Dirty Rice

This Dirty Rice post is sponsored by Muir Glen and Kroger. All opinions are my own.

I grew up eating dirty rice at family gatherings when I was a little kid. I remember seeing a very dark brown rice dish that, to be completely honest, didn’t look that appetizing. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I remember trying dirty rice and it really stuck with me. You know when you try a dish and your eyes widen and your mouth tingles. You know deep down that you have to make it again for yourself. That’s what happened to me. Interestingly enough, that was before I was vegan. I can still remember it to this day: piping hot, fluffy rice that was bursting with savoriness and spice with a deep flavor of green bell peppers, onion, and celery.

A few years later, after going vegan, I remembered the dish and decided to take a whack at it. The first time, it was good- more like a fried rice if you ask me. It didn’t have that dark brown look and the flavor wasn’t quite as pungent as what I remembered. But hey, if you put a bowl of rice in front of me I’m going to eat it. Over the years, I kept making the recipe and each time if became better and better.

CREATING DEPTH OF FLAVOR

Now that I’ve been vegan for over 10 years, I’ve learned a thing or two. Ok, I’ve learned a lot more than that! Most importantly, I’ve learned how to recreate depth of flavor in traditional recipes that use animal products by using amazing plant-based ingredients. (I actually wrote a whole cookbook about it.) Sometimes in vegan cooking, it takes a little bit more seasonings than you would think. Sometimes it takes a few extra secret ingredients to work in a collective way to make a successful dish. This recipe is the perfect example of that.

KEY INGREDIENTS FOR DIRTY RICE

In traditional dirty rice, the dark color comes from browning chicken liver or gizzards. I’m going to take a collective vote here and say let’s not use those two items. Instead, why not say, tofu? Go ahead and roll your eyes but if you were to simply google what ‘gizzards’ are, I think you might reconsider. Anyways, I’m not trying to get political here, I’m just saying extra-firm, high-protein tofu crumbles and browns beautifully. Especially when you add amazing ingredients like tamari, thyme, sage, oregano, vegan Worcestershire, onions, garlic, celery, green bell peppers, and some good ole’ red wine. You will be left with a dark brown and fantastically flavorful vegan base for dirty rice.

SPICES & SEASONINGS

But there’s a trick to making this dish EXTRA flavorful. A trick that makes this vegan one-pot dirty rice stand on its own two feet in comparison to the traditional dish at any ‘hole in the wall’ southern restaurant. First up, after all of the seasonings and spices are warmed up with the onions, bell pepper and celery, the rice will be toasted. Next, we are going to BLEND some bay leaves, green onion, fresh garlic, water, and, the secret ingredient. Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes all together in a blender creating a flavorful and delicious liquid. In my humble opinion, the acidity and smokiness from the fire roasted tomatoes gives this dish the backbone that it needs. While cooking in the oven, all of the flavor in the liquid and the spices will infuse into each grain of rice. I’m excited just thinking about it.

PLATING THE DIRTY RICE

To finish the dish, after thoroughly cooked, you simply fluff the rice, let sit for 5 minutes and you are ready to serve. I like to garnish with freshly chopped parsley and sliced green onions. I suggest you do the same! If you’re feeling sassy, add some diced red onion for a pop of color but that’s totally optional. Keep scrolling to see a fun way to plate this dish and to read some more about tips and tricks.

Before I share the recipe, let me just take a moment to point out how much I absolutely love Muir Glen’s canned tomatoes. When they reached out to see if I would like to team up with them, I squealed. You see, I have been using their fire roasted tomatoes (diced and crushed) for as long as I can remember. The concentrated flavor of their organic tomatoes with a nice char creates the perfect ingredient for any cook, especially a vegan trying to recreate southern dishes. I use their fire roasted tomatoes in all of my gumbos, most of my soups and stews, and now this vegan one-pot dirty rice. As a native Mississippian and Southern boy, I grew up shopping at Kroger as well, which always stocks Muir Glen’s canned tomatoes. I invite you to shop at your local location and to make this recipe immediately.

RECIPES THAT PAIR WELL WITH THIS DIRTY RICE

Thank you for joining me here today! I hope that you love this gravy as much as I do. If you do try this recipe, please leave a comment and rating below. It greatly helps the success of my site and makes me oh so happy to read. Happy cooking, y’all.

-Timothy