Rice is a common base for many meals, as well as a popular side dish, but sometimes it can lack in flavour. However, there’s an easy way to infuse flavour into any rice dish without the need to raid the fridge.
The culinary experts at Delish have urged people to not throw away certain food scraps in a TikTok video, as these are the keys to giving rice extra flavour. When you’re cooking, consider keeping the skins and scraps from onions and garlic. As garlic and onions give many dishes a base for their flavour, the same can be done to rice.
Delish said: “Don’t throw those onion and garlic scraps away. Use them to infuse your rice with flavour.”
Luckily, it’s not a complicated process. Delish continued: “It’s not complicated. Just add those scraps to your boiling water, and then cook your rice like you would normally do.
“After it’s cooked just fish out the scraps, and then enjoy your rice.”
Rangel said: “Rice will have even more flavour if you cook it with two things.”
Tepica suggested: “Never through away banana peels. Put them in the morning cereal with the banana slices and milk for added flavor.”
Another way to give your rice extra flavour is to change the way you cook it. Expert Emma Christensen from The Kitchn shared her tip for making “a boring pot of rice taste amazing”.
Before you consider boiling your rice, Emma recommended toasting the grains first. “Toasting the dry rice grains in a little butter or olive oil before adding the water brings out their flavour and adds a fantastic nutty note in the finished dish,” she explained.
This works best with brown rice and whole grains such as barley.