5 Unique Ways To Serve Rice

Rice is the most widely consumed staple food in the world. Capable of being grown almost anywhere, it makes up more than one-fifth of the calories consumed worldwide. As a staple food, rice is usually served as a base for different recipes or simply eaten with side dishes. As a global food, many different nations and cultures developed their own ways of cooking rice, and some of the recipes are so unique and creative that even the biggest rice fans may not have heard of them! With that said, here are 5 unique ways to serve rice from around the world.

1. Arancini

(Source: Williams, A.)

Originating in 10th century Sicily, arancini are stuffed rice balls that are coated with breadcrumbs and then deep fried. Its small size and round shape make for great street food, and its popularity ensures its presence at most Silician food outlets.

While arancini can be stuffed with anything, the most common filling for arancini is ragù. Ragù is an Italian sauce created by simmering meat with sauteed vegetables. The ragù is often accompanied by pea and cheese, and together they make the traditional filling of arancini.

(Source: Frigel)

The first step to making arancini is to set up the foundation, which is the rice. Prepare some risotto with the rice of your choice and then leave it to cool, so that it thickens and can be formed into a ball. Create a cup-like shape with the risotto first, allowing the sauce to be placed into the rice cup, which can then be sealed and moulded into a ball. The rice ball is rolled into the batter and breaded, then submerged in oil to deep fry them until golden brown. The result is a marvellous combination of cheese, meat, and rice, forming the perfect finger food.

(Source: Miller, J.)

When making the arancini rice balls, the type of rice used is important. Usually, any type of rice that is used for risotto works for arancini as well, so medium and short-grain rice is recommended. If you are having trouble finding suitable rice for your arancini, try the SUMO Calrose Japanese Rice, available on Jocom! Calrose rice is a medium grain rice, which is high in starch content, so it will perform great when making risotto for arancini. Medium-grain rice is not as starchy as short-grain rice either, so it will be perfect for plain rice or other rice recipes as well!

2. Rice Croutons

(Source: Ahead of Thyme)

Croutons are small, seasoned cubes of bread that are rebaked or fried. Croutons are usually seen on soups or salads as a crispy accompaniment to the softer textures. While basic croutons are made with bread, there are other variants of croutons that can easily substitute the familiar dish, and one of those variants are rice croutons.

Rice croutons are, as the name suggests, croutons made of rice. Rice croutons are very simple and easy to make, the whole process taking roughly about two hours, and they can be made in large batches too! 

(Source: Ahead of Thyme)

First, procure some freshly cooked rice. Place about half of the fresh rice into a mixing bowl or a blender and puree the rice into a smooth, sticky paste. Place the other half of the rice into the rice paste and mix the two together. Once it’s been mixed well, smooth the mixture out into a square and wrap the mixture with plastic wrap. Freeze the mixture for an hour, and then slice them into small rectangles afterwards. All that’s left to do is to fry them until crispy golden and it is done! Use standard Italian seasoning or anything you wish to finish the job. Enjoy with soup, salad, or as a snack.

(Source: Ahead of Thyme)

There are no specifics for the type of rice used for rice croutons, however, long-grain rice is suitable as its dry texture adds to the crispiness of the rice crouton. Jasmine Basmathi King Super Long Basmathi Rice is a recommended pick when making rice croutons. Basmati rice has a pandan-like aromatic flavour which can supplement the rice croutons seasonings. The basmati rice is also available on Jocom!

3. Cola Rice

(Source: My Colombian Recipes)

Nothing on this list may have been as unexpected as cola rice, but that’s exactly what this item is. Cola rice is not rice made of cola (unfortunately) but instead rice cooked with cola. There is no specific origin to this dish so it can just be assumed that some people were curious and experimented on rice with cola. Making cola rice is quite simple. It is exactly just like making plain rice, but with a couple extra steps.

You will need to prepare either a pot, a skillet, or a bowl pan. Basically whatever you can use to make plain rice. Scoop about two tablespoons of butter (or whichever amount you are comfortable with), and let it melt in the pot. Add one cup of uncooked (!) rice and stir it around the melted butter until they start to brown. Now it is time to add your beer. Get a standard can of cola (usually 350ml) and pour it all over the rice. Follow it up with a cup of water and season it with a pinch of onion powder. Simply cover the pot and let it simmer for twenty to twenty-five minutes, and you are done! A nice, hot serving of cola rice, fresh to go! Just remember to increase the amount of other ingredients proportionally when using more rice.

Cola rice can be served alongside any dish, since it is basically plain rice, just with the taste of your favourite beer. Long grains appear to be the most popular type of rice used for cola rice, possibly due to its low starch content which allows easy stirring. You can try using Jasmine Sunwhite AAA Special Fragrant Rice for the cola rice. The natural fragrance of the rice compliments many spices, so it is bound to make the cola rice more flavourful when made using it.

4. Horchata

(Source: Rivera, M.)

This next item on the list is a tad different from the previous dishes, as it is a beverage instead. Horchata is a drink originating from North Africa, supposedly as far back as 2400 B.C! There are several variants of horchata, all made with different ingredients, but the one we are looking at for this list is horchata de arroz, a horchata made with rice.

