Bill Granger recipes: Our chef turns his stash of rice into a base for exciting dishes

Rice might be a humdrum pantry staple, but add some fresh ingredients and you have all the elements of an exciting meal

Bibimbap is a Korean mixed-rice dish (Laura Edwards )

I don't like massive food larders. Rather than feel compelled to work through the contents of cupboards spilling out with dry ingredients, I'd much rather stop by the shops on my way home to pick up ingredients for dinner.

Having said that, I do seem to have a stash of rice at home – basmati, jasmine, risotto, sushi, brown… Whichever gastronomic direction my mood takes me, I'm covered. Though, as yet, I've never gone as far as buying one of those enormous sacks of rice you see in Asian markets.

Brown rice seems to have become our go-to rice of the moment. Not out of any particular sense of worthiness but mostly because I love its nuttiness. It takes longer to cook, so I like to double up the quantities and enjoy it two nights running, or pop some in the freezer.

As for sushi rice, I'm constantly playing with the idea of buying one of those rice cookers. Part of me feels it could be just another gadget, but then, I don't think I've ever seen a Japanese house without one, and you can't really argue with that…

Bill's restaurant, Granger & Co, is at 175 Westbourne Grove, London W11, tel: 020 7229 9111, and 50 Sekforde Street, London EC1, tel: 020 7251 9032, grangerandco.com. Follow Bill on Instagram at bill.granger

Bibimbap

This Korean mixed-rice dish is the kind of food I like to grab when I'm out and in a hurry instead of a sandwich or sushi. The spicy sauce does it for me. Just pour some on, mix it all up and enjoy.

Serves 4

1 tbsp sesame oil
1½ tbsp soy sauce
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
300g baby spinach
150g beansprouts
2 spring onions, finely sliced
2 tbsp light-flavoured oil
100g shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 carrot, cut into thin strips
4 eggs
600g steamed brown rice

For the spicy sauce

4 tbsp gochujang (Korean hot red-pepper paste)
2 tbsp rice-wine vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tbsp sesame oil

To make the spicy sauce, whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside until needed.

Now prepare the vegetables (keeping each component separate). Mix the sesame oil, soy, garlic and sesame seeds in a small bowl then set aside.

Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the spinach and a splash of water and cook until just wilting, then pour in half the sesame oil-and-soy dressing. Stir briefly and set aside on a plate.

Repeat this process with the beansprouts, adding the spring onions together with the dressing, and set aside.

Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, heat half the oil and add the mushrooms with a good pinch of salt and pepper and fry for 2 minutes until cooked, then set aside.

Add the carrot and cook for 1 minute with a splash of water, and set aside.

Heat the remaining oil and break in 2 eggs on either side of the pan. Fry for 2 minutes or until the whites have just started to bubble but the yolk is still runny. Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining eggs.

To serve, place a portion of the steamed rice in four bowls and top with the spinach, beansprouts, mushrooms, carrots and a fried egg. Spoon on the chilli sauce and serve immediately.

Chicken fried rice

This is a hybrid between stir-fried rice I've eaten in Bangkok and in Vietnamese restaurants in Australia. For the best results, use day-old rice that has been chilled.

Serves 4

2 tbsp light-flavoured oil
200g skinned chicken breast, sliced
2 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
600g cooked jasmine rice, cooled
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Large handful beansprouts
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp caster sugar
Juice ½ lime, plus extra lime wedges to serve To serve
8 spring onions, finely sliced
Small handful coriander leaves
1 red chilli, sliced into thin strips

Hybrid dish: Bill's chicken fried rice (Laura Edwards)

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok or large frying pan over a high heat. Add the chicken, season lightly with salt and black pepper. Stir-fry till just cooked. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the remaining oil, anchovies and garlic to the pan. Stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the rice and chicken and toss to coat. Season the eggs with salt and pepper. Push the rice to the side of the pan, add the eggs and as soon as they start to set, mix with the rice. Add the beansprouts, fish sauce, sugar and lime. Toss well.

Serve topped with spring onions, coriander and chilli, with lime wedges on the side.

Japanese rice buns with salmon

In Japan you pick these up from convenience stores to put in your lunchbox. Traditionally they come completely wrapped in nori, but this can be fiddly to do and the nori quickly goes soggy. Rather than forgoing it completely, I'm using the nori as a tasty napkin to stop the rice from sticking to your hands.

Makes 10

450g sushi rice
3 tbsp furikake seasoning
250g skinned salmon fillets
1 tsp light soy sauce
½ tbsp mirin
½ tsp caster sugar
3 nori sheets, cut into 3cm strips

Perfect for lunchboxes: Japanese rice buns with salmon (Laura Edwards)

Wash the rice until the water looks clear. Place in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and pour in 600ml of water. Bring to the boil over a high heat, then cover with a tight-fitting lid and reduce the heat to as low as possible. Cook for 12 minutes.

Remove from the heat and leave in the closed pan for another 10 minutes. Remove the lid and stir with a wooden spoon. Leave to cool. When it's almost at room temperature, gently fold in the furikake seasoning.

To cook the salmon, place it in a large bowl and pour in boiling water from the kettle, until the salmon is completely submerged. Cover with cling film and set aside for 10 minutes to poach. Drain the fish and flake it. Combine the soy, mirin and sugar then fold through the salmon.

Wet your hands and scoop up a small handful of the rice. Shape it into a ball with your hands then flatten it between the palms of your hands.

Place a small spoonful of the salmon filling into the centre of the rice, and gently close your hand, wrapping the rice around the filling. Shape into a firm ball again then flatten to make a triangle. Repeat with the remaining rice and filling.

Just before serving, wrap the nori around one side of the rice triangles.

Food stylist: Marina Filippelli; Props merchandising: Rachel Jukes