Chrysanthemum Tea Rice

Dried chrysanthemums are fast becoming one of my favourite ingredients to have around the home. It adds a nice aroma to food, like this chrysanthemum tea rice I made the other day. Imagine a delicate fragrant version of cooked rice - that's how I would describe this.

Chrysanthemum Tea Rice

I was making a meat and vegetables curry for dinner one evening and it got me thinking about the kind of rice dish I could pair it with. Nasi kunyit (turmeric rice/yellow rice) came to mind, but I was itching for something milder that had less to do with the smell of strong herbs and spices. Since I had dried chrysanthemums on hand, it seemed only natural to try it out. That's how this came about.

The rice turned out really lovely, with a light inviting aroma of chrysanthemum.

If you're whipping up dinner for friends, this rice would add a little oomph to the whole meal. The best thing about it is that it's really easy to make! Do I hear hoorays?

Here's how I did it. The basics - instead of cooking rice with plain water, use chrysanthemum water!

Chrysanthemum Tea Rice
Ingredients:
- 2 rice cups white rice (rinsed)
- 2¼ cups cooled chrysanthemum tea (quantity will differ depending on rice type/follow rice cooker instructions) *
- ¼ cup golden raisins

*To make the chrysanthemum tea.
- Steep ½ cup dried chrysanthemums in 3 cups hot water (covered) for 10 minutes or so.
- Use a strainer to separate the water from the rehydrated chrysanthemums. Leave the water aside to cool. Use only what you need to cook the rice. 
Note: Don't waste the chrysanthemums. Reuse it (steep it in hot water again) to make drinks, a dessert or ...

How-to:
1) I use a nonstick electric rice cooker. Rinse white rice as you usually would with water. Drain the water away from the rice pot.
2) Pour in the cooled chrysanthemum tea. Cook as usual.
3) Once the rice is cooked, stir the raisins in and serve!

1) Dried Chrysanthemum Flowers. 2) Dried Chrysanthemums steeped in hot water.
3) Rinsed white rice. 4) Add cooled chrysanthemum tea.
5) A nice shade of yellow. Cook according to electric rice cooker instructions
as you would normally do with plain water..
6) Cooked chrysanthemum tea rice.

Stir the Raisins into the Cooked Chrysanthemum Tea Rice

Chrysanthemum Tea Rice - Serve!

Best eaten with whatever you fancy. But in my personal opinion, this is brilliant with meat satay and peanut sauce, good with herbal pork dishes with thick gravy and just alright with curry.

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This post is linked to Little Thumbs Up - Feb 2016 which is organised by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen from My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Sweet Home-Chefs.