Rice is a food staple eaten all over the world. It is versatile, filling, affordable, and very easy to cook with. It can be used in breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes. There is even a range of tasty desserts that call for it.
Primarily produced and consumed in Asia, there are thousands of different varieties of rice, most of which look and taste different from the next. A hugely popular type of rice is medium-grain rice.
Medium grain rice is two to three times longer than it is wide. Compared to other types of rice, it is softer and better at absorbing moisture. Common types of medium-grain rice include Valencia, Arborio, bomba, and carnaroli.
In today’s post, we want to show you what you can do with medium-grain rice. To do so, we’ve listed 10 delicious recipes that call for it. Keep reading if you need some medium-grain rice inspiration!
1. Sushi Burrito
The first recipe on our list is a delicious sushi burrito recipe. Sushi is a popular Japanese dish that takes many forms. As a result, it is a versatile dish that can be made using a wide range of ingredients.
This particular recipe helps you make a classic sushi burrito. The recipe does call for a lot of ingredients and takes some skill to make, but the hard work is well worth it.
Some of the key ingredients in this recipe include rice, salmon sushi mix, soy sauce, spinach, avocado, and seaweed sheets. The end result is a strongly flavored dish full of flavors and interesting textures.
2. Rice Pudding
If you came here looking for a super simple recipe, this rice pudding recipe is ideal. Quick and easy to make, rice pudding is a sweet and savory dish that can be eaten for breakfast or dessert.
One of the best things about rice pudding is how filling it is. Thanks to the medium-grain rice, all the flavors are absorbed, creating a hearty dish. Another great thing about rice pudding is that it can be flavored in any way you like.
This recipe seasons the rice pudding with sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. For added texture and sweetness, raisins are thrown in too.
3. Creamy Parmesan Risotto
A popular dish made using medium-grain rice is risotto. Risotto is a wonderfully simple rice dish that packs a punch. It’s a great dish to serve as an appetizer at a dinner party or as a hearty main course.
It does take a while to make and some arm effort, but it’s totally worth it. This recipe shows you how to make a creamy parmesan risotto.
To make this ridiculously rich risotto, you need onions, chicken stock, Arborio rice, parmesan cheese, and butter. The creamy flavors are soaked up by the rice, whilst the natural starches of the rice offer a smooth texture.
4. Mushroom Risotto
The next medium-grain rice recipe on our list is another risotto recipe. In all honesty, we could probably do a whole list just on medium-grain risotto recipes. This time, we have a gorgeous mushroom risotto.
Like the risotto recipe above, this risotto is buttery, creamy, and savory. The risotto consists of rich cream, caramelized onions, smooth rice, and garlicky, buttery mushrooms. The addition of mushrooms in this recipe is awesome.
They give the dish a strong umami flavor and a robust texture. If you want to make this risotto even more interesting, you could throw in some lobster too. To give this dish more flavor, it is seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic.
5. Cabbage Rolls
If you want to make something a bit more interesting and unique for your guests, give this cabbage rolls recipe a try. Also known by the name golubtsi, cabbage rolls are a popular Eastern European comfort food.
They are mostly popular because of their flavor, but they are also loved because of how economical they are. You can feed an army of people without spending too much money.
This dish is made by seasoning cabbage and ground beef mince before stuffing them in a cabbage leaf. The rolls are then covered with a rich tomato sauce and sour cream. What’s not to like?
6. Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Another easy and healthy comfort food you can make using medium-grain rice is these Mexican stuffed peppers. Sweet, crunchy, filling, and delightfully flavored, these stuffed peppers are to die for.
When you cut into the peppers a rich, cheesy filling will ooze out. The filling for these stuffed peppers consists of soft medium-grain rice, juicy beef, onions, mozzarella, chicken broth, tomato paste, and a wide variety of herbs and spices.
We have a great selection of toppings to choose from with this dish too. We can top the peppers with guacamole, cilantro, or sour cream.
7. Seared Salmon With Lemon Risotto
If you’d prefer something more elegant and fragrant, look no further than this seared salmon with lemon risotto recipe. As far as party-pleaser rice dishes go, this recipe takes some beating.
Featuring soft, fresh salmon and an aromatic, tangy risotto, this dish is everything you need to make something suitable for a dinner party with friends.
The creaminess and tanginess of the risotto go amazingly with the savory flavor of the salmon. Without the creamy risotto, the salmon would be quite bland and boring. This risotto helps to take the fish to new levels.
The ingredients you need to make this dish include salmon, Arborio rice, white wine, stock, onion, garlic, lemon, butter, parsley, pepper, salt, and butter.
8. Kimchi Fried Rice
The next recipe on our list is kimchi fried rice. Kimchi fried rice is a popular Korean dish that is quick and easy to make. It consists of kimchi and rice stir-fried with kimchi juice and smoky bacon.
The dish is then seasoned before being served with a fried egg on top. Aside from only taking 15 minutes to make and being packed with delicious flavors, the best thing about kimchi is how easy it is to make.
You don’t have to be an expert in Korean cuisine to bring something exciting to the dinner table. Whipping up a Korean classic is guaranteed to get your guests talking.
We love the addition of toasted sesame seeds in this dish because they give the recipe a much-needed crunch.
9. Baked Rice Pudding
The penultimate medium grain recipe on our list is a baked rice pudding recipe (see also ‘Is Rice A Grain Or Seed?‘). Making a baked rice pudding as opposed to a standard rice pudding offers something special.
Baking rice pudding creates a thin, crispy layer across the top of the dish. This crispy layer looks awesome and tastes even better. There’s just something super satisfying about it.
This AllRecipes baked rice pudding recipe calls for white rice, water, milk, eggs, white sugar, vanilla extract, raisins, nutmeg, and salt.
These ingredients combine to create a rice pudding that is sweet, savory, creamy, and thick. As far as we’re concerned, there isn’t a better way to make rice pudding than this.
10. Cheesy Arancini Rice Balls
The final recipe on our list is arguably the best comfort food you can make using medium-grain rice. These cheesy arancini rice balls are absolutely incredible. They are everything we love from comfort food.
They are crispy and golden brown on the outside and rich, creamy, cheesy, and gooey on the inside. What more can we ask for?
This recipe shows you how to easily make the rice balls using simple ingredients and an easy-to-make breadcrumb. The breadcrumb only requires four ingredients, whilst the filling only needs 12.
The key ingredients in the filling are butter, chicken broth, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, onion, ham, and rice. We like to serve these cheesy arancini rice balls before the main course.
Final Thoughts
That concludes our list of medium-grain rice recipes. As you can see from our list, there is a wide range of versatile dishes we can make using medium-grain rice.
One great thing you’ll notice about medium-grain rice is that it doesn’t always have to be the star of the show. On our list, we have recipes where the rice simply supports the other ingredients.
On the other hand, we have recipes that just wouldn’t be the same without the rice. In this post, we’ve shown you the very best medium-grain recipes.
We’ve looked at quick appetizers, easy breakfasts and desserts, elegant main courses, and comforting snacks.
Whilst our list could have gone on and on with more options, we’re confident that we’ve shown you the very best. All you have to do now is decide which recipes you want to make first.
Most of the recipes are quite easy so why don’t you try a few of them?
