Over 3.5 billion people from around the world
eat rice as a staple part of their diet,
and we can only show some
of the beloved rice dishes that exist.
Let's take a look at how rice is eaten around the world.
This dish stirs up a debate out of love.
Jollof rice is a dish from West Africa
that varies from country to country.
It's popular in Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, and many others.
Most jollof rice dishes include tomatoes,
onions, and peppers.
Choices of protein can vary from lamb
to chicken, beef, or fish.
Jollof rice can be served with sides
like fried plantains or vegetables.
Nasi goreng is Indonesia's national dish
and translates simply to "fried rice."
It's believed to have been introduced
when Chinese immigrants made their way to Indonesia
sometime between the 10th and 15th centuries.
Nasi goreng is made with an abundance of spices,
garlic, shallot, and a sweet soy sauce called kecap manis.
Meat, vegetables, and eggs can also be added in.
Some accompaniments include fried prawn crackers,
salad, or sambal, an Indonesian chili sauce.
In Spanish cuisine, paella is a must-try rice dish.
It originated in Valencia and is best cooked
in a paella pan over an open fire.
Traditionally, it was made by farm laborers during lunch
and eaten straight from the pan.
The meats and vegetables used in this dish
varied based on whatever was available at the time.
Nowadays, there are plenty of variations
with meat and seafood.
Essential ingredients are onions, garlic, and saffron
for a deep yellow stain.
This creamy rice dish is an Italian staple.
Arborio or carnaroli rice is the best type of grain to use.
The rice is cooked with broth, butter, onions,
wine, and Parmesan cheese.
Some may argue that risotto is time consuming
and requires a lot of attention when cooking,
but once you get a hang of the technique,
the dish can be ready in as little as 30 minutes.
Cơm tấm, also known as broken rice,
is a Vietnamese dish with humble beginnings.
The grains used in cơm tấm are considered
to be broken leftovers from the drying and milling process.
Traditionally, farmers from the Mekong Delta
would cook the unsellable grains.
Eventually, they introduced the dish to the city of Saigon,
which is now known as Ho Chi Minh City.
Cơm tấm is served with a variety of sides,
like shredded pork, eggs, and pickled vegetables.
This rice entree comes from the city of Yangzhou
in China's Jiangsu province.
Some may know the dish as house fried rice.
It's made of rice tossed with roast pork,
shrimp, scallions, eggs, and peas inside of a wok.
The best type of rice to use is leftover cooked rice.
Chinese restaurants worldwide have kept this dish
a staple menu item.
India's biryani rice is a fusion of spices.
The word biryani derives from the Persian word birian
and means "fried before cooking."
A long-grain rice, such as basmati, is fried and cooked
with meat, vegetables, eggs, nuts, and fruits.
Depending on the region, there are countless variations
and cooking methods of biryani.
Puerto Rico's rice dish is also considered
the island's national dish.
Arroz con gandules is rice cooked with pigeon peas,
pork, and sofrito sauce.
It's usually served during holidays and special occasions.
Jamaican rice and peas uses pigeon peas or kidney beans.
Long-grain rice is cooked with coconut milk,
garlic, scallions, pepper, and allspice.
Rice and peas is commonly served in households every Sunday.
It's usually served as a side dish along with curries
or jerk and barbecue chicken.
Using similar ingredients like pigeon peas
and coconut milk, Trinidad and Tobago's rice dish
is called pelau.
Trinidadians use a technique called browning the meat
by adding meat to burnt sugar in a pot
with onions and garlic before adding the rice
and other ingredients.
For extra flavor, a key ingredient to add near the end
of cooking would be Golden Ray salted butter.
The final product can be served wet,
meaning it's on the soupier side,
or dry, on the grainy side.
Korean bibimbap translates to "mixed rice
with meat and vegetables."
Traditionally, it was made with raw beef
and raw egg yolk.
Today, many variations exist based on choice.
White rice is served with side dishes
like kimchi, onions, eggs, mushrooms, and so on.
Bibimbap is served with gochujang sauce
for extra flavor.
When visiting Louisiana, you must add jambalaya
to your food-bucket list.
The one-pot dish is a staple in New Orleans
and can be categorized into two types,
Creole and Cajun.
The Creole version is redder and uses tomatoes.
In both versions, long-grain rice is cooked
with a mix of meats.
Some popular choices are seafood, chicken, or sausage.
Some variations include all three.
Vegetables, onions, spices, and peppers
are also mixed in.
This rice dish is sweet.
Champorado is a chocolate porridge
made with glutinous sweet rice.
Traditionally, tableya, or pure cocoa blocks, are used,
but cocoa powder makes a great substitution.
In the Philippines, the porridge is commonly eaten
for breakfast and served alongside tuyo,
a salted dried fish.
It's topped with sweetened condensed milk,
evaporated milk, or coconut milk.
Tahdig is basically scorched rice.
It's made from the pan-fried layer of crust
at the bottom of the rice pot.
Many years ago, rice was a luxury ingredient in Persia.
According to legend, a single grain of rice
should not go wasted or left in the pot.
To achieve this, cooks would layer the bottom of the pot
with bread to prevent the rice from burning.
Other techniques use a mixture of rice,
yogurt, and saffron or thin slices of peeled potatoes.
Whichever ingredients you choose to place
beneath the rice, the end result will be a golden
crispy layer at the bottom of the pot.
Mansaf is Jordan's national dish.
It consists of rice and lamb cooked in a sauce
called jameed, which is a fermented dried yogurt.
The dish is served on a platter in layers
with a base of flatbread.
Rice, jameed, lamb, almonds, and pine nuts
are layered on top.
These Japanese rice balls are called onigiri.
Steamed rice is formed into shapes like balls,
triangles, or cylinders.
It's then wrapped in nori, dried seaweed.
Onigiri can be eaten plain or stuffed with fillings
like salmon or vegetables.
It makes a perfect snack for on the go.
What's your favorite dish?
Will you be trying any of these in our video?
Let us know in the comments below.