Beef Bouillon Rice
Blog: www.nextinlime.com
Servings: 3
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200 g) long grain white rice - I prefer basmati
- 1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil - or butter
- 1 clove garlic - minced
- 2 tablespoons finely diced bell pepper - aka capsicum, any color (Note A)
- 1.5 cups (355 ml) water
- 1 small beef bouillon cube - or use granulated bouillon or beef base (Note B)
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- some chopped parsley or cilantro - optional, for garnishing
Instructions
- Rinse the rice under cold running water using a fine mesh strainer until the water runs clear. Soak it in room temperature water for 30 minutes, then strain and set aside. You can skip soaking, but the rice grains won't cook up as long and fluffy.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the oil/butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and diced bell pepper. Sauté for 1 minute.
- Next, add water, beef bouillon cube/base/granules, onion powder, salt and pepper. Stir well. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Once boiling, add rice. Stir gently, partially cover the pot with lid and let liquid reduce over medium-high heat (or medium if your burner is strong). Don't stir yet, just keep an eye. At first, the bubbles on the surface will be big and vigorous. As the liquid cooks down further, you'll start to see small bubbles and steam holes across the surface. That’s your cue to give a brief, gentle stir. Some liquid (around 10 to 20 percent) will still be left, which is intended.
- Cover completely with lid right away, and reduce heat to the lowest setting. Let it steam 10 minutes. DO NOT remove the lid. No peeking, no stirring.
- Turn off the heat. DO NOT remove the lid yet and leave the pot on the same burner. Let the rice rest for 10 minutes so it finishes cooking in residual heat. After the resting time, remove the lid, plate the rice using a flat, wide utensil. Optionally, garnish with some chopped parsley or cilantro and enjoy.
Notes
Note A: Bell Pepper - 2 tablespoons of finely diced bell pepper is roughly ⅛ to ¼ of a small pepper, depending on size. If you're increasing the amount of rice, scale the bell pepper up in the same ratio. Most of the time, I use green bell pepper for this recipe but you can use any color bell pepper. Red, yellow, and orange peppers tend to be slightly sweeter.
Note B: Beef Bouillon - If you're using beef base like Better Than Bouillon or granulated beef bouillon instead of a bouillon cube, make sure you're using only the amount the package says is needed for 1 cup of broth/stock for each cup of rice you're preparing.