Rice & Grains

There's pastrami. And sauerkraut. But it totally works.

As you’re crisping the rice for this chicken salad recipe, the leeks and carrots may look very dark. Don’t be scared or angry at us; the veggies aren’t burnt, they’re just deeply caramelized and will add lots of flavor to the final dish. Check out step-by-step photos here.

Okay fine, pretty much throw anything over crispy rice and we'd be happy

This is going to seem like a lot of oil, but you really need it to a) crisp up the rice and b) make it seem like fried rice and not a rice pilaf. To that end, you can’t use freshly cooked (meaning, still warm and moist) rice for this recipe. If you do, it will get gummy in the pan and won’t crisp. Day-old rice is ideal, or you can quickly dry out a just-made batch. Spread rice on a sheet tray and put in a low oven 5–10 minutes. Let air-dry for about 1 hour and up to 5. Seems nitpicky, but worth .…

The chefs of Fat Rice school us on all of the combinations (and the essential techniques) necessary to make sure your fried rice is fluffy and delightful, not a soggy, clumpy mess.

It adds umami, lends sweetness, and makes meat more tender. Meet the ingredient of the future: koji

For this carb-on-carb fried rice recipe, you can use anything but boxed stuffing (the texture is too fine and will turn to mush). We chose a cornbread and chorizo stuffing, which can handle being cooked again and tossed in the stir-fry.

This apple pancakes recipe features a serving of whole grains and produce that you get to pour maple syrup over. Yes please!

This crackers recipe features a variety of seeds—the combination of colors and textures is certainly impressive.

Kimchi gives this porridge recipe a spicy twist, while the 6-minute egg keeps it hearty and perfect for breakfast.

Garlic and collard greens make a healthy addition to this porridge recipe, but you can use any leftover greens you have on hand.

A cozy, stick-to-your-ribs porridge that soothes as it nourishes.

For this porridge recipe, pulsing long-cooking spelt, wheat berries, or barley in a blender yields a tasty base for a hearty, savory supper.

When you peel the kabocha squash for this recipe, use a vegetable peeler—not a knife. (Better to dull a $4 tool than your best kitchen blade.)

Sorghum is a gluten-free grain, with a texture similar to wheat berries, barley, and millet—so feel free to substitute those for this chicken recipe instead.

Tarator is usually made with tahini, but the base for this recipe is almonds. It serves as both a binder for the rice cakes and as a sauce.

Sticky rice is worth using for this porridge-y, comforting chicken soup recipe; it releases lots of creamy starches and helps builds nice body as it cooks.

Get a serving of vegetables with this carrot cake oatmeal before you even leave the house!

Makes a batch of rice on Sundays and turn it into speedy fried rice any night of the week.

A little TLC (and a few wildcard ingredients) make this the greatest granola recipe of all time.

Full disclosure: We streamlined and simplified this recipe so that it could be makeable by a home cook. At Baroo, virtually every element on the plate is a product of painstaking labor and time; to taste the original from chef Kwang Uh, get thee to Los Angeles.

Like cheesy grits. Really, really, really, really cheesy grits. This recipe, which puts a southern twist (that’s the grits, y’all) on very French aligot (mashed potatoes blended with melted cheese), is from Buxton Hall, one of the Hot 10, America's Best New Restaurants 2016.

A Filipino comfort food that’s traditionally made with chewy rice dumplings. The one served at Bad Saint, made with black rice, has an amazing color, addictively chewy texture, and earthy flavor to balances the sweetness.

At Staplehouse, they use Anson Mills’ farro piccolo for this dish, and you can order that online. Unpearled farro, though, will be very similar, and if you see grains labeled einkorn, use that.