# Rice, its whats for dinner!



## justdano

I have never kept spices other than salt and pepper. What I need is ideas for making rice tasty by just adding some various spices. I do have a sensitive stomach for hot stuff but ok with most others.

What are some spice that I could add to rice that have a long shelf life and might be able to be mixed with others or stand alone? I need to start getting into bulk food and how to make them lift my spirits up. Tasty Food, music and not being cold or wet can be a real moral boosters.

I'm single and never cooked just heated my whole life. Times a changing.


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## HuntingHawk

From chicken bones & skin, I make my own chicken broth. It can be canned or frozen. I use it to make the rice versus just water. Makes a huge difference.
I bake chicken & after cooling pull the meat off it to make chicken salad, pulled chicken BBQ sandwiches, etc. That is where the bones & skin come from.


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## justdano

That sound like a great suggeston for those that cook. I am more of a heater. 

Any spices/ concentrated chicken cubes etc... and how long can they store?


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## inceptor

Expiration dates for chicken bouillon is about 2 yrs according to package dates but will last longer if stored in a cool, dry place.


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## HuntingHawk

Chicken bullion cubes are high in salt content which is not a good thing.

Nothing hard about making your own chicken broth. Put the chicken parts in a pot & cover with water. Bring water up to slight boil, reduce heat & cover. Give it atleast an hour but three hours is better. Allow to cool & slowly pour into 1qt freezer bags. Frozen, its good for years.

You can take it a step further. How much rice do you normally make a time? If its two cups then put two cups in each bag. If its 4 cups then put 4 cups in each bag. You will be amazed at the great flavor it gives chicken versus the bullion cubes which are just flavoring but no amount of protein.

And you can make chicken stock also. Just add the trimmings from celery, carrots, etc to the pot with the chicken parts. But making stock you want to simmer atleast 3 hours.


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## retired guard

Rice by it self is an incomplete protein if you do not add a complete protein such as chicken then add beans to complete your protein requirements and add flavor.


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## LunaticFringeInc

Just eat it the way Asians do...a few billion Asians cant all be wrong, can they?

I normally cook some chicken or pork adobo and just eat some plain white rice with it. Its freaking awesome! I also like to add a raw egg to a bowl of plain rice, give it a dash of soy sauce and then chow down after stirring it all together. That's great for a fast breakfast. Plain white rice and a can of smoked baby oysters rates pretty high on my snack list too as well. Cant eat it plain? Then make fried rice, there are a dozen variations of fried rice you can make just as you can make a soup a dozen different ways depending on what you have on hand. Look at rice as an addition to, not the main course.

Rice is a huge part of my daily diet here. Needless to say, Asian cuisine is featured almost daily on my table. I buy it by the 50 lbs bag several times a year! I have several hundred pounds of it stashed away in my preps and just rotate through it.


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## Ripon

I can add carrots, peas, brocolli and a few other veggies to plain rice and it helps out. I understand the OP's concern for making rice a tasty dish. I grew up on "rice a roni" and the 50lb bag stuff just doesn't get there, bullion cubes and spices won't do it either. One dish I make is to add mushrooms, vermacelli (sp) cut up into about 1.5 inch lengths and plenty of butter. This combo turns regular white rice into a better tasting dish.


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## HuntingHawk

People raised on beef & potatoes don't do well on an Asian diet as proven by our POWs during Nam. So most of us can only tolerate a moderate amount of Asian food. Learning how to do stir fry with thin strips of meat & some veggies to add to the rice helps a lot.

Rice is a starch like potato.


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## paraquack

inceptor said:


> Expiration dates for chicken bouillon is about 2 yrs according to package dates but will last longer if stored in a cool, dry place.


I have taken store bought chicken stock and put it ice cube trays and frozen it. Then wrapped 3-4 cubes in saran wrap and then sealed all in a vac saver bag. I can open, take out a bundle, and since it is wrapped, I can reseal the bag again and not have to worry about a bad seal.


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## MrsInor

If you have canned vegetables use the water from the can and add it to the rice - it will impart some flavor. I would suggest getting some small containers of spice/herbs and start trying them - such as Basil, Marjarom, Rosemary and Oregano are all pretty mild. I know a guy who adds a couple of tablespoons of coffee to his rice water. TVP will add protein and flavor - even bacon flavor. Add get a good cookbook.


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## PaulS

Lots of ways to dress up rice - using stocks and bullion, add flavorful veggies like red, yello or green bell peppers, celery is a good addition, raisins, or any dried fruit, a small amount of meat (1 ounce) shredded and added during the cooking process, fish adds protein but doesn't do much for taste, nuts crushed or chopped add to both the flavor and texture of rice, salt and pepper do wonders in the right amounts and honey or sugar can make it a real treat for desserts or accents to a meal. Rice and beans will provide complete protein mix but it is still rather bland unless you dress it up with some of the other things. Pork that has been browned (caramelized) is a special treat in rice and beans either separately or together. Some parsley, mint or thyme will add to the rice or if you like rosemary using a little will go a long way. Garlic, onion and carrot are good as well.


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## Moonshinedave

Although I haven't tried it, if we're talking after SHTF, life getting hard type of thing, I would imagine rabbit/squirrel (name your own wild meat) with rice would taste pretty good to a hungry belly. Rice is a good starter meal, it would be harder to find foods rice would not go with.


