Turkish Rice Pilaf With Vermicelli: The Most Detailed Recipe Ever

Turkish rice pilaf with vermicelli recipe is one of the most requested recipes in my entourage.

It’s very popular and demanded in Turkey both in families and restaurants.

In Turkey, we call it “şehriyeli pilav” and it’s considered a “must have” in almost every eating occasion.

As you know, Turkish rice pilaf is the superstar of Turkish cuisine and it has hundreds of versions.

This vermicelli Turkish rice is one of the most delicious and appetizing versions.

Rice pilaf with vermicelli is like a joker side dish; it’s the perfect match side dish for meat, chicken, sea food and vegetables.

When you go to a restaurant in Turkey, almost every chef advises you to consume your meal with Turkish rice pilaf.

It looks simple and easy for the rice cookers and it is in fact.

But there are some tiny tips and  trics to obtain the best version of  traditional Turkish rice pilaf with vermicelli.

For the beginners, this traditional and original recipe may look a bit difficult and demanding.

But with practice and time you can easily become the master of Turkish rice pilafs. 

We never get tired of consuming it with family and friends.

I hope you will like my recipe and cook frequently for yourself and for your loved-ones.

So today I wanted to share with you this amazing rice pilaf recipe with vermicelli without hiding any small secrets!

I will explain every detail as if we were chatting in my kitchen.

So that even if you’re a first-timer in cooking rice you get the amazing result. 👌

So, if you’re ready let’s get started together. 👇

LIFE SAVING TIPS FOR TURKISH RICE WITH VERMICELLI

PIN THIS TURKISH VERMICELLI RICE PILAF RECIPE TO SAVE IT FOR LATER! 👇👇👇

original-turkish-rice-pilaf-recipe-with-vermicelli

1.Your choice of rice type affects so much the result that you will obtain.

For the best Turkish rice pilaf, I always use Turkish “BALDO ” type rice.

It’s middle-sized grained, extremely tasty and flavorful.

If you can’t find it, you may use Basmati type rice or Osmancık type rice as well.

Attention: This recipe is the original and traditional Turkish rice with vermicelli recipe.

When  cooking the rice and vermicelli  our aim is to obtain the needed original grainy texture.

So the Jasmine type rice would not be a good choice for this recipe.

Because Jasmine rice type Turkish pilaf has a different cooking style than the traditional cooking style.

It’s too thin and fragranced for the traditional recipe that I prepare for you in this post.

2. Your cookware preference would help you so much to reach the wished result for a Turkish rice pilaf.

When cooking Turkish rice pilaf with vermicelli always go for a saucepan with sloped sides or a cast iron with translucent lid.

So that you may controle the texture of the rice while cooking without opening the saucepan lid.

They maintain the in-pot temperature better and your rice grains get cooked without being burned or getting dry. 👍

3. When cooking the Turkish rice pilaf, I advise to prefer always a wooden spoon.👌

If not, while cooking all your rice would get easily broken.

I always go for a “middle-sized wooden spoon” in order to better controle over the rice grains.

If too small or too big, you would have difficulties to give direction to the rice grains within the pot when cooking.

4. Starch removing step is crucial.

If you skip this step or you don’t give enough time, the rice would come out mushy😒

This step is the indispensable phase of the traditional Turkish rice pilaf.

5. Your rice pilaf with vermicelli should be jet-white when cooked and not yellowish.

The butter is an ingrediant which gets easily burned and burned butter would make your rice yellowish.

Please kindly consider the order of steps that I share below to obtain grainy and jet-white vermicelli rice pilaf.

6. I advise to give enough time to rice grains for the drainage.

The plenty water should be totally gone with starch and the grains of rice should not be too wet.

If you start cooking the rice just right after washing them ( if you skip the drainage time) the rice would be still too wet and watery.

Too watery rice would come out as mushy pilaf at the end.

Please consider applying all the steps as I share below to get the ideal result.

