I was talking with a friend recently who was so excited to be finally getting stove in the house that he’s been remodeling and living in. So I asked, “What is the first thing you’re going to cook?” “Rice. Lots of rice.” he replied. Of course. It’s so easy to take simple food for granted. I love simple food because it’s easy to make and subtle flavors are not lost in complicated cooking processes or long ingredient lists.
So, I decided to go back to my roots for this one and prepare a simple yet filling bowl of Yellow Jasmine Rice, quick sauteed spinach, and a hearty egg. It’s awesome. The yellow jasmine rice really makes this recipe special. It’s one of my favorite recipes and I’m happy to be able to use it in a new way.
To make this recipe last throughout the week, I filled single serving containers with the cooked rice, added a scoop of the sauteed spinach and either cooked an egg fresh when I was ready to eat, or I pre-fried an egg and just reheated it all together in the microwave. The reheated bowls that had a pre-cooked egg didn’t have that nice runny yolk that almost acts as a creamy sauce, but they were still delish.
Golden Rice Bowls
golden rice bowls
Servings 6Ingredients
RICE
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.15)
- 1 small yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 cups uncooked jasmine rice ($0.88)
- 1 tsp turmeric ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.03)
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon ($0.02)
- 1 whole bay leaf ($0.15)
- 3 cups chicken broth* ($0.27)
SAUTEED SPINACH
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 16 oz bag spinach ($3.49)
- to taste salt and pepper ($0.05)
OTHER
- 6 large eggs ($1.35)
TOTAL $7.40
Instructions
- Begin the rice first because it will take the longest to cook. Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Saute onion and garlic with butter in a medium pot over medium-low heat until the onions are soft and transparent (3-5 minutes). Add the dry rice, turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon. Stir and cook these ingredients for about 3 minutes more to toast the dry rice and spices. You should hear it crackling a little as it cooks. Make sure to stir often so that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the chicken broth and bay leaf to the pot. Place a lid on top and turn the heat up to high. Let the pot come up to a full rolling boil and then turn the heat down to low. Let the pot simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let the pot sit for an additional 20 minutes without removing the lid or stirring the pot. After the final 20 minutes, fluff the rice with a fork.
- When the rice is close to being done, prepare the sauteed spinach. Mince a clove of garlic and add it to a very large pot along with the olive oil. Saute the garlic for 1-2 minutes over medium heat, or just until becomes soft and fragrant. Add the fresh spinach and saute for about 3 minutes, or just until the spinach has wilted. Season the spinach with salt and pepper to taste. Fry six eggs.
- To serve, add about one cup of warm rice to a bowl, add 1/2 cup of the sauteed spinach, and then top it off with a fried egg. Hot sauce adds a nice kick to this dish, too.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Don’t act like you didn’t see the sriracha coming…
Step By Step Photos
Star with a diced onion and some minced garlic in a medium pot with butter. Saute these ingredients for a few minutes over medium-low heat until the onions are soft and transparent.
Then add the dry rice, turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon.
Stir and cook these ingredients for a few minutes before adding any liquid. This will toast the rice and the spices, which adds more flavor. You should hear the rice crackling and popping a little. Make sure to keep stirring so that it doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pot.
Finally, add the broth and bay leaf. Put a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to high, and let the pot come up to a full boil. As soon as it reaches a full boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer with the lid in place for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit, without removing the lid or stirring, for an additional 20 minutes.
After sitting for 20 minutes with the heat turned off, lift the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.
When the rice is close to finished cooking, start the spinach. Mince a couple more cloves of garlic and saute them in olive oil for 1-2 minutes, or until it just becomes soft and very fragrant. You’ll want to use a very large pot so that you can stir the spinach without it spilling out all over.
I used a large 16 ounce bag of spinach. These large bags of “cooking spinach” are usually a much better deal than the small salad sized bags of spinach. This huge bag will cook down to just a few cups.
