Rice Recipes From Louisiana Will Jazz Up Your Gumbo Cooking

No one will argue that Gumbo is Louisiana's most famous food. But few know that rice is Louisiana's most famous agricultural crop. Every bowl of gumbo you serve must have it's share of this beautiful, delicious and wholesome grain served with it.

Rice is an integral part of Louisiana culture and cuisine.

A well crafted pot of gumbo is a thing of beauty and a joy to create. Louisiana Cajuns know that no gumbo is complete without a little of that delightful and delicious white fluffy stuff we know as rice. Without rice, gumbo would almost but not quite be like, well....just soup. That's why I include rice recipes for you.

Cooking the perfect rice can be daunting for some, especially kitchen novices. It is easy to make mistakes but once you know the simple steps your rice will be cooked perfectly every time. Some simple math and a few cooking instructions are all you need to know.

Today electric rice cookers make perfect rice every time and even the least experienced cook can achieve success with them.

Rice comes in many forms. You can buy white rice or brown rice and black rice or red rice. There is basmati rice, arborio and wild rice. But for our purposes here, rice for gumbo, we will limit the the discussion to white and brown rice.

Rice is simple to make…………..

I prefer long grain and medium grain rice. These cook easily into separate and fluffy grains and helps the thick gumbo juice to stick just right to them. Making the perfect rice every time is easy. For centuries, rice has been cooked on stoves with fantastic results and it's not difficult at all. All you need is a pot with a lid or sauce pan of sufficient size. Or you can use an electric rice cooker that will cook perfect rice every time. Anyone can do it with one hand tied behind their back using these rice recipes.

1-2-3………cooking rice is as easy as can be!

Remember this simple formula.

*One cup rice mixed with two cups water yields 3 cups of cooked rice.

*Using this 1-2-3 method, you add one cup rice to two cups boiling water in a pot of sufficient size.

*A pot of about 3 quarts is just right.

*Stir well, cover and reduce heat to low.

*Cook for 20 minutes then turn off heat. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.

Remove the lid when ready to serve and fluff with a fork. This will make 3 cups cooked rice. That's as easy as saying 1-2-3. This works for long grain, medium grain and short grain.

Some rice recipes recommend washing the rice before cooking. I do not do this as it will wash away nutrients. I don't find the cooked rice gummy or mushy in any way as some claim. You can wash if you like but I find it is a waste of time.

Unused rice will keep well in your refrigerator for 1 week. And you can freeze leftovers and reuse months later. I find frozen rice warmed in a microwave to be delicious and the texture is as if it was just cooked.

Try Brown Rice To Kick Up Your Gumbo