I know, at first it looks like too detailed but believe me, it’s worth all the effort and patience. 😉👍

STEP-BY-STEP TURKISH VERMICELLI RICE COOKING JOURNEY

step 1 Starch Removal

• Place 1 cup of  Baldo rice into a plate.
• Add 2 tbs of salt on the rice.
• Cover the rice with plenty of water in room temperature (avoid hot water, if not, your rice grains will be semi-cooked and will come out sticky)
• Add 4-5 drops of lemon (this step will help the rice to be solid and jet-white when cooking)👌👍
• Stir the water, rice, salt and lemon with a spoon.
• Let it rest during 20 minutes.

Step 2 Drainage of the Rice

• After 20 minutes of rest, pour the rice grains into a strainer.
• Wash them thouroughly under flowing cold water without touching them during 2 minutes.

If you touch them with your fingers while washing they may get broken.

• Place a bigger pot under strainer.
• Let the rice starch drain completely in the strainer during 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, shake the strainer continiously to be sure that any water or starch drop falls.

You will see that all the final starch has gone and your rice grains have now been ready for the cooking step.

ATTENTION: Only washing the rice is not enough to remove all the starch.

If you skip the draining time in the strainer, you can not remove all the starch and your Turkish rice would become a risotto.

Again, starting to cook the rice just after the washing step would cause sticky rice in the final.

The rice grains should be semi-dried and the starch should be completely gone during those 10 minutes of time.

So, not cooking the rice, but the “pre-cooking preparation steps” would bring you the most successfull Turkish rice pilaf.

STEP 3 Cooking The Vermicelli

The vermicelli is an easily getting burned ingredient.

My vermicelli has been cooked in 3 minutes.

Cooking times may vary according to your vermicelli brand.

So please kindly consider the golden brown color in the photo above.

Put 1 tbs of olive oil in the saucepan, add 2 tbs of vermicelli and cook with the wooden spoon during 2,5-3 minutes on medium heat.

When ready, the vermicelli’s color should be turned golden brown just like in the visual above.

This color tells you that it’s time to add rice now in the saucepan.

STEP4 Cooking The Rice

• Add the drained and dried rice in the saucepan.
• Add 1 tbs of butter.
• Cook the rice during 5 minutes patiently and continiously with circular motions on medium heat.
• While cooking add 2 tea spoon of salt.
• Add 1 tea spoon of white sugar.

STEP 5 Water Adding

• Cook the rice for  5 minutes.
• Add  1 cup of  boiled water, stir gently 2-3 times and wait until it gets boiled.

(no saucepan lid in this step)

STEP 6 Letting The Rice Cook Itself

• When boiled, immediately decrease the heat to minimum.
• Stir 2-3 times and close the saucepan lid.
• Let it cook for 12 minutes.
• Never open the lid during those 12 minutes.
• (If you do this even just once, the in-saucepan temperature immediately changes and you can’t get the wished result.)

STEP 7  Letting The Rice Rest

• After 12 minutes, open the lid and controle with help of spoon if all the water has been absorbed by the rice just like in the visual.
•  If you see no water at all then your rice pilaf has been cooked properly.
• Place the saucepan some place far from the heating space.
• Place a kitchen towel on the saucepan and put the lid on top.
• Let it rest for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes open the lid, fluff the rice and serve to your loved ones to collect all the compliments! 😎😘😊

WHAT YOU CAN SERVE WITH TURKISH RICE PILAF WITH VERMICELLI?

Turkish rice pilaf with vermicelli is considered indispensable for every occasion except breakfast.

It’s globally categorized as a side dish but you may consume and serve it on its own as well.

Turkish vermicelli rice pilaf can perfectly accompany your soups, salads, Turkish mezes, all meat & chicken dishes,

sea food menus and vegetables.

