Fat Rice

I don't really know why my friend calls this "fat" rice, except that it always starts with a little bit of fat. She has always done this on the stove, but I like the oven method because I can ignore the rice completely as it cooks. We are always sharing our endless variations and ideas back and forth. I'm posting the most basic of recipes with a few variations below. Two variations are based on Mama's Kitchen's Incredible Green Rice and a recipe that echo echo adopted Safari Supper. The base rice recipe is adapted from Mean Chef's Perfect Rice Everytime. The possibilities are endless, but this is the base recipe I use and I adjust seasonings and additions as desired. Please, if you try this and discover a new variation, post it for me to try! This yields a huge amount of rice, because we like to have leftovers. I don't even know about freezing this because it never makes it to the freezer! NOTE: This does not work with short grain, medium grain, or whole grain rice.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons butter (can substitute olive oil, walnut oil or any other fat)
• 1  large onion, diced (sweet or yellow or substitute several shallots)
•  salt and pepper, to taste (I use about a tsp of salt and a good grinding of pepper or another spice)
• 2  cups basmati rice or 2  cups  jasmine rice
• 4  cups  chicken stock

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In an oven safe, stove top safe dutch oven or pot with a tight lid, sauté the onion in the butter until translucent.
3. Add rice to the pot and sauté carefully until the grains are slightly colored.
4. Add in the stock and bring to a boil.
5. Cover tightly and do not remove the cover until the last step.
6. Put into the center of the oven for 15 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes without removing the cover.
8. Fluff with fork and serve.
9. Variation A -- For green rice, sauté a cup of parsley and a cup of green onions with the yellow onion. Proceed as directed.
10. Variation B -- For a safari supper, start by browning one pound of ground meat (we prefer turkey) with the onion, add the rice and 1/2 cup peanut butter, 2 tsp or more of curry powder, 1 tsp of fresh grated ginger, 2-3 Tbs honey, 1/2 cup peanut butter, and 1/2 cup dried cranberries, add stock and proceed as directed.
11. Variation C -- For a Mexican style rice, saute a cup of green onions and a cup of cilantro with the yellow onion. Add rice. Combine three cups of chicken stock with 1 cup of prepared salsa, proceed as directed.
12. Variation D -- For rice with an Asian flair, omit the yellow onion and use only one cup of green onions. Add rice. Put 3 Tbs EACH of sake, soy sauce, and mirin into a cup and combine with enough dashi (fish stock) to make 4 cups of liquid. Proceed as directed. Before fluffing, add 2 cups of parboiled peas to the rice.
13. Variation D -- For a simple vegetable rice, precook 2 cups of frozen vegetable mix and add it to the rice when fluffing.
14. Variation E -- For a fruited rice, add dried fruits and nuts to the rice after sautéing and proceed as directed.
15. Variation F -- For standard fat rice, sauté ground meat, sausage, or small diced chicken with the onion. Usually, I drain off the extra fat because there's no reason to go overboard on the namesake. Season as desired and proceed as directed. Add in 2 cups of pre-cooked vegetable mix prior to fluffing and serving.