Rice with Vermicelli

This is very simple to prepare, and always comes out tasty. The best kind of rice to use is either Persian or Basmati rice – it must be long-grain rice. The noodles should be very thin noodles (vermicelli), and they should be short in length; if they are too long, you can always put them in a bag, and pound them once or twice to break them up into smaller pieces. And if you want to skip this step of breaking them up into shorter pieces, that’s also ok.

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons oil (can be olive oil or canola oil)
• 1 1/2 cups vermicelli – thin noodles (broken into small pieces)
• 2 cups of long-grain white rice (Persian rice or Basmati rice), washed and drained well
• 3 1/2 cups boiling water or clear chicken soup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• black pepper
• a touch of sweet paprika (or if you prefer, a few strands of saffran).

Preparation:

1. Wash and drain the rice in strainer, till dry.
2. Pour oil into non-stick pot. Heat.
3. Add the vermicelli noodles, and fry for a few moments, being careful not to burn the noodles; the noodles should be a golden brown color. They brown very quickly, so watch them carefully; it should take about 2-3 minutes maximum.
4. Add the boiling water or chicken soup to the browned noodles. Add salt, pepper and paprika (or saffron).
5. Add the rice which has been strained and dried. Mix lightly.
6. Put cover on pot. ( I usually wrap a clean tea-table around the cover of the pot, tying the corners together, so they don’t get near the flame. The towel absorbs some of the steam, and the rice doesn’t come out soggy). Cook about 15 minutes on low flame.
7. Turn off flame, and allow to stand for another 15 minutes. Serve.