Food Friday: Sesame-Ginger Rice

I think I must've been Japanese in another life, because I seriously could eat rice for every meal. And, just plain old rice, too... no seasonings, flavors, or any special ingredients. Just rice and water. Up until about 6 months ago, I have been a die-hard white rice fan my whole life. Which is weird because I know it's not as good for you as brown rice. But, I've had brown rice at PF Chang's, and I don't like it. It's too.... chewy... or something.



The rice we usually eat at home is basmati. If you've never had basmati rice, I strongly recommend you investigate it further. It's super tasty, and has a nice subtle fragrance and flavor to it. It's mostly commonly used in Indian dishes, but don't be scared. It's still just white rice.

Anyway, considering how much rice we eat around here, I figured I should try and open up my mind and make the switch to brown. After all, every other grain I eat is brown (whole grain bread, I use whole wheat flour when I bake, etc.) Then I was roaming around New Seasons (the amazing local grocery store here in Portland), which I really love doing from time to time, and I saw in the bulk bins that they had brown basmati. Until this point I did not know such a thing existed, although if I had used my brain a little bit I probably could have deduced this possibility. Like I said, my brown rice experiences hadn't been good so far. So I bought some, and have been loving it ever since.

So, the recipe. Back in September I went home to Nashville for a visit, and to take care of my mom who had just had a bad car accident. Some of our really great friends had me over for dinner, and cooked this rice for me (using white rice). I loved loved loved it (like I said, I have a thing for rice) and asked her for the recipe. When I got back to Portland and bought the brown basmati rice I figured this recipe would be a great way to break me into the texture. I knew I liked the rice, so hopefully it would help me get over the texture thing.

Bottom line, this is SO unbelievably good. The sesame and ginger flavors aren't overpowering, and you can serve this as a side to almost any main course. It adds a really nice bulk to an otherwise exclusive meal of veggies, which is an important quality to me for obvious reasons. Try it with brown rice, pleeeaaassse? I promise you won't even tell the difference. (FYI, I've fully converted to a brown rice eater, and am now happy to eat just plain ol' brown rice instead of plain ol' white rice. And trust me, that's saying something.) The other great thing about this recipe is that I almost always have everything on hand already. So, it's a nice recipe to throw down at the last minute (minus cooking time, of course) if you don't have time to go to the store.

A couple of recipe notes: I use toasted sesame seeds and Imagine brand "No-Chicken" Broth. If you're going to use veggie broth instead of chicken, then I strongly suggest you get this kind. It's the best veggie broth I've found that doesn't taste like... well.... vegetables. Don't get me wrong, I like the taste of vegetables and all, but sometimes I don't want all my dishes to taste like vegetable soup. Anyway, this is a fantastic chicken broth substitute. If you're sensitive to salt, you might find this dish a bit salty (it depends somewhat on the brand of broth you use, I think), so cut back on the salt measurement if you're not sure. You can always add it later.

Another bonus: Brown rice is lower on the glycemic index than white rice, which is a good thing. The only down side to eating brown rice is that it takes longer to cook. Brown rice still has the germ and inner husk so it takes longer for the water to soak through (they remove this to make white rice). Or you can pre-soak your rice and it will cook the same as white. But, I always thought that was kind of stupid. I mean, it's not like it really saves you any time because you still have to invest the same amount of minutes, plus another step. But anyway, I digress. Here's the recipe. Make it.



Sesame-Ginger Rice
adapted slightly from Southern Living
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice (brown basmati, people!)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (see note above)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Garnish:
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or cilantro (I use this if I have it on hand, but sometimes make it without. It's not critical to the recipe, in my opinion.)
Fresh lime wedges (again, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't)

Preparation:
1. Melt butter in a 3 1/2-qt. saucepan oer medium-high heat. Stir in rice, and saute 2 minutes or until rice turns opaque. Stir in sesame seeds. Add broth, salt, ginger, and pepper; bring to a boil.
2. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook mixture 20 to 25 minutes (40 to 45 for brown rice) or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender; fluff with a fork. Garnish, if desired.