Garlicky White Rice

"March's Monthly Featured Chef : Rick Bayless", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC).  Rick Bayless was one of the featured chefs at IHCC back in 2012, and the last recipe of his which I've tried was in 2013. Wow, it has been that long!  

I was planning on making chili, and was browsing thru Rick Bayless's website for a simple recipe that would go with the chili. Found his simple and easy Garlicky White Rice, which sounds good with the magic word "garlicky!"! LOL! We love garlic, and any dish which has "garlicky" in it, is a winner in our books! Chili served over garlicky white rice, sounds good to me!

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I've made half a recipe since I'm making it for my family of four. Medium grain rice is used. Heat some oil in an ovenproof pot, saute the chopped onions and rice together for 5-7 minutes, until the rice turn milky-white, the chopped garlic is then added, stir to combine. I have added one bay leaf. Pour in the hot stock or water, (I've used chicken stock), with a tablespoon of lime juice. Cover and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. 

Instructions in the recipe says to spread the cooked rice on a baking sheet to cool them, and heat up when needed by covering the baking sheet with foil and reheat in the oven to warm the rice. I have however omitted this step (I was pretty lazy!). 15 minutes after the rice has cooked, I gently fluff the rice with a pair of chopsticks, and then transfer the rice into the rice cooker pot,  press the keep warm function. It will stay warm for hours.

The rice is really nice, but I would prefer if there are more garlic, as I can taste and smell the onions more than the garlic. The next time, I would use a small onion, as I have used a medium sized one for this. And for a more garlic flavour, I was thinking of  some chopped garlic, fried till golden and crispy, then mix them in with the cooked rice, that would be heavenly garlicky fragrant! But overall, this is a lovely rice dish, my family likes it (there's no leftovers!), and it goes really well with the delicious chili, one of Nigella's recipe. Will be sharing the chili recipe in our coming potluck week. 

Garlicky White Rice
(source from rickbayless.com)
6cups chicken broth or water
Salt
1/3cup vegetable oil
4 1/2cups medium-grain white rice
1large white onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
3tablespoons fresh lime juice
Generous ½ cup chopped parsley

Heat the broth or water in a small saucepan until steaming; stir in 2 ¼ teaspoons of salt if using unsalted broth, 1 ½ teaspoons if using salted broth. Cover and keep warm.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.In a large (6-quart), heavy Dutch oven or saucepan with a tight fitting lid, heat the oil over medium. Add the rice and onion and stir almost continuously for a minute or so. Continue to fry the rice and onion, stirring occasionally, until the rice has turned milky-white, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the chopped garlic.
Add the lime juice to the simmering broth and immediately add the broth to the rice. Scrape any stray kernels from the sides of the pot, cover and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
Remove the pot from the oven, and gently spread the rice out on a rimmed baking sheet. Cooling the rice completely will ensure that it doesn’t overcook. When it’s time to serve to your guests, cover the baking sheet with foil and reheat in a 325 degree oven until the rice is warm. Scoop the rice into a shallow serving dish, garnish with the chopped parsley and serve immediately.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week,

March's Monthly Featured Chef : Rick Bayless