In Turkey vermicelli rice pilaf is being served mostly with all Turkish meatballs kofte recipes as well as with: 

• Soups, ( for example the most popular Turkish cuisine soup: The Red Lentil Soup With Lemon
• Eggplant With Ground Beef,
• Turkish Natural Yogurt,
• Turkish Cacık (yogurt and garlic dip sauce)
• Creamy Tomatoe Soup 
• Turkish Chicken Breast/sauté,
• Turkish Iskender Kebab,
• White Bean Stew Turkish Style 
• Turkish Chicken Curry…so on an on an on…👌😘😊

You may combine Turkish rice pilaf with:  Eggplant Recipe With Ground Beef 

or

You may like this recipe so much with rice pilaf:  Garlic Green Beans With Tomatoes 

PIN THIS TURKISH STYLE RICE PILAF WITH VERMICELLI RECIPE TO SAVE IT FOR LATER! 👇👇👇

Grainy Traditional Turkish Rice Pilaf With Vermicelli

Ayse Asli

Tasty, flavorful, grainy Turkish rice pilaf with vermicelli

Print Recipe

Prep Time 32 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Resting Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 12 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Turkish

Servings 4 people

Equipment

• 1 saucepan (with sloped sides)
• 1 spoon (wooden and middle-sized)
• 1 cup 200 ml
• 1 strainer
• 1 deep container (to be placed on bottom of strainer)
• 1 plate (deep and round)

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup rice (middle-sized-Baldo type)
• 2 tbs vermicelli
• 1 tbs butter (full spoon)
• 2 tea spoon salt (to be used while cooking the rice)
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/4 lemon (4-5 drops )
• 1 tbs olive oil (full spoon)
• 3 cup water (2 cups to cover the rice to remove the starch and 1 cup to cook the rice)
• 2 tbs salt (to be used during the starch removal step)

Instructions

 

• Pour 1 cup of rice into the round plate.
• Add 2 tbs of salt on rice.
• Add 2 cups of water at room temperature to cover the rice.
• Add 4-5 lemon drops within the water, stir and let them rest for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, pour the rice into a strainer and wash under flowing cold water for 2 minutes without touching the rice.
• Place the strainer on a bigger container and let it drain for 10 minutes.
• Shake the strainer continiously to be sure that no water or starch drops fall anymore.
• Put 2 tbs of vermicelli into the saucepan.
• Add 1 full tbs of olive oil.
• Cook the vermicelli using a wooden spoon until its color turns into golden brown.(nearly 2,5-3 minutes) on medium heat.
• Add the drained and rested rice into the saucepan; add 2 tea spoon of salt.
• Add 1 full tbs of butter.
• Add 1 tea spoon of white sugar.
• Cook the rice during 5 minutes with continious and circular motions.
• Add 1 cup of boiled water and wait until everything gets boiled (no pot cover)
• When boiled, decrease the heat to minimum and put the saucepan lid on top.
• Let the rice cook for 12 minutes. (Never open the lid during these 12 minutes.)
• Check with help of spoon if all the water has been absorbed by the rice.
• Place the saucepen far from heating space.
• Put a paper towel on the saucepan and place the lid on top.
• Let it rest for 20 minutes.
• Fluff the rice and serve.

Notes

1.The rice and water (used when cooking) ratio for the traditional Turkish rice recipes is 1:1.  This is the awarded pro-chefs' ratio and this ratio is valid with the starch removal process of the traditional style of cooking Turkish rice. 

The point is to cook the rice mostly with its own vapeur and with zero starch to get the best taste and not with too much water. 

2.Prefer to use the same cup for measuring the rice and adding water. 

1:1 ratio gives the wished result when you use the same cup for the rice and water amounts. 

3. After serving, restore the leftover ( if there is any:)) Turkish rice pilaf into a vacuum container and keep it in the fridge to microwave later. 

For the best consumption, please be sure not to keep cooked rice  in room temperature with no pot cover on it more than 2 hours after cooking.  

Keyword traditional, Turkish

I hope you try and like this incredibly tasty, flavorful and grainy recipe.

I would be so happy to get your feedback as well via my  👉 Contact Page.

Don’t hesitate to share your opinion and experience with my recipe in the comment section below.

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I will be looking forward to reading your feedback. 😊

Love,

Asli