rice. it is so spicy and full of everything under the sun.http://www.flickr.com/photos/7220939@N03/sets/72157605544337527/
Then there is my seafood hot curry. With lots of shrimp, and scallops so fragrant with ginger, and garlic and scallions and so freaking hot, it'll cure pnemonia.
Then there's my mom's dish. Pepper steak, for which every now and again I get a hankering for, Lots of red and green peppers, tons of white onions and a nice brown gravy that yes, has kitchen bouquet in it. 
Of course, red beans and rice. No beating that, and you can eat for a week. 
When times were tight I use to make a hamburger gravy with a white sauce, and put that over rice. Sounds good to me right now. 
Or just eat a bowl of rice with a bit of kimchee and veggies, hot sauce, soy scramble an egg, and call it a snack.

Answer

i'm getting so hungry reading this post!

my god-mother used to put a pat of butter on top of hot rice, with a little s&p.

as for the chili, growing up in texas we always had frito pie (chili with fritos) and rice at home.

Answer

A few more ideas:
 - A little lightly sautéed spinach with garlic and a cooked salmon fillet, all topped with soya sauce
 - Cooked black beans Tex-Mex style with peppers, zucchini, cumin, tomatoes
 - Any curry (Thai; Indian, etc.)
 - Braised lentils
 - Osso buco
 - Creamed turkey or chicken with mushrooms
 - Meatballs with tomato sauce
 - Ratatouille

Answer

hot rice with smoked salmon and terriyaki sauce and crunchy shallots

Answer

When I'm feeling lazy, just a pat of butter, scallions and a ton of Sriracha.

Answer

almost forgot, make a cold salad. Make a dressing with balsamic, add scallions, fresh corn or peas, fresh basil, grape tomatoes, dried cherries, or golden raisins, pecans, and eggs, or just about anything your heart desires. Balsamic and olive oil with a little mashed garlic paste mix it well before adding, then the salad is good to go. Serve cold or room temp. Scoop some and serve in butter or red leaf lettuce leaves as a appetizer or fresh snack. Feta, olives, you name it, rice makes one of the best salads. I prefer it to the old standard macaroni salad heavy with mayonnaise.

Answer

first of all coconut rice rules there are recipes all over the internet but basically just add a can of coconut milk when its cooking instead of water and then a little brown sugar too taste (at least this is how i do it ;-)) and i agree with all the other ideas posted curries salads etc yummy....another i do which is a little wierd but oh so nice is cottage cheese tuna and brown rice also sometimes i add avacado and cherry tomatos if i feel like it season with salt pepper and parsley a sqeeze o lemon and your good to go. 

and sometimes i make tabouli using rice instead of bulgar because i have celiac i usually use brown it comes out very nicely.

Answer

Well according to my SO everything goes well on rice - really if there isn't rice then it is not dinner. So taking that advice you can stirfry any meat and veg and put it on rice. The tricky part is seasoning the stir fry. Some options include simple veg, garlic, ginger, soya and sesame seed oil, black been sauce, hoisin, oyster sauce - really there are many sauces in jars at the market that you can try in veg and meat and put on rice. You can also take a second step and stir fry the rice and add veg and a scrambled egg. At the end if you have rice left over you can make congee with 5 parts water and 1/2 part rice, boil, and add meat, veg etc. Now my most favorite dish is smoked curred canned chinese herring in black bean sauce steamed over the rice in the rice cooker - haven't seen it in stores lately but if you can find it - very good on rice.

Answer

Really, anything stew-y or sauce-y or gravy-y... ! Its the sauce that makes rice so yummy...

Answer

Speaking of rice and rice cookers:

I just moved, and it's just me. Found a very small, and therefore very rare, rice cooker at Walgreen's for $10. It works great. Auto cooks, then switches to a warming mode when done.

Answer

veggies with chickpeas or hummus

black beans, broccoli or zucchini, salsa, and guacamole

sweet potato, hazelnuts, and currants or cranberries

stir fry veggies, cashews, pineapple, and tamari

collard greens or kale with a mixture of salsa & peanut butter

Answer

Why not flip your question on its head: What can you put your rice in?

