Rice side-dishes <yawn> (restaurant, skillet, mushrooms, Indian)

[Dirt Grinder]

I like three rice dishes... Sushi meshi, risotto, and rice pudding.

I hate going to a restaurant and finding one of my favorite main dishes served "on a bed of rice pilaf." For me, pilaf is code for "boring, flavorless rice that's been par-cooked." I haven't encountered any rice side-dishes that I find tasty, so I never order a main course from a menu if it is served with a rice dish other than risotto. I don't even like Étouffée, Jambalaya, or rice in my gumbo.

So... enlighten me; what are your favorite rice dishes/side-dishes that might get me to second-guess my disdain for rice?

[TabulaRasa]

I like all different risottos, red beans and rice with andouille, baked broccoli, cheddar, and rice casserole, pork fried rice, and the arroz at my favorite Mexican places. Rice pudding, too.

[TabulaRasa]

Originally Posted by Our Daily Dread

Basmati rice cooked in home-made stock.

Me, too. Coconut basmati or jasmine, too.

[CSD610]

Dirt Grinder I'm with you and I never order the rice because it just does not have flavor and I don't require a lot of flavor overall. Nothing too spicy or over buttered or garliced or anything like that.

For me, my favorite is Red Beans and Rice, then Vegetable Fried Rice and when I was single and living alone my "Raman" was Rice a Roni but the generic version because it was a cheap and filling meal.

[Dirt Grinder]

Okay, I do love to cook Red Beans and Rice, but I eat the beans without the rice.

I forgot about fried rice - I do like char siu pork fried rice.

[Almrausch]

If we eat rice we eat it with our Indian cuisine..basmati rice with saffron, pinch of turmeric,cardamon,cashew nuts,clove and cardamon. Plain rice is too blah for me.

[randomparent]

We eat rice frequently, but it's always a component of another dish. I don't serve rice on its own as a side dish. I've been going through a lot of brown rice recently making a lemon & rosemary chickpea casserole. I could eat that every day!

[TabulaRasa]

I also like wild rice. I like cream soups with wild rice. My mom makes a skillet dish that is wild rice, fresh mushrooms, and pork sausage, and it's awesome. But wild rice isn't a true rice.

[Lodestar]

Yes, wild rice! I mix it one part to two parts long grain white rice and add a little minced green pepper, celery, onion and fresh mushrooms sauted in butter. Season with s & p and marjoram. Nothing boring about that. Toss in a few pistachios after cooking if you'd like a little extra texture.

Have you tried Cal Rosa rice? It has a unique flavor and slightly pinkish color.

Cuban moros y cristianos - black beans and rice with some fried plantains. Give it a squeeze of lime.

And just because morel season will be soon upon us, how about sautéing up some minced morels and onions, adding rice and liquid to the pan and simmering covered until done? Cracked pepper and sea salt.

[SXMGirl]

Saffron rice is one of my go-to dishes.