Mince and rice is a budget-friendly food combination that can be used to create a number of tasty dinners. In these mince and rice recipes, they both work well with a variety of different flavours. You could have Mexican one night and a stir-fry the next all using this flavour combo.
Grab yourself a bulk buy bag of rice and a big packet of mince and get meal planning for a varied week of dinners. Whether you would like a fresh and fragrant stir-fry, meaty stuffed capsicums or san choy bau, we have recipes suit all tastes. Plus, we share tips for cooking rice and mince below.
Looking for more mince recipes or more ways to use up that bag of rice? Or try one of these chicken and rice recipes.
Mince & rice stuffed capsicums
Pork mince stir fry with crisp green beans
Chilli con carne
Cabbage rolls
Beef mince and rice burritos
Chicken koftas with fig and seed pilaf
Rice-cooker bibimbap
Sichuan-style gai lan and pork mince
Beef san choy bau
Indian rice pilaf with spiced beef
Mongolian lamb mince with wombok
Curried mince with cabbage and rice
Sweet and sour pork and plumb meatballs
Chilli garlic mince with snake beans
Spicy beef pilaf
Chickpea mince curry
Savoury vegetable mince
Nepalese pork mince curry
Beef keema with cumin and currant pulao
Crispy pork and rice ball salad
Lamb with snake beans
Stir-fried beef and brown rice with carrot and cucumber pickle
Rice moussaka
Tips for cooking mince and rice recipes
How to cook rice
There are several methods for cooking rice, and the best is probably in an electric rice cooker. But if you don’t have one, the stove top absorption method produces the best results.
Start by thoroughly rinsing the rice under cold running water until the water runs clear – at least two to three times. (Basmati rice can be soaked for 30 minutes rather than rinsed.) This washes away the fine coating of powdery starch that is produced by the grains rubbing against each other.
For long-grain rice, bring 1 cup of rice and 1½ cups of water to the boil, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat to medium/low level, cover the saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, and simmer for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stand with the lid still on for 5-10 minutes.
For firmer rice add a little less water; for softer rice, add slightly more water. If cooking large quantities of rice, the amount of water to rice ratio will be reduced.
Rice is ideally cooked to “al dente”, that is, soft but with a slightly firm centre. Pinch a grain between your fingers to test it. To finish, fluff rice with a fork, or use a spatula to slice through the rice rather than stir it so that you don’t mash the rice.
Storing and cooking mince
Raw mince purchased from a butcher can be kept in the fridge for 1-2 days. If buying pre-packaged mince from the supermarket, cook or freeze it by the use-by-date. Minced meat in patties, burgers, meatballs and sausages should all be cooked through and not served rare or pink.
