In these times, I have come to really appreciate some of the simpler things, among them a bowl of well-cooked, seasoned rice. I want to eat it most days, especially when it’s warm outside. A special kind of magic occurs between peanut, chilli and ginger in a satay sauce, and the first recipe channels that, laced with a hit of cooling cucumber and soft herbs: it is my most-eaten lockdown dinner. This one-pot green rice is also packed with flavour, but also an excellent canvas for other things. We centre dinners around it, adding veg, herbs, tofu and toasted cashews or peanuts, depending on what we have.
One-pot ginger rice with peanut butter sauce and cucumber (pictured above)
I eat this simply, because the gingery rice, satay and fresh herb-and-cucumber top notes are all I want, but you could add some fried tofu or tempeh here, too, if you wanted to make it more of a meal.
Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 4-6
For the rice
Sunflower or coconut oil, for cooking
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 small thumb fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
½ tsp salt
300g basmati rice, rinsed
2 whole star anise
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 large or a few small cucumbers, halved lengthwise or thickly sliced
1 small bunch coriander, mint or basil leaves (or a mix of all 3)
For the peanut sauce
6 tbsp peanut butter (ideally smooth)
1½ tbsp soy sauce, or tamari
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1½ tbsp sriracha
1 small thumb fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp honey or maple syrup
Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a large pan over a medium-low heat, add the onion, garlic, ginger and salt, and cook for about five minutes, until softened but not browned.
Stir in the rice and star anise, and cook, stirring for a minute, to seal the rice. Add the soy sauce and 750ml cold water. Turn up the heat to medium, and once it comes to a simmer, cover the pot immediately, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat – the rice should have soaked up all the liquid – keep covered and let it sit for 10 minutes. If you like, you can wrap the lid in a tea towel and then cover for extra-fluffy rice.
While the rice is cooking, make the satay sauce. In a small bowl, whisk the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha, ginger, honey and 50ml cold water. The sauce should be smooth and pourable – add a little more water if you need to.
Remove the lid from pot, fluff the rice with a fork and pick out the star anise. Serve the rice with peanut sauce drizzled over, and the cucumber and herbs on the side.
Greens and coconut one-pot rice
This is a one-pot dinner for us, as it’s packed with veg and there’s protein in the peas. I like to top it with toasted nuts or sesame seeds for crunch, and a handful of soft herbs.
Prep 15 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 4-6
100g greens, washed (I used a mixture of spinach and cavolo nero)
1 large bunch of coriander (or 100g more greens)
400ml coconut milk
1 tsp salt
2 sticks lemongrass, bashed and roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled, 3 of them finely chopped
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
200g white long-grain or basmati rice
200g peas, fresh, or frozen and defrosted
Toasted nuts and fresh herbs, to finish (I used mint, basil, chives and their flowers)
First make the liquid that the rice will cook in. Put the greens, coriander, coconut milk, salt, lemongrass and two whole cloves of garlic into a blender with 300ml cold water and puree until smooth. If you have a small blender, you can do this in batches.
Rinse and drain the rice thoroughly in cold water and set aside.
In a large saucepan over a medium heat, heat the oil until hot. Add the onion and chillies, and cook for five minutes, until soft and sweet. Add the chopped garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant – two to three minutes.
Add the rice and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes to toast and seal.
Turn up the heat to high, pour in the coconut and greens mixture, add the peas and bring to a simmer. Immediately put a lid on, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes, until all the liquid has absorbed into the rice.
Remove from the heat, cover the lid in a clean tea towel, put it back on the pot and leave to steam for 10 minutes. Then fluff the rice with a fork and serve with some toasted nuts and herbs.