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## PrepConsultant

We grow our own fresh herbs but I also stockpile quite a bit of spices.. Anyone from Florida knows what "Everglades Seasoning" is and I bet we have about 10lbs of it packed away. I also store salt,pepper,garlic,season salt,oregano,basil and several others. . My main ones are Everglades Season,Seminole Season and here in Montana I found a pretty good one called Alpine Touch. Plus several others I have found over the years. I probably buy 2-3 things of seasoning every time we go to the grocery store. We get to the spice isle and my fiance is like "I will meet you a few isles over when you get your shit picked out."...LOL. We probably have over 200lbs of just seasoning, not including salt. We probably have enough salt to last us a lifetime..And for cooking I found something called "Real Salt" it is a pinkish color and comes form Utah... Excellent stuff!I put the spices in mylar bags with o2 absorbers to keep them from hardening..


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## bigdogbuc

The flavor packets from Top Ramen. Just stir it in when you add the water. Bullion Cubes are another one. Pretty much any "off the shelf" flavoring packet for whatever will work. They last forever. Just stir it in when you add the water, cook as normal. I would also recommend going to your local teriyaki shops and stocking up on Soy Sauce packets. ( = And if you're adding meat, make sure you cut it up small enough that it will actually cook through, in the rice. You can pretty much add anything you want to rice when you cook it. Kind of like a stew.


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## Nathan Jefferson

My family eats Jasmine Rice... What is this talk of 'adding' stuff to flavor it? :-D



For those who don't know; basmati and jasmine rice have very strong nutty flavors. I prefer Jasmine and have personally eaten jasmine rice that is at least 4 years old stored in the original nylon weave bag that tastes just as good as brand new stuff.


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## Inor

When I was in college I used to eat a lot of rice mixed with Campbell's soup. Not bad...


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## justdano

Inor said:


> When I was in college I used to eat a lot of rice mixed with Campbell's soup. Not bad...


What was the dried rice to can of soup ratio? I have a lot of canned soup and need to figure out how much rice I can practically add. Also one cup of dried rice will turn into how much cooked rice? Thanks also any other suggested dried spices for rice?


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## Inor

I did not add the dry rice to the soup, just boiled the rice then poured the soup over the top. I did not water the soup down either or it would have been too runny.

P.S. Your signature line says: "A penny saved is a penny earned". But I always have to "put my two cents in". Who is getting the other penny?


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## bigdogbuc

Nathan Jefferson said:


> My family eats Jasmine Rice... What is this talk of 'adding' stuff to flavor it? :-D
> 
> For those who don't know; basmati and jasmine rice have very strong nutty flavors. I prefer Jasmine and have personally eaten jasmine rice that is at least 4 years old stored in the original nylon weave bag that tastes just as good as brand new stuff.


Yeah, that Jasmine Rice is some good stuff! It even smells good when you're cooking it. ::clapping::


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## HuntingHawk

Best use of white rice is rice pudding.


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## freezedry11

LunaticFringeInc said:


> Just eat it the way Asians do...a few billion Asians cant all be wrong, can they?
> 
> I normally cook some chicken or pork adobo and just eat some plain white rice with it. Its freaking awesome! I also like to add a raw egg to a bowl of plain rice, give it a dash of soy sauce and then chow down after stirring it all together. That's great for a fast breakfast. Plain white rice and a can of smoked baby oysters rates pretty high on my snack list too as well. Cant eat it plain? Then make fried rice, there are a dozen variations of fried rice you can make just as you can make a soup a dozen different ways depending on what you have on hand. Look at rice as an addition to, not the main course.
> 
> Rice is a huge part of my daily diet here. Needless to say, Asian cuisine is featured almost daily on my table. I buy it by the 50 lbs bag several times a year! I have several hundred pounds of it stashed away in my preps and just rotate through it.


Chicken adobo is fantastic. I learned from a friend filipino that it will taste more better with garlic rice. Add fried garlic to cooked rice and reheat it using a pan or an oven.


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## big al

Nathan Jefferson said:


> My family eats Jasmine Rice... What is this talk of 'adding' stuff to flavor it? :-D
> 
> For those who don't know; basmati and jasmine rice have very strong nutty flavors. I prefer Jasmine and have personally eaten jasmine rice that is at least 4 years old stored in the original nylon weave bag that tastes just as good as brand new stuff.


good call

When I lived in England I ate a ton of Basmati rice - soooo good

Someone above mentioned Asians and rice - don't they drown in all in soy sauce?


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## freezedry11

big al said:


> good call
> 
> When I lived in England I ate a ton of Basmati rice - soooo good
> 
> Someone above mentioned Asians and rice - don't they drown in all in soy sauce?


The Adobo's main seasoning is soy sauce but it doesn't taste too salty because there are other spices added to it which make the dish taste good.


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## big al

freezedry11 said:


> The Adobo's main seasoning is soy sauce but it doesn't taste too salty because there are other spices added to it which make the dish taste good.


thanks for the confirm

Is it right that true soy sauce is nothing like what we have here?


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## MrsInor

Wikipedia has a whole long page on soy sauce and the different kinds. Most are made with soy beans or wheat. Has ten times the antioxidants than red wine........

Naw - I'll stick to the red wine.


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## big al

mrsinor said:


> wikipedia has a whole long page on soy sauce and the different kinds. Most are made with soy beans or wheat. Has ten times the antioxidants than red wine........
> 
> *naw - i'll stick to the red wine*.


lol!!!


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## Paltik

What makes adobo adobo is the vinegar. The other main ingredients are soy sauce and brown sugar.

I like to fry garlic, then fry rice in the garlic and oil.

I also will add leftovers to my fried rice--vegetables such as peas and corn, finely chopped leftover meats, hotdogs, etc. Will also add an egg, soy sauce, and salt to taste.

Rice goes well topped with most vegetables and savory meat dishes. Consider storing some gravy packets (the kind you make by adding water) as well.

For Mexican-y rice, saute some onions and tomatos and maybe a chile or two, then add uncooked rice and water and prepare as normal.

My kids also love eating rice with seaweed wrappers, particularly the pre-salted kind with sesame oil.


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