The New English Kitchen: Changing the Way You Shop, Cook and Eat

kitchen note

Regular rice cooks rely on their rice steamers, which not only cook perfect rice but keep it warm safely. The best are available from Asian shops.

how to store cooked rice

Cool the rice quickly in the pan with the lid slightly off, immersing the base of the pan in a bowl of very cold or iced water. When the rice is cold, transfer it immediately to a clean plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. It will keep in the fridge for about five days. Smell it and inspect for deterioration before use.

The following three recipes serve two and can be made in minutes – they make perfect TV dinners.

fried rice

An enormous bowl of this, on the knee – a big cup of jasmine tea beside – makes an immaculate dinner on its own.

Serves 2

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

a few drops of sesame oil

2 helpings of cooked basmati rice (see here (#u72594d21-7bf9-4996-8ae2-4aa571aa7ea5))

4 spring onions, chopped

1 egg, beaten

4 tablespoons frozen peas

Heat the oils in a non-stick frying pan or a well-seasoned wok, add the rice and stir-fry quickly over a high heat. Mix the spring onions with the beaten egg, push the rice to the edge of the pan and pour in the egg mixture. Turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring, for a minute. Bring the rice back over the egg and stir thoroughly but with a light touch, flicking the egg through the rice. Once the egg has turned from transparent to pale yellow, stir in the peas, heat for a minute until they defrost and warm through, and eat.

cooked rice with coconut, lemongrass and galangal

Southeast Asian shops can be few and far between but passing one should mean popping in for tubs of real green, red and yellow curry paste, coconut cream and milk, huge bags of rice, galangal, fresh lime leaves and lemongrass. This rice meal takes the edge off the craving for a sour-hot curry, but without the need for a fresh supply of meat.

Serves 2

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon green curry paste

1 red pepper, cut into 1cm/

/

inch squares (optional)

2cm/

/

inch piece of lemongrass, outer layers removed, then

very thinly sliced

2cm/

/

inch piece of fresh galangal, crushed, or fresh ginger

2 fresh or dried lime leaves

250ml/8fl oz canned coconut milk, or 4cm/1

/

inches cut from

a block of coconut cream and broken into 250ml/8fl oz water

2 helpings of cooked basmati rice (see here (#u72594d21-7bf9-4996-8ae2-4aa571aa7ea5))

leaves from 4 sprigs of mint or basil

salt

Put the oil in a saucepan with the curry paste and heat through. Add the red pepper, if using, plus the lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves, followed by the coconut milk. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the rice and bring back to the boil, then stir in the herbs and season with salt to taste. Tip into bowls and eat with a spoon.

aubergine and pumpkin seed rice

When I want a warm and filling lunch that will not see me slump fast asleep over my desk mid afternoon, I heat a little cooked rice in a pan with some cooked vegetables, cumin and a few nuts or seeds. I eat it with plain yoghurt – there is usually some in the fridge – and a teaspoon of bought harissa, the hot pepper sauce of North Africa. The fresh ingredients in the following recipe could be replaced by tomatoes, shallots, spring greens, squash or pumpkin.

Serves 2

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 aubergine, diced

1 onion, chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped

1 tablespoon green pumpkin seeds

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons stock or water

2 helpings of cooked basmati rice (see here (#u72594d21-7bf9-4996-8ae2-4aa571aa7ea5))