Thai Yellow Rice

White oval bowl with yellow rice, garnished with lime wedges, cucumber slices, tomato slices, orange bell peppers, chopped green onions and cilantro.

Rinse the Damn Rice! 

People ask, “do I really need to rinse the rice? The short answer is yes. 100% yes you should rinse the rice. Some say it’s to rinse away some of the starches and prevent clumpy rice, some say it’s to remove the naturally occurring arsenic that is in all rice, but I think most would agree that at the very least, you’re rinsing away any dirt and debris. Here’s an article that I like, but feel free to search the entire Internet, where you’ll find many different opinions as to why, they still agree to rinse the rice. 

White rice in a sieve with water showering it and a nutcracker who looks like a chef in the foreground.

How Much Water to Rice Ratio? 

This is a tricky question, but I have found that using a multi-cooker and cooking jasmine rice, it’s 1:1 (1 cup rice to 1 cup water). Ignore the packing. I have noticed that all packages of Jasmine rice have different ratios. Some are more than double the water to rice (1 cup rice to 2 cups water). When I follow the package directions, my rice comes out like mush. It’s all broken and is starting to resemble mashed potatoes. 

You can always add more water, so it’s best to experiment with your multi-cooker or rice cooker. At the most, I would never add more than 1 1/4 cups of water of liquid to 1 cup rice. Same should go for stove top cooking where you can actually check it near the end of cooking time and add more if needed. 

White oval bowl with yellow rice, garnished with lime wedges, cucumber slices, tomato slices, orange bell peppers, chopped green onions and cilantro.

Thai Yellow Rice

Stacey Mincoff
This Thai Yellow Rice recipe is so aromatic with the scents of saffron and anise, that you’ll be tempted  to eat it right out of the pot
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Asian
Servings 6 Servings
Calories 189 kcal

Equipment

  • Multi-Cooker or Rice Cooker

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Cup Jasmine Rice (uncooked and rinsed)
  • 1 Cup Vegetable Stock (chicken stock or water)
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
  • 2 Large Cloves of Garlic
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Turmeric
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Saffron
  • 1/4 Cup Minced Shallots (or 2 tablespoons dried shallots)
  • 1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce (optional, but lots of flavor)
  • 1 Tablespoon Butter or Oil
  • 1 Star Anise optional
  • 1 Cup Frozen Peas
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish

  • 1/2 English Cucumber (sliced)
  • 1 1/2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes (sliced in half)
  • 1 Lime (cut into 8 wedges)
  • 4 Green Onions (chopped)
  • 1 Bell Pepper (any color)
  • Thai Basil (optional but so worth it (or cilantro, or sweet basil))
  • Red Thai Chilis (optional garnish – careful, they are HOT)

Instructions
 

  • Rinse the rice.
  • Add rice and all other ingredients except frozen peas and garnish ingredient to multi-cooker, set for “white rice”, and cook for the recommended time for your particular cooker (they are not all the same). I set mine for one minute less than recommended.
  • While rice is cooking, cut up all your garnish and have the peas ready to add.
  • Release the pressure, open lid, add peas and optional bell pepper slices, close lid and let sit for 3-5 minutes. 
  • Fluff with fork, place in a bowl or on individual bowls or plates and garnish (see list above). 
  • I highly recommend Thai basil over cilantro or sweet basil as it’s flavor is very unique and I think it adds a lot to this rice recipe. Serve with Thai Chicken Satay, or in place of white rice in other Asian dishes. Or eat it as a main vegetarian meal.

Notes

I like the flavor of anise. Fennel, Thai basil , star anise (and more) adds that flavor. I started out making this with a garnish of Thai basil, but I can’t always (or am too lazy to find it), so I started adding fennel bulbs, but I don’t always have that either, so I adding a star anise pod and it works too. Somtimes I grind the star anise, sometimes I don’t. It’s a versatile recipe with plenty of wiggle room. Add or omit what you like or don’t like.

Nutrition

Calories: 189kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 5gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 640mgPotassium: 348mgFiber: 3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1209IUVitamin C: 50mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 2mg
Keyword Asian, Multi-Cooker, Quick and Easy, Rice, Side Dish
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Step-by-Step Instructions

Rinse the rice.

White rice in a sieve with water showering it and a nutcracker who looks like a chef in the foreground.

Add rice and all other ingredients except frozen peas and garnish ingredient to multi-cooker, set for “white rice”, set timer for 9 minutes. 

White rice in a grey pot with saffron, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, turmeric and dried shallots on top.

While rice is cooking, cut up all your garnish and have the peas ready to add.

Five small round white bowls with separate ingredients (orange bell peppers, cilantro, chopped green onions, red cherry tomato haves and sliced cucumbers) on a granite counter top. There's also a copper measuring cup filled with frozen green peas.

Release the pressure, open lid, add peas and optional bell pepper slices, close lid and let sit for 3-5 minutes. 

Cooked yellow rice in a grey pot with orange bell pepper slice and frozen peas on top.

I highly recommend Thai basil (which I did not have on this day) over cilantro or sweet basil as it’s flavor is very unique and I think it adds a lot to this rice recipe. Serve with Thai Chicken Satay, or in place of white rice in other Asian dishes. Or eat it as a main vegetarian meal.

White oval bowl with yellow rice, garnished with lime wedges, cucumber slices, tomato slices, orange bell peppers, chopped green onions and cilantro. There's a nutcracker in the foreground who looks like a chef.

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