Rice dinners with fish, chicken and vegetables
Build a rice dinner around salmon, chicken, pork or vegetables. Start with dry rice for a fresh meal, or choose fried rice only when cooked rice has been stored safely.
Choose a recipe for what you have
Chickpea and spinach curry with rice
A tomato-based chickpea curry with spinach stirred in near the end. Mild curry powder keeps the ingredient list short without needing a cupboard of separate spices.
Mushroom and pea risotto
A gently stirred risotto with browned mushrooms and peas. Add stock gradually and judge the rice by its centre, not just the timer.
Beef and bean chilli with rice
A mild mince and kidney-bean chilli with rice cooked separately. Tinned beans are already cooked; dried kidney beans are not a direct substitute.
Lentil and rice stuffed peppers
Tender pepper halves filled with freshly cooked rice, tinned lentils and tomato sauce. Precooking the rice gives a reliable filling without guessing how much liquid a pepper holds.
Salmon rice with yoghurt sauce
Baked salmon with fresh rice and a cool yoghurt sauce kept separate from raw fish.
Lemon chicken, rice and peas
Chicken with lemon pan juices, rice and peas cooked alongside.
Pork and onion rice plate
Thin pork loin strips and softened onion for a lightly sauced rice plate.
Ginger vegetable rice bowl
Start with dry rice, vegetables and tinned chickpeas for a freshly cooked bowl.
Vegetable and egg fried rice
Use only safely chilled cooked rice with eggs, carrots and peas.
Before choosing your meal
For dry rice, follow its packet instructions and cook it separately when the recipe asks. This lets you finish a sauce or check meat and fish without overcooking the rice.
A cool yoghurt sauce suits baked salmon; lemon pan juices suit chicken; ginger and soy sauce work with vegetables. Check sauce labels for milk, soy, wheat and other allergens.
Fried rice needs safely chilled cooked rice. Cool rice quickly, ideally within 1 hour, refrigerate for no more than 24 hours and reheat only once until steaming hot. Reheating cannot make poorly stored rice safe.