Rice pairs wonderfully with an array of food, from chicken, beef and fish to curries, stir-fried vegetables and all sorts of sauces. When it comes to cooking it though, it can be challenging. Often people make the mistake of not rinsing rice properly or not having the right water-to-rice ratio. This can result in undercooked, mushy or dry rice, none of which are particularly pleasant to eat. Even when cooked well, rice can still be a rather flavourless side dish. Luckily, there's an easy fix, the Express reports . Writing on food blog The Kitchn , expert Emma Christensen shared her favourite ways to make "a boring pot of rice taste amazing". The first tip she has to "keep rice flavourful" is to toast the grains. "Toasting the dry rice grains in a little butter or olive oil before adding the water brings out their flavour and adds a fantastic nutty note in the finished dish," she explained. She recommended trying this trick with brown rice or whole grains like barley. Another tip she shared which can add flavour involved adding just one extra ingredient to the pan during the cooking process. Emma suggested cooking the rice with chicken or vegetable stock, which can either be in the form of leftover homemade stock or a stock cube. She said: "I sometimes find that using 100 percent chicken broth can make the rice feel gummy or overly-starchy," adding: "I usually go for a 50/50 mix of broth and water. "This adds a layer of flavour and richness without going overboard." Her final suggestion was to season the rice with whatever you're already cooking, like some of the same seasonings you're using for the main dish. The expert urged home cooks to use whole spices for subtle flavours and ground spices for a stand-out dish. She also explained she "almost always" adds a bay leaf, regardless of what she's cooking. For more of today's top stories, click here.