One-Bowl Rice Dishes

Michael Natkin’s version of the Korean dish bibimbap—rice topped with a mix of pickled and cooked vegetables—forgoes the usual runny fried egg on top to be a delicious vegan dish.

Chicago shoppers are in luck: Takashi Yagihashi (an F&W Best New Chef 2000) has a Japanese-style noodle shop in the Macy's on State Street. On his menu is this pork fried rice, his favorite childhood after-school snack.

In Vietnam, palate-cleansing ginger is typically served with rich foods like duck. Here, a pungent ginger dipping sauce is paired with salmon, which is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids.

Luscious is the word for this Indonesian version of chicken and rice. Coconut milk spiced with cumin and coriander cooks into the rice and sauces the whole dish.

Stir-fry the sirloin, watercress, and egg while the rice cooks, so that you'll be ready to assemble the dish at the last moment. Soy sauce and a drizzling of sesame oil flavor the combination perfectly. If you prefer, use strips of pork tenderloin instead of beef.

Corey Lee's summery porridge is a cross between traditional Chinese congee and Italian risotto.

We like to serve this Mediterranean-inspired salad warm, but it's also good slightly chilled. Be sure to check the seasonings, though; cold dishes often need more salt and pepper than those served hot.

As a student at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Top Chef winner Hung Huynh learned to cook with the Chinese trinity—GGS, or ginger, garlic and scallions. He uses all three here to flavor his earthy, mushroom-and-bacon-studded clay pot rice.

"I've served this dish since day one at Straits," says Chris Yeo. For his exquisite version of fried rice, known in Southeast Asia as nasi goreng, he adds two surprise ingredients: quick-pickled onions and nutty shredded coconut.

At her restaurant, Brasa, pork-loving chef Tamara Murphy makes her own chorizo for the excellent paella on her menu. As for the seafood in the dish, she breaks with tradition by sautéing the shrimp and steaming the mussels and clams before adding them to the paella during the last few minutes of cooking; this keeps the seafood moist and delicious.

There are two kinds of rice in this luxurious chicken stir-fry: fragrant jasmine rice and oval Korean rice cakes, which look like sliced scallops and have a deliciously chewy texture. Lightly toasted sliced almonds and slivers of daikon add an appealing crunch.

To make this jambalaya stand out, use incredible lump crabmeat, great andouille sausage and a good hit of Old Bay seasoning.

George Mendes's signature dish includes poached duck breast and homemade duck confit. Buy the confit instead, and forgo the breast.

This is one of Defne Koryürek's favorite dishes from chef-owner Semsa Denizsel at Kantin restaurant. The rice is glossy and sticky, and full of tender calamari and mussels. The addition of spices like allspice and cinnamon, plus some currants, gives the dish a slightly sweet edge.

This boldly flavored dish is enticing, especially to those with a taste for heat.