Pilau rice


Pilau rice
Pilau rice (also called "restaurant rice" in France) is a way of cooking rice that's very different from using a rice-cooker. In this recipe, the rice is first "pearled" with onion in olive oil, then chicken stock is added, and the whole lot is put in the oven. This produces a very tasty moist rice, which can easily be kept waiting without drying out.
379K 4.0/5 based on 39 reviews
Grade this recipe:

Last modified on: February 21th 2011

Keywords for this recipe:
For 6 people, you will need:

Change to the quantities for:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 11 min.
Cooking: 22 min.
All in all: 33 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - 5 min.
Pilau rice
Préparez 1 onion.

Preheat oven to 390°F (200°C).

Prepare chicken stock by mixing 1 chicken stock cube and 300 ml water (hot).

Stage 2 - 2 min.
Pilau rice
Put 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large oven-proof pan over moderate heat.

When oil is hot, add chopped onion, mix well, salt and pepper.

Cook for 1 or 2 minutes without allowing to colour.

Stage 3 - 3 min.
Pilau rice
Tip in 200 ml rice all at once, and "pearl", which means: cook 2 or 3 minutes, stirring continuously...

Stage 4
Pilau rice
...until rice become translucent, "pearled".

Stage 5 - 1 min.
Pilau rice
Then add chicken stock in one go...

Stage 6
Pilau rice
...and mix thoroughly.

Stage 7 - 20 min.
Pilau rice
Cover (lid or aluminium foil) and put in the oven for 20 minutes.

Stage 8 - 2 min.
Pilau rice
After this time, remove from the oven, uncover and add 20 g butter in small pieces, while stirring to melt them.

Stage 9
Pilau rice
Your pilau rice is ready, but it can be covered and kept hot for a while.
Remarks
Unfortunately, cooking rice like pasta (in boiling water then draining) is the worst method! Because like that most of the flavour disappears with the water, and that's a pity.

On the other hand in a rice-cooker or using the pilau method, the rice has only the volume of liquid that it will absorb, and so retains its flavour.

To succeed with pilau rice, there are 2 important points

1) You should never use more than one and a half time the volume of liquid than volume of rice.
2) cooking time should not exceed 20 minutes at 200°C (390°F), covered.

Sometimes, you might read in other recipes, that pilau rice can only be cooked in oven. That's not true. Yes, it's better in the oven because it's softer and cooks more evenly, but not obligatory. You can cook it on low heat, covered, without stirring.

You can also vary the taste by adding a bayleaf during cooking or a bouquet garni or other herbs of your choice. You can also change the chicken stock for vegetable or beef stock, or add some dry white wine. So, let your imagination guide you.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, in a closed jar.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe6 2 %50 5 %80 10 %930 50 %3,910 50 %
Per 100 g07 1 %10 2 %130 6 %540 6 %
Per person1 0 %9 1 %10 2 %160 8 %650 8 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man
Possible allergens in this recipe: Milk
How much will it cost?
  • For 6 people : 0.97 €
  • Per person : 0.16 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
Some other recipes using this recipeSee them all 25
Madras rice
Madras rice

Slices of sautéed aubergine and the lovely yellow colour from the curry spices bring a hint of India to this rice dish, given a twist with a little fried ham.
71K 28 min.
Grilled fillet of salmon with corn-salad cream
Grilled fillet of salmon with corn-salad cream

A salmon fillet, grilled slowly to keep the inside tender, served with sesame rice and a little corn salad cream. You'll love it...
264K 13.9 1 hour 14 min.
Quick stuffed courgettes
Quick stuffed courgettes

This is a relatively rapid way to prepare stuffed courgettes, using ready-made items that you can take out of the fridge or freezer at the last minute (or nearly).
44K4.4 1 hour 6 min.
Baby broad beans and peas with rice and mascarpone
Baby broad beans and peas with rice and mascarpone

Fresh spring vegetables (peas and young broad beans here) with white rice, made creamy at the last minute with a little mascarpone.
16K 37 min.
Creamy rice with spinach
Creamy rice with spinach

For this simple recipe, rice is mixed with a shallot cream before adding cooked spinach.
12K 18 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Other recipes you may also like
How to cook rice in rice-cooker
How to cook rice in rice-cooker
Cooking rice in a specially adapted "rice-cooker" is practical and quick: you don't have to watch it during cooking, it's fast (15 minutes) and the rice-cooker switches automatically to "keep warm".
February 21th 2011911K 24.9 20 min.
How to prepare cockles
How to prepare cockles
Cockles are small Atlantic shellfish which can be used in many delicious dishes. However, they need to be prepared with care before cooking. Here is a simple way to do this.
March 13th 2013533K 13.7 1 hour 52 min.
Caramelised apple pie
Caramelised apple pie
Apple pie made with caramelised apples.
September 11th 2018252K4.3 1 hour 55 min.
Brioche dough
Brioche dough
It's a soft and rich dough, with butter and eggs which give a smooth and incredibly tasty brioche. This is the basic recipe for brioche dough, used for all other brioche-based recipes on the site.
September 16th 2020515K 44.2 14 hours 27 min.
Herb salad
Herb salad
Herb salad is a small salad made with leaves of all kinds of aromatic herbs, it's highly flavoured, and should be considered almost as a condiment. It really is a salad, the leaves are not chopped.
October 13th 2010223K4.6 22 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2024-09-22)

*Your e-mail Your first name or nickname
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing
The 1 comment already posted on this recipe
  • This is a new way to me for making rice, JH. I'm liking it very much. It seems easier and I bet it can be flavored with most anything. Thanks for sharing...
    Posted by Louise august 31th 2009 at 18:47 n° 1
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page