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.
371K 1 39 4.0
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Last modified on: February 21th 2011

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For 6 people, you will need:

Change to the quantities for: 2 people 3 people 6 people 12 people 18 people
How long does it take?
Time required for this recipe:
PreparationCookingStart to finish
11 min.22 min.33 min.
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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
Whole recipe
Energetic valueProteins CarbohydratesFats
934 Kcal or 3,910 Kj6 gr54 gr77 gr
47 %2 %5 %12 %
Per 100 g
Energetic valueProteins CarbohydratesFats
128 Kcal or 536 Kj1 gr7 gr11 gr
6 %<1 %1 %2 %
Per person
Energetic valueProteins CarbohydratesFats
156 Kcal or 653 Kj1 gr9 gr13 gr
8 %<1 %1 %2 %
% are calculated relative to a Recommended Dietary Intake or RDI of 2000 k-calories or 8400 k-joules by 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.

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WaterWater: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Cassoulet, How to use gelatin, Peanut rolls, Steak burger topped with egg, Provençal braised carrots, ... All
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Your 1 comments or questions 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)
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