Add the fresh spinach to the pot with the garlic and olive oil. Stir and cook for a few minutes or until the spinach is fully wilted. This happens pretty fast. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Fry up six eggs (or soft boil them) and then build your bowls. 1 cup rice, about a 1/2 cup of spinach and one perfect egg.
In my house where there are eggs there is sriracha!
Perfect for a easy meal! I love it with lots of sriracha!!
Just made this for dinner, and it was delicious! The rice totally makes the dish, with its fragrant spices and luscious flavour. I cooked my rice in the rice cooker, and it came out perfect. Definitely make sure the egg yolk is runny, and then break it into the rice. Siracha is the cherry on top in this perfect dish!
Did you wash the rice before adding it to the onions? If so, wouldn’t the residual water stop the rice from “crackling”?
I don’t think I did this time, but I have before. It just takes a little longer for the rice to start crackling because the water has to evaporate away. Just drain is as good as possible first.
I made this for breakfast and it was a great choice. I used a boxed rice (chicken and garlic flavored) because I’ve never bought my own rice before, but now that I’ve read through a lot of the recipes here, I am going to start! I still added the turmeric and cumin (and extra garlic because I am a garlic fanatic) and I thought it tasted pretty good, even though I was a little leery b/c I’m generally not a huge fan of Indian food and flavors (which I think this mimics? I could be wrong). I am going to try more of those flavors and give it a fair chance, though. :) I used frozen peas and just added them to the rice because I didn’t have any spinach (it’s not my favorite thing). With a slightly runny egg on top, this was super filling and I wasn’t even hungry again until many hours later!
Hey, I just happened to stumble on to your blog, and I have to say…lots of great recipes! I’ve already bookmarked a few to try!
This particular recipe seems to have a very Indian flavour profile. My mom makes something very similar, but with basmati instead of Jasmine rice. Spinach with garlic is another thing we commonly eat as a side with rice. The egg is different, I can’t wait to try it. And of course love sriracha! Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe :)
So good! Just finished making it for the hubby and me and we absolutely loved it! Trying to stick it out until pay day ha so this was the perfect, inexpensive (yet filling) meal. Thanks!
Would brown rice work even though it takes longer to cook?
It should, although I would try to find brown jasmine rice if you can. Jasmine rice has a very unique flavor that really brings this all together. I’ve seen brown jasmine rice in the bulk bins at some grocery stores, so try to find it there. And, make sure to adjust the cooking time, as you mentioned :)
We eat this all the time in Peru when you are in a jam to find something to eat, all except the yellow part!
Made this for dinner last night and had leftovers for lunch today! This was SO GOOD! Will definitely be adding it to our usual line-up of recipes! Thanks Beth!
Can you make rice like this in a rice cooker? I’m so bad at making rice on the stovetop!
I’m pretty sure you can! It’s the same cooking mechanism, except it’s automatic. So it should work just fine :) Just saute the onions and spices first.
This was amazing, although I admit I am a lover of all things rice/pasta/carb! I had less spinach than I thought so I added some sauteed kale with garlic and it was yummy!!
It was so good I am seriously considering making it again tonight!
A few pointers – definitely add sriracha at the end and even though I usually don’t like sunny side up fried eggs, leave the yolk runny and let it stir in with the rice! It makes a great flavorful “sauce!”
Can I freeze this recipe in portions to bring to work?
Yes, you can. The egg will cook further upon reheating, so just make sure to not cook it until hard the first time around.
Making a list of ingredients I need. Looks soooo good. Can’t wait to try it!!!
Hi Beth!
This looks soooo good! Making it tonight for myself & my vegetarian daughter. :) We love your recipes! Many thanks!
Any suggestions for a turmeric substitute? maybe a mix of ground mustard, ginger, and nutmeg? Making this for dinner tonight! :)
Hmm, turmeric is the backbone of the flavor profile, so to replace it would be sort of like changing the entire recipe. I’ve never tried mustard with ginger and nutmeg, but I always encourage people to experiment! You can also try substituting with garam masala or curry powder, although sometimes those have turmeric in them.