Rice/8 recipes

Mrs. Claus' cookies are a holiday drop cookie loaded with chopped figs, currants, walnuts, and crisp rice cereal, subtly spiced with mace. Vintage Christmas cookie tin charm in every bite.

Chinese shrimp balls (pai chiao hsia chiu) rolled in stale bread cubes and double-fried until shatteringly crisp. Served with Sichuan pepper-salt dip. 30 pieces.

Wild rice casserole with earthy mushrooms, onion, and garlic baked slowly in vegetable broth. A five-ingredient, hands-off side dish or vegetarian main with deep nutty flavor.

Thai sweet rice cakes (khanom tom) stuffed with yellow mung beans, coated in coconut and sesame sugar. Chewy, sweet-savory dumplings with a unique double-coating finish.

Gluten-free crusty corn flatbread made with rice flour, corn flour, and xanthan gum. A yeasted bread with a diamond-scored crust that's golden, crispy outside and soft inside.

Homemade gochujang (Korean hot sauce) fermented from meju, glutinous rice flour, barley malt, chili powder, and salt. A traditional month-long fermentation project that yields 4 gallons.

Baked plantain loaf from Ivory Coast made with mashed ripe plantains, rice flour, chilli sambal, and turmeric. A gluten-free West African side dish served with salted peanuts.

Polynesian tuna in a sweet pineapple sauce with pineapple chunks, served over fluffy rice and topped with flaked coconut and slivered almonds. A retro tropical weeknight dinner.

Mexican rice with ground beef, salsa, Mexicorn, and melted Monterey Jack. One skillet, seven ingredients, ready in 35 minutes. Weeknight-fast Tex-Mex dinner.

Crockpot Chicken and Rice recipe

Microwave orange chicken roulade with cinnamon-rice stuffing, finished with a glossy orange juice sauce and broken walnuts. A 30-minute dinner that looks dinner-party fancy.

Grilled sweet and sour halibut with a brown sugar-ginger glaze, charred bell peppers, and scallions. A light, flavorful fish dinner ready in 30 minutes.

No-bake date nut logs rolled in flaked coconut with crisp rice cereal and pecans. A retro Southern candy that cooks in one saucepan and shapes in minutes.

Cantaloupe halves stuffed with sauteed carrots, green apple, raisins, rice, lemon zest, and topped with browned pine nuts. A sweet-savory baked melon dish with Middle Eastern flair.

Homemade yogurt using a microwave with just skim milk and a spoonful of active yogurt as starter. A three-ingredient method that needs no special equipment beyond a microwave.

Chicken breast stir-fried with celery, carrots, and onions in garlic broth, tossed with fluffy rice and soy sauce. A no-fuss homestyle fried rice the whole family will eat.