Easy Garlic Rice with Toasted Vermicelli

Plain rice is perfectly fine when you’ve got a really flavoursome curry or sauce to go with it, but sometimes I fancy making the rice a bit more interesting too. This easy garlic rice doesn’t require much extra effort, but the combination of fresh garlic and toasted vermicelli gives it so much more flavour and texture.

It takes around 30 minutes from start to finish and most of that time is simply leaving the rice to cook. I use basmati rice, plenty of fresh garlic and a little vermicelli, which is toasted in the pan before the rice and water are added.

It’s lovely alongside curry, but don’t think you have to save it exclusively for Indian-inspired food. I’ve served flavoured rice with all sorts over the years, and this would be just as useful alongside a Chinese fakeaway, grilled vegetables or whatever else you’ve decided is dinner.

What you need to make garlic rice

The ingredient list is pleasantly short. You’ll need basmati rice, water, vermicelli, fresh garlic, a little oil and salt, with parsley or coriander if you fancy adding something green at the end.

The garlic is obviously fairly important here — the clue is rather in the name! I use between four and six large cloves, or six to eight smaller ones. If you’re one of those people who automatically doubles the garlic in every recipe, I’m certainly not going to stop you, although I’d make it as written once before getting too enthusiastic.

Basmati is my choice of rice for this recipe because I like the long, separate grains, but the way you cook it matters just as much as the variety you buy.

Why is there vermicelli in the rice?

The vermicelli might look like an odd ingredient if you’ve never cooked rice this way before, but I really like what it adds.

Before any water goes into the pan, the vermicelli is cooked with the garlic until it starts becoming golden. That little bit of toasting adds extra flavour and means you get the occasional different texture amongst the rice rather than every mouthful being exactly the same.

You don’t need much — just ⅓ cup for the whole recipe.

If you’ve bought vermicelli especially for this and are wondering what you’ll do with the rest of the packet, don’t panic. It keeps well in the cupboard, so you can simply make the garlic rice again rather than inventing a week’s worth of vermicelli-based dinners!

Rinse the rice before you start

I rinse the basmati rice thoroughly before cooking it. Put it into a bowl or sieve and rinse it several times until the water is much clearer rather than very cloudy.

You’re washing away some of the loose surface starch, which helps the cooked grains remain more separate rather than turning into one sticky lump.

This is one of those little jobs I used to wonder whether recipes really needed, but it doesn’t take long and I do think it makes a difference.

If rice regularly causes you grief, have a read of my guide to cooking rice as well. Once you’ve found a method that works for you, rice becomes a much less irritating part of dinner.

Toasting the garlic and vermicelli

Heat a little oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat, then add the crushed garlic.

It only needs about 30 seconds initially. Garlic can go from smelling amazing to burnt and bitter surprisingly quickly, so this isn’t the moment to wander away and start emptying the dishwasher.

Add the vermicelli and cook it with the garlic for another three or four minutes until the vermicelli and garlic are becoming golden.

Keep everything moving and watch the heat. You’re looking for golden and toasted, not dark brown and regrettable!

Cooking the garlic rice

Once the garlic and vermicelli are ready, add the thoroughly rinsed basmati rice, water and salt and stir everything together.

Bring the pan up to the boil without the lid on. Once the water is bubbling, turn the heat right down to low, put the lid on and leave the rice to cook for around 16–18 minutes.

Try not to keep lifting the lid. I know it’s tempting when you can’t see what’s happening in there, but every time you take it off you’re letting out the steam that’s cooking the rice.

Once it’s cooked, remove it from the heat and gently fluff the rice rather than aggressively stirring it into submission.

Add some chopped parsley or coriander if you fancy it and serve while it’s warm.

What to serve with garlic rice

This is where garlic rice earns its keep because it goes with far more than one particular recipe.

If you’re having curry, it would work beautifully with chicken jalfrezi, chicken bhuna or easy chicken tikka masala. For something meat-free, try it with cauliflower and chickpea curry, one-pot chickpea curry or one of my other vegetarian curry recipes.

You could add some air fryer onion bhajis and make a proper curry night of it, although there is absolutely nothing wrong with serving one curry and some rice and deciding you’ve cooked quite enough.

My main curry recipes collection has plenty more ideas if you’ve got the rice sorted but haven’t actually decided what you’re serving with it yet.

Can I make garlic rice without vermicelli?

You can make garlic rice without vermicelli, but it won’t be quite the same recipe because the toasted pasta is part of what gives this version its character.

If you’ve simply run out, I’d rather leave it out than substitute a completely different pasta shape and pretend nothing has changed. Something like orzo is considerably larger and won’t necessarily cook in exactly the same way.

If you particularly want to experiment with another pasta, I’d treat that as an experiment rather than a guaranteed straight swap.

Can I add vegetables?

You can, although I’d be careful about adding lots of vegetables directly to the pan because they’ll change the amount of moisture and the way the rice cooks.

Peas would be one of the easiest additions because you could stir cooked peas through towards the end without interfering much with the rice itself.

If what you’re actually after is rice with plenty of vegetables already cooked into it, my easy vegetable biryani would be a better choice. That recipe has potato, carrots and green beans cooked with the basmati rice and spices, so it’s designed around those extra ingredients from the beginning.

Can I use brown rice instead?

I wouldn’t give a simple yes and tell you to follow this garlic rice recipe exactly.

Brown rice usually needs a different cooking time and potentially a different amount of liquid, so swapping it directly for the basmati could leave you with undercooked rice or far too much water still in the pan.

If you want to try it, I’d use the cooking instructions for your particular brown rice as the starting point rather than assuming the timings here will work.

Storing leftover garlic rice

Cooked rice is something worth being a little more organised about rather than leaving the saucepan sitting on the hob for half the evening.

If you have leftovers, cool them quickly and refrigerate them promptly. When you’re ready to eat the rice again, reheat it until it is steaming hot throughout and only reheat it once.

The Food Standards Agency has useful guidance on storing and reheating rice if you’re unsure, and I’d much rather follow that than some of the strange myths that float around online about never being allowed to reheat rice at all.

More easy rice and curry recipes

If you’re bored of plain rice, have a browse through my rice recipes because there are plenty of other ways to make it more interesting.

For a whole meal in one pan, my easy vegetable biryani is a good one to try, while this garlic rice is better when you already have something saucy to serve alongside it.

And if it’s curry night you’re planning, head over to my curry recipes collection. After working on all these curry recipes, I think I could probably organise an entire buffet without leaving Just Average Jen now!

Step-by-Step Garlic Rice Instructions with Pictures

Wash your rice at least 5 times, or until the water is no longer cloudy anymore.

Crush your garlic.

In a medium-sized pot, over medium heat, heat some oil or cooking spray. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant.

Add the vermicelli and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, or until the garlic and vermicelli are golden brown.

Add your washed rice to the pot, then the water and salt. Stir until well combined.

Bring the pot with rice to high heat without a lid, until the water starts bubbling.

Then bring the heat all the way down to low, cover with a lid and let it cook for 16-18 minutes.

Remove from the hob and stir the rice.

Enjoy your garlic rice while it is warm. You can garnish it with some fresh coriander or parsley, but that is optional.

Print

If you found this helpful please share!