long grain and wild rice mix
Also known as: quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet
A packaged blend of long-grain white rice and wild rice, usually sold with a separate seasoning packet, cooked together as a quick side dish. The two rices cook at different rates, so packaged blends typically use a par-cooked or specially processed wild rice so both finish at the same time.
Buying guidance
Check the box for a seasoning packet if one's expected -- some blends are sold plain, others include a flavor packet that adds significant salt on its own. Because the wild rice component is processed to cook faster than raw wild rice normally would, don't swap in plain wild rice without expecting a much longer cooking time.
Substitutions
- Plain long-grain rice plus cooked wild rice stirred in, seasoned to taste -- more control over seasoning, but the wild rice needs to be cooked separately first since it takes much longer than white rice.
- Plain long-grain rice, seasoned with butter, herbs, and salt -- loses the wild rice's chewy texture and nutty flavor, but works as a simple side.
Tips & common mistakes
The included seasoning packet already accounts for salt in the recommended cooking liquid, so adding extra salt on top easily over-salts the dish; and because the wild rice component is specially processed to cook fast, using the rice portion alone without the packet needs a different liquid amount and cooking time than the box states.
Storage
Cooked leftovers hold their shape and don't turn gummy as readily as some other cooked rice, since the wild rice component is processed to be sturdy -- which also makes it freeze and reheat well in portions.