Here are just a few suggestions:

Make a burrito with rice, beans and/or meat and cheese and something with heat .
Stuffed peppers or cabbage.
Asian-influenced lettuce wrap.

The wraps and burrito also hold the advantage of being quite portable which can be useful if you have to eat on the move.

Answer

Fried onions and mushrooms - can't go wrong.
A dash of sesame oil or truffle oil - yum

Answer

i like egg whites scrambled with bragg's amino acids and garlic/onion powder, diced broccoli, wild mushrooms and diced asparagus.

kung pao shrimp and scallops

miso glazed eggplant

Answer

natto (fermented soybeans) whipped with soy sauce, green onions, and crumbled nori, poured over hot rice

raw egg mixed with soy sauce, mixed in with hot rice

day-old rice with dashi, soy sauce, and egg drizzled into the broth

broiled salmon onigiri

mapo doufu

furikake

sake chazuke

Answer

You can make various rice dishes *in* the rice cooker - add diced vegetables, other grains (try millet, or 'ten treasures oats' from a Chinese grocery). My husband does a lovely Japanese eel rice in the cooker. I do one with rice, various diced vegetables, and a mixture of tomato juice and chicken stock for the liquid, for a lovely tomato rice.

Answer

We serve this sauce over rice all the time. 

Thai style peanut dipping sauce

4 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons salad oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons hot chili sauce, such as Sriracha
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander

Combine ingredients in 
bowl and mix well with whisk.

Serve over rice, hot or cold noodles, pot stickers or as a spring roll dipping sauce.

Answer

Mapo tofu
Sunny side up egg with a drizzle of oyster sauce
Japanese style curry
Cream corn and chicken

Answer

When I was young, my mother used to make rice with a pat of butter and sprinkled brown sugar over it and then pour warm milk over the top for breakfast. It was very good. But then Mom used to make milk toast too! (Toast, buttered, cubed in about 1/2" squares - in a bowl sprinkled with sugar and warm milk poured over it).

Answer

A quick one-pot recipe I do in the rice cooker is chicken rice. Substitute all the water you'd normally use with chicken stock. For every cup of rice, add diced chicken (about 1 handful), 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp scallions and a handful shredded chinese cabbage. Start rice cooker as normal. 
A late night snack - make sure rice is very hot. Butter. Raw egg. Soy sauce. Mix. Eat :)

Answer

Did anyone already mention gravy? We always have gravy over rice.

Answer

Something I like to do with leftover rice (which we always seem to have alot of) is fried rice. Basically stirfry a bunch of veggies with garlic and ginger, add scrambled eggs, cooked rice and soy sauce. If you have any left over grilled meat or roasted meat, chop them up and add it to the mix. You can add a bit of sesame oil at the end and toss in some green scallions. Yum! I like to serve it with sriracha as a condiment.

Answer

I took a cooking course once and the chef gave us his favourite way to eat white rice: Throw a handful of baby spinach leaves on top of piping hot rice then add a dollop of tsaziki (sp?). Oh - it's good.

Answer

I love white rice with:
Sesame oil
Jarred pepperoncinis
Butter
Scrambled eggs and vidalia onions
Fried in olive oil with onions, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, ground or fresh ginger, and whatever other vegetables you like (bamboo shoots, sliced water chestnuts, sliced bell pepper, etc.), and canned chicken (undrained). If you use fresh chicken you may want to add some salt.

Answer

I like roasted vegetables (my favorites:Mushrooms, green beans, carrots, peppers, cauliflower) and sauteed onion over rice with grated parmesan on top.

Another favorite is Risi e Bisi (rice and peas)-rice cooked in chicken stock or broth with peas and parmesan.

We always seem to have leftover rice after a meal, so I often microwave it with salsa and grated cheddar for a quick lunch.

Butter and soy sauce is pure comfort food to me. Yum, now I want some.

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