Summer Vegetable Bibimbap
Chef Ji Hye Kim's bibimbap technique centers on cooking vegetables simply to showcase and preserve their natural colors and flavors. A 2021 F&W Best New Chef, Kim prepares each separately: salting and sautéing sturdy vegetables like squash and eggplant and blanching leafy greens. A robust yak gochujang, a sauce made with ground beef and Korean chile paste, gives the dish a sensational level of umami. For a quick and satisfying weeknight dinner, make the bibimbap toppings ahead of time, and then add them—and, if you like, a sunny-side-up egg—to freshly cooked rice, then stir them all together, and enjoy.
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Black Rice Salad with Cherries and Plums
Fresh plums and cherries add pops of juicy sweetness to this hearty summer salad. Black rice gives the dish a dark, moody hue and an extra textural bite. The salad builds to a delicious crescendo with its finishing touch: crunchy, craggy, blue cheese–infused breadcrumbs, which provide a lovely textural reprieve to the chewy rice and fruit.
Louisiana Red Beans and Rice
"Everyone with roots in southern Louisiana, where red beans and rice is a staple, thinks that their mom makes the best version," says2019 F&W Best New ChefKwame Onwuachi. "But I'm the only one who's right. Growing up, my mom used this recipe as a base, sometimes adding in smoked turkey necks or smoked, spiced, and cured tasso ham, in addition to the ham hocks and andouille sausage that impart their smoke, fat, and spice to the Holy Trinity (celery, bell peppers, and onions) and, of course, the sturdy red kidney beans." To read more about how Onwuachi takes inspiration from Louisiana foodways, and for more great Southern recipes like this, see his story, "In Her Footsteps."
Perfectly Steamed Rice
Here,Kwame Onwuachishares his top tip for making the best steamed rice. "The secret to perfectly steamed rice lies in toasting the grains before they go into the water," he says. "This gives them a wonderful nutty flavor that carries through and is augmented by stock and aromatics. It isn't strictly necessary, of course, but once you start toasting, you'll never go back to straight steaming again."
Wild Rice Salad with Ciabatta Croutons
Starring hearty wild rice and toasty ciabatta croutons, this satisfying side dish comes together entirely on the stovetop, freeing up oven space. Bread and wild rice carry this dressing-meets-salad mash-up, but it's the flavorful additions that steal the show, namely salty pancetta, crunchy pine nuts, buttery olives, and plenty of fresh parsley.
