"Wetting up" some rice?

corblimey

Usually, when I have rice as a side dish, it's to accompany something that comes in its own sauce, goulash, curry, etc. But from time to time, the main dish is dry (as in not saucy), and that combined with dry rice makes for a somewhat boring meal. Rather than slathering on the tomato ketchup (yuk) or brown sauce (yukker), does anybody have any tried and true (and simple) recipes for sauces or something that would go with most meals of rice and meat?

Long shot, I know, but it's been preying on my mind for months, and I've been trying to think of a way to phrase it.

the beer revolu

Have a look at my salsa recipe in the here's what I had for dinner thread from a day or so ago.

B0jangles

If you like spicy and asian flavours, a really really good sauce is one I call 3-2-1 sauce: 3 parts light soy 2 parts black rice vinegar, 1 part laoganma chili crisp (plus a pinch of sugar if you like)

Stirring a couple of teaspoonfuls of this into plain boiled rice absolutely transforms it

Makes a great dip for chinese dumplings too.

Dr.MickKiller

You could also do light soy, rice vinegar, garlic and chilli flakes or even fish sauce, rice vinegar and some brown sugar for a vietnamese style sauce.

Tree

butter's pretty great for taking the edge off dry rice

dibkins

You can make a very basic peanut sauce with some peanut butter, hot sauce to taste, a little sugar and a little soy (you can of course continue to add other bits and bobs as you see fit!). Add in a bit of hot water from the kettle and give it a good lash with a spoon. It will emulsify after a short battle.

MissFlitworth

I like rice cooked in spiced tomatoes to go with either relatively plainly spiced fish & chicken or with meats seasoned in a Mexican fashion.

This Thomasina Miers one, which I was too lazy to transcribe and comes from Mexican Made Simple is delicious. The green rice is too but sometimes people find the Kermit colour a bit off putting

moc moc a moc

Try East Asian rice (e.g. Japanese, Korean) rather than the 'dry' rice (usually Indian-style) that seems to be the standard here. It's a shorter grain and stickier, which IMO gives a better flavour and texture, along with being more moist.

corblimey

Ooh, didn't expect so many good answers, thanks everyone. Next rice day is coming up fast, so gonna see what I have the cupboard to match anything above before searching for

laoganma chili crisp

in my local Tesco's (is that a typo??? )

B0jangles

corblimey wrote: »

Ooh, didn't expect so many good answers, thanks everyone. Next rice day is coming up fast, so gonna see what I have the cupboard to match anything above before searching for

in my local Tesco's (is that a typo??? )

Sorry, that's something you need to get to an asian store to find, or order online.

If you do go looking for it, the one you want is the one of the left in this picture:



Note the portrait of a woman on the label; she is the reason it is also known as Angry Lady Sauce.

Edit: if you do get a chance to get to an asian store, look out for this:



Chinkiang vinegar AKA black rice vinegar, it's really good and so much cheaper than in an ordinary shop -that big bottle only costs about 2 euro in an asian shop.

dibkins

Aside, i got a large bottle of cooking wine in the Chinese shop for less than a fiver, the smaller one was €7 in tesco!

corblimey

dibkins wrote: »

Aside, i got a large bottle of cooking wine in the Chinese shop for less than a fiver, the smaller one was €7 in tesco!

Sure... "cooking" wine

rubadub

I like a bit of sesame oil on it, and maybe some light soy sauce. Get real sesame oil, many are diluted down with regular oils.

moc moc a moc

corblimey wrote: »

Sure... "cooking" wine

Marcusm

Try broccoli rice or arroz brocolis, it's as simple and delicious as it sounds.