To me, rice is addicting; whenever I make it, I’m tempted to grab a bite every time I stroll by the pot. However, I’ve been learning to hone my self-control around rice, because making perfect rice takes patience.
Recently, I discovered that you can boost the resistant starch levels of rice tenfold by cooking it with coconut oil then letting it sit in the fridge for at least 8 hours. Meaning that if you don’t want to have an insulin spike (and you probably don’t), you gotta wait a little bit.
Adjusting to this method has become convenient by cooking a big pot of rice right before I go to bed and placing it in the fridge, where it’s ready for me to grab a scoop to be re-heated for lunch or dinner over coming days.
Check out this post if you’d like to learn how and why the aforementioned method of cooking rice makes it exponentially healthier.
Infusing rice with aromatics during the cooking process enhances its flavor profile, instilling it with settle hints of whatever is added, which – in our case – is orange peel, cinnamon stick, star anise, fennel greens, black peppercorns, whole cloves, as well as the usual suspects: virgin coconut oil and salt.
To avoid gumminess, it’s imperative that you throughly wash your rice. Rinse until the water runs clean – about 5 washes – ensuring that all residual starch on the surface of the rice is wiped away. If you skip this step, the starch will glue your rice together into a large ball with a paste-y consistency. If the starch is rinsed away, however, the rice granules cohere together with a pleasant amount of airiness, without turning into a gum ball.
WARNING: cooking this rice will stink up your kitchen with intense, fragrant, sweet smells of orange, cinnamon, and anise… which is the loveliest stench you could have floating around your house.
While this dish was created to be served alongside our seaweed-infused tortillas, refried black soy beans, brown garlic sauce tempeh & mushrooms, and crunchy fennel citrus slaw, it’s an all around elegant way to prepare rice for any occasion. In the case that you’re making a Mexican style dinner, you could toss in a bay leaf, peel of a lime (pith removed), couple stems of cilantro, and a roasted, skinned & de-seeded jalapeño to add the flair of a completely unique cuisine.
Basically, white rice plays nice with the other kids on the playground.
Like what your taste buds are tellin’ ya? Leave behind a nice rating, share your thoughts with us in the comments, or show us your creations by tagging @noeggsorham on Instagram.
All the best,
Ryan & Kim
Orange-Cinnamon Jasmine Rice
Tender rice that's aromatic with scents of Chinese cuisine.
Ingredients
- 2 c organic Thai jasmine rice
- 3 c water
- 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil
- Rind or zest of one orange, pith removed
- 1/2 cinnamon stick, whole
- 1 star of anise, whole
- 3 cloves, whole
- 10 peppercorns, whole
- Fennel greens (top of the fennel bulb)
- Large pinch of salt
Directions
- Place dry rice in a large bowl and add enough water to cover. Agitate rice granules with hands, then pour out the water (pouring through a fine mesh strainer catches any rice that may fall out). Repeat this process 4-5 times, or until the water runs clear.
- In a medium sauce pot over high heat, bring rinsed rice, 3 cups of water, and all remaining ingredients to a boil. Give a quick stir to incorporate ingredients.
- Once a boil is obtained, turn heat down to low, slap on a lid, and cook for 15 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, remove lid, drape a doubled-up kitchen towel over the top of the pot, and re-apply the lid on top of the towel. Set a timer for 15 minutes.
- Remove lid, towel, and all of the aromatics: clove, anise, cinnamon, fennel greens, orange peel (I find chopsticks to be the best tool for the job). Fluff with a fork, and serve fresh, or refrigerate overnight to boost resistant starch levels.
- To re-heat, combine desired amount of rice, along with a misting of water, in a pot fitted with a lid over medium-low heat. Remove lid and stir every three minutes until the rice is hot; about 10 minutes in total.
NO EGGS OR HAM 
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