(Source: Daniel)

Horchata de arroz is the Mexican style of horchata, commonly made with rice, cinnamon, vanilla, and milk. Start by adding a cup of uncooked long-grain rice and two cinnamon sticks into a blender. Blend them for about a minute until they have been finely pulverised. Add two cups of water along with a teaspoon of vanilla extract and an amount of sugar (based on your personal preference). Blend the mixture a little longer and once again pour two cups of water and milk into it. At this point, you may move the mixture to a different container if you wish. Leave the mixture in the refrigerator overnight then strain the mixture through a fine sieve to collect only the liquid. Finally, serve the drink with ice and you’ve got yourself a refreshing, creamy beverage to enjoy.

(Source: Olayinka, S.)

Horchata, just like the previously mentioned cola rice and rice croutons on the list, requires no specific type of rice. Traditionally, however, normal long-grain white rice is used for the creation of horchata de arroz. Other types of long-grain rice like jasmine rice or basmati rice can result in a different flavour unlike the traditional horchata, so it is recommended to try making the original one first before experimenting with others. We also recommend JATI Padi Super Special Tempatan 5% Rice for your horchata needs. As a normal long-grain white rice (with only 5% of broken rice mixed), the horchata you make with this rice will be guaranteed to have the traditional taste of the Mexican horchata de arroz.

5. Rice Cake Waffle

(Source: Legume Lady)

Last but not least, we have rice cake waffles. Rice cake waffles are the easiest-to-make items on this list. Basically, it is just a rice cake that’s been waffled. One simple step. For the rice cakes, you can just purchase them from a store. But just in case you are making them yourself, we will leave a basic recipe down below!

(Source: Maangchi)

The most popular rice cake used for rice cake waffles is Injeolmi (a Korean roasted soybean rice cake), so we will be going with a recipe for that. Prepare glutinous rice flour, salt, sugar, and water. To prepare glutinous rice flour yourself, simply blend short or medium-grain rice into a fine powder, and you have glutinous rice flour. If you are unsure of which rice to use, check out Nutri Pure Japanese Calrose Rice. These types of Japanese calrose rice are mainly used for sushi and the likes, which requires the rice to be soft, sticky, and holds together well. Perfect for making rice cakes. 

The first step is to pour a cup of glutinous rice flour, a quarter teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of sugar, and pour a three-fourths cup of water into a bowl you can microwave. Mix them well so it forms a dough. Make sure to cover the bowl with saran wrap, then microwave it for about three minutes. Mix the hot dough for about half a minute before microwaving it again for one more minute. Move the dough into a mortar and start pounding the dough. If the dough forms bubbles and pops while you are pounding it, it means you are on the right track. Spread your dough on a cutting board and roll it to consistency and shape. Slice the dough into appropriate bite sizes and you have plain rice cake ready.

(Source: MiddleClass)

Now, we stopped here before coating the rice cake with Injeolmi (roasted soybean) powder because we want more freedom with the kind of waffles that we make. Simply place the rice cakes side by side in a waffle iron and waffle them. Once you feel it’s crispy enough, take the waffle out and serve it on a plate. You can now top the rice cake waffle with whatever you wish, and have yourself an enjoyable breakfast or teatime.

We hope you enjoyed the list! Which of these entries do you feel was the most unique way to serve rice? Share with us on our socials and tell us what you think!

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References:

1. Pictavio (Aug 21, 2019). [image] Basmati Rice Grains. Pixabay. From: https://pixabay.com/photos/basmati-rice-rice-rice-grains-food-6578507/

2. Williams, A. (n.a.). [image] Arancini Recipe. Food Network. From: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/arancini-recipe-2111948

3. Frigel (n.a.). [image] Arancino with meat sauce. Frigel. From: https://www.frigel.eu/en/fried-products-line/arancino-with-meat-sauce/ 

4. Miller, J. (n.a.). [image] Arancini. NYT Cooking. From: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021102-arancini 

5. Ahead of Thyme. (n.a.). [image] Rice Croutons. Ahead of Thyme. From: https://www.aheadofthyme.com/rice-croutons/

6. My Comlombian Recipes (Jan 3, 2023). [image] Arroz Con Coca-Cola (Rice With Coca-Cola). From: https://www.https://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/rice-with-coca-cola-arroz-con-coca-cola/

7. Rivera, M. (Mar 28, 2022). [image] Horchata. Simply Recipes. From: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/horchata/

8. Daniel. (Feb 28, 2022). [image] Authentic Mexican Horchata That You Can Make At Home. My Latina Table. From: https://www.mylatinatable.com/authentic-horchata-recipe/ 

9. Olayinka, S. (July 19, 2021). [image] Easy Horchata Recipe. Mashed. From: https://www.mashed.com/451599/easy-horchata-recipe/ 

10. Legume Lady. (May 23, 2021). [image] Injeolmi Waffles - Korean Sweet Rice Cake Waffles. A Legume A Day. From: https://alegumeaday.com/injeolmi-waffles-korean-sweet-rice-cake-waffles/

11. Maangchi. (Aug 15, 2011). [image] Injeolmi Rice Cake. Maangchi. From: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/injeolmi

12. MiddleClass. (n.a.). [image] 6 Korean Waffle Maker Recipes: Croffles, Rice Cake Waffles and More. MiddleClass. From: https://middleclass.sg/treats/korean-waffle-maker-recipes/