Level Up Basic Rice And Cook It In One Briny Liquid

Although it can be pretty basic, a pot of soft, perfectly-cooked rice is often the best side dish to serve alongside almost anything. It is plain enough to sop up all the flavor from a spicy curry or chili, but I find the starchy sweetness delicious enough on its own that I'm often eating steaming spoonfuls plain right out of the pot.

Granted, not everyone is as big of a fan of plain white rice as I am, so you should try adding some pickle brine to the pot if you are looking for a little extra oomph in your rice. Seasoning your rice is of utmost importance to make it taste good; a pot of rice without salt will undoubtedly taste like cardboard. Cooking your rice in pickle juice, however, will add both the salt you need along with a punch of tangy vinegar to cut through all the starch. Not only will pickle juice add a distinct flavor to your rice, but you also get to use up all that leftover pickle juice that you'd otherwise be pouring down the drain.

Before you get too excited, you are not going to cook your rice only in pickle juice. This will result in rice that is way too salty to serve. Instead, you will want to add pickle juice to your cooking water to dilute the brine while still adding flavor.

There are a few different ratios people use when cooking rice; some use a 1:1 ratio of water to rice, some use a 2:1 ratio, and there are plenty of other modes of operation when cooking rice, which is all up to personal preference. No matter how you choose to cook your rice, you can start by replacing a quarter of the water with pickle brine to add a salty bite as well as the background flavors of garlic and dill, or whatever is in your pickle juice of choice.

Depending on your own palate, you can experiment with using up to half pickle juice, half water in your rice. Then you get to cook your rice as normal, either by simmering it on the stove or cooking it in a rice cooker. The end result is a flavor-packed pot of rice that adds a new, bright edge to any meals you serve it alongside. With the added flavor of the pickle juice, even just mixing some butter into the cooked rice or serving it plain with a fried egg on top will become a cheap, delicious meal on its own.