Howdy partners!
I am Hilah.
Today I am gonna make a little rice pilaf.
Rice pilaf is a good thing to know how to make because if you're making a special meal,
just take an extra five minutes, make a rice pilaf, press your loved ones, tell that Rice-a-Roni
to go to heck.
Okay, so what I am gonna use for this today is some onion, celery, garlic, some long-grained
jasmine rice and spices.
If you want detailed instruction we do have a website HilahCooking.com.
It's got the whole archive of every episode and each episode has a writeup about yours
truly with detailed instructions and ingredient lists, so check that out if you want to make
this, but anyways, I am gonna go ahead and start cutting up my vegetables for my pilaf.
Okay, I have everything chopped up.
You might have noticed it was really fast.
Okay, next, I am gonna turn on my skillet, I mean, my stove and let that heat up, and
I am going to put in a little bit of butter, like maybe just a little teaspoon of butter,
and then also the same amount of olive oil.
Perfect, okay, now I am gonna put in my cut up stuff and let that sauté for a moment.
Oh, shit.
I am spilling stuff all over the place today.
All right, I am gonna put in a bay leaf and mix that around.
Now I don't really want it to brown.
I just want it to kind of soften up, so just may be a minute or so and let that.
In the meantime I am gonna measure one cup of rice.
I've got some lovely jasmine rice today.
You can use whatever you want and you could use brown rice too, but just you'd have to
let it cook longer, and I am gonna put this in and stir it around in the oil and let each
piece get coated in oil and it will be all fluffy and good.
Okay, so the rice grains are starting to look a little shiny and that means that they are
getting covered in oil which is good, and if they start to get a little toasted, then
that is okay with me.
That just means toasty-flavored goodness.
Okay, I am gonna put in a little salt and pepper.
I made a little bit of a mess.
A little salt and pepper, and then I put my water in and then I am gonna put a lid on
it, and I am gonna leave it the F alone for a while and let it cook like rice does.
Okay, good, good.
Now I am gonna add the water and it's going to go, phseeeewwww!
Wow!
Totally sounds like an underwater volcano.
Okay, just give it a little stir and put a lid on it.
Turn it down to low and let it cook for about 20 minutes until all the water is absorbed
into the rice and then we'll eat!
Mmmmmmmmmm!
Okay, so I let my rice cook for 20 minutes and then I turned off the heat and then I
have let it sit for another five minutes.
That's just gonna make sure that all of the liquid is absorbed and the rice kind of stays
fluffier that way if you don't stir it up right when it's real hot and gets kind of
like mashed, let the grains firm up a bit, and then I have got some toasted almonds that
I have just toasted up for about five minutes over a medium heat.
I am gonna put those in, and then toss it around, and then we have rice pilaf, ta da!
Okay, I am gonna serve up a little bowl of my rice pilaf.
It's real hot, and I am gonna taste it.
It's gonna be real good.
[pause] Mmmmmmm!
Mmmmmmm!
It's all good and buttery, and the bay leaf has kind of perfumed the rice delicately,
and the almonds are still crunchy because I put them in at the end, and it's a perfect
balance of textures and flavors, okay, so if you want that whole recipe.
Check out the website HilahCooking.com.
Subscribe to YouTube Channel.
Tell your friends, all that stuff, and I will see you next time on another very special
episode of Hilah Cooking.