Rice

These adorable Japanese stuffed rice balls just might be the most perfect snack.

This 5-ingredient rice porridge is pure cold-weather comfort in a bowl. (Did we mention it’s cheesy? It’s cheesy.)

Since congee can take hours to make on the stovetop, we came up with a clever trick: Rinse the rice and freeze it overnight. 

Cooking sushi rice in a bath of kombu, fresh corn, and savory soy sauce is a recipe for summer success. 

Delightfully soft yet chewy Thai sticky rice is traditionally prepared in a bamboo basket set over a metal pot of boiling water, but you can easily replicate the method at home with a saucepan and a fine-mesh sieve.

A laid-back risotto (not an oxymoron!) in a summer state of mind.

This single skillet, weeknight riff on Diana Yen's favorite Thai rotisserie chicken packs coconut milk, lime juice, and fish sauce for plenty of umami.

This simple six-ingredient dessert is vegan and bursting with texture (crispy wild rice crust) and flavor (rehydrated cherries with fresh strawberries for the filling).

Normally we’d cook meat or fish with the rice so the flavors mingle, but because shrimp cook so fast, we like to pan-fry them and toss with the rice at the very end. 

All the flavors of Eastern European cabbage rolls, but without the rolling. 

This one-pot meal is cozier than your favorite bathrobe, with fragrant basmati rice, tender chicken, warm spices, and coconut milk.

This is one of those times when just a few ingredients pay out big, resulting in a rice dish that bursts with garlic flavor.

Grate your tofu on a box-grater (it works!) and the rest of this satisfying lunch bowl is only minutes away.

Dry vermicelli is toasted in lots of butter to create extra nutty flavor and richness, a method used in pilaf traditions across communities.

To get the best texture, evenly distribute the rice in your pan and gently press down to flatten it. Don’t touch until you hear it crackle!

Crispy tofu cubes get tossed in a sweet and savory glaze that hits all the umami notes.

Wrapping a whole snapper in banana leaves keeps the fish super moist—and turns the dish into a total showstopper.

This tahdig is dressed up with cranberries and woody herbs for a Thanksgiving-y, festive feel.

Chitra Agrawal took flavor inspiration for this simple dish from her mother’s home state of Karnataka in South India, where thuppa means “ghee” and anna means “rice” in Kannada, the local language.

This Persian rice dish, known as kateh gojeh farangi, is the ideal late summer comfort food. The cinnamon tames the natural acidity of tomatoes, creating a sweet-savory aroma and flavor.