How to make a classic crispy Persian rice recipe (Tahdig) with a vegan and Korean twist! This delicious rice dish is everything you love about traditional, fluffy saffron rice with a crispy golden crust, plus an added spicy gochujang butter that brings in tons of flavour! 

What is Tahdig?

Tahdig means “bottom of the pot” in Persian, referring to the crispy bits of rice that stick to the bottom. It’s a fluffy, buttery rice dish with a crispy, crunchy, golden crust. Needless to say, it’s absolutely delicious.

Crispy Persian rice is perfectly spiced with fragrant saffron, but my version has a not-so-secret ingredient: my homemade gochujang compound butter! This addition creates a mild, savoury, and spicy kick to an already fabulous crispy rice recipe. 

What Makes This Recipe Great

It’s Veggiekins gochujang week and I’m all about taking tried and true favourite recipes and giving them some delicious vegan and Asian flare! Today I’m giving a spicy kick to my Tahdig recipe!

Typically, Tahdig is cooked in butter, which gives the crispy shell. Adding my vegan gochujang compound butter gives that crispy shell a mild kick! It’s not too spicy but it gives the dish so much flavour. 

Serve your crispy rice on a plate and garnish with watermelon radish and fresh scallions. Serve alongside any protein, or as a side to any main. I definitely recommend serving it with my Korean Braised Tofu or even Three Cup Chicken. 

Ingredient Notes

• Basmati rice: This is a very common long-grain rice that is easy to find at most local grocery stores. 
• Cold water: This is to rinse and soak the rice. It’s crucial that you rinse the rice really well and let it soak. 
• Crushed saffron + 3 tbsp hot water: You will dissolve the saffron in the hot water before adding it to the recipe. 
• Oil: Use the neutral cooking oil of your choice. 
• Gochujang compound butter: You can make your own compound butter using this spicy butter recipe. 

garnish, optional

• scallions
• watermelon radish
• sesame seeds

Step-by-Step Instructions

Prepare the Basmati Rice

1. Rinse your rice until the water runs clear. 
2. In a large bowl combine 3 cups cold water and 1 tbsp salt. