Asian Rice Pilaf
This Asian Rice Pilaf brings rice to a new level with its wonderfully savory flavor. It’s a perfect side dish to pair with grilled meats or fish.
I threw this rice together the other night to go with some teriyaki steaks we were grilling for dinner and really didn’t have high expectations for it. I just wanted something a little more interesting than plain white rice.
What I ended up with is an Asian rice pilaf that packs one powerful flavor punch. This rice will now be on heavy rotation in my kitchen.
This rice really takes just a few more minutes to make than regular, plain rice, but it’s so worth it. I just added a couple more ingredients, which makes all the difference in the world.
Garlic, of course, adds extra flavor, but the sesame oil and soy sauce are really the stars here, along with chicken stock instead of water. Then, I stirred in a handful of cilantro at the end to brighten the flavors. I also think stirring in some sliced green onions would be great to add even more flavor.
As I said, we served our Asian rice pilaf with teriyaki steak, but it would also be great with grilled fish, chicken, like this honey chicken or coconut shrimp and Asian style cucumber salad. You could even turn the leftover rice into fried rice. Just stir fry the leftover rice along with whatever fresh veggies you have on hand and some leftover protein like steak or chicken and you’ll have a delicious dinner in a flash.
Tips and Tricks
- This recipe is easily doubled or tripled.
- It freezes well.
- This can be made in an Instant Pot. To do this, sauté the garlic and the rice right in the Instant Pot, using the sauté function. Then, select the the rice function and set the timer for 8 minutes. When it’s finished, use the Quick Release to release the steam.
Ingredients Needed to Make Asian Rice Pilaf
Full instructions can be found below in the printable recipe card
- Butter
- Garlic
- Rice
- Chicken stock
- Soy sauce
- Sesame oil
- Cilantro
Asian Rice Pilaf
This Asian rice pilaf brings rice to a new level with it's wonderfully savory flavor. It's a perfect side dish to pair with grilled meats or fish.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Sauté garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in rice and sauté for another couple of minutes.
- Stir chicken stock, soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper into rice mixture.
- Bring mixture to a boil.
- Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender.
- Stir in cilantro right before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 126Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 408mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 4g
ENJOY!
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Made this tonight and paired it with P F Chang’s Mongolian Beef. Rice was lovely. Mine didn’t turn out nice and fluffy, as I may have added too much liquid (as I increased the rice quantity), but that didn’t matter as it tasted wonderful. However, as I was making another dish, I inadvertently added 3/4 teaspoon of minced ginger to the pan with the garlic. The ginger was meant for the beef dish. Still, the rice tasted great so may even leave that in for next time lol. Thanks for a lovely recipe. Will definitely be making this again.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the rice, Brenda! The ginger sounds like a delicious addition, I’m going to have to give that a try the next time I make this rice!
I made this tonight to go with Korean BBQ. We loved it! The only thing I did different was add fresh diced mushrooms because I needed to use them and fresh copped green onion when the rice was done! So delicious…thanks for a great and simple recipe!
Is the sesame toasted or plain?
I made this in my Instant Pot (took a guess and used toasted sesame oil). It was light and fluffy just like the photo and tasted delicious alongside our stir fried veggies. I’ll take this over plain rice every time.
I so enjoy your site and your recipes. Would you please consider adding a print option so we can enjoy your recipes a little more easily. Thank you.
I make this all the time with all the different kinds of rice. Tonight I used beef broth instead of chicken. My whole family enjoys this recipe and I like changing it up for a slightly different taste.
We tried this recipe and were disappointed with it. I’m sure we followed it step by step, and maybe it was supposed to happen this way – but the rice just turned to mush. the flavor was ok, but the mushy rice & the fact that there wasn’t much nutritional value to it aside from some protein from the chicken, we won’t be making it agin.
Harold Burton
This looks amazing and fairly simple to do. I have never made stuffed anything but these look simple enough to try sometime. I love how you made garlic zucchini noodles to go with the dish. That’s my favorite way to eat zucchini noodles. I use my spiralizer weekly. Definitely one of the best birthday gifts I have received.
Ashley Jones
Fantastic recipe!!! Did not change anything in recipe. Tastes wonderful!! This is my new go-to chicken recipe! Thanks.
Joseph Donahue
Love this recipe! We use it quite often. I double the carrots and celery and add minced onion flakes to it and use Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice. After a couple hours check it to see if it needs a little bit more water added.
Kelly Hubbard
This was delicious! I was afraid of the fennel…but it gave the sauce the best flavor! I didn’t have fresh oregano…I’m sure it would have been even better! Thanks so much..it’s a keeper.
CrazyAsk
I recently make a turkey meatball recipe that used Amy’s chunky tomato bisque for the sauce and I put it over spaghetti squash, you could also make the recipe using lot’s of different farmers market veggies.
Holly Hooper
Delicious, but I would say it’s more of an Asian “risotto” than a pilaf.
Very tasty looking! I do love cilantro, but I have heard that some people have an aversion to it. Love your photo.
Paul Brown
Fantastic recipe!!! Did not change anything in recipe. Tastes wonderful!! This is my new go-to chicken recipe! Thanks.
Sachin
Great post! I appreciate the practical tips you provided. I’m definitely going to try some of these ideas in my own routine!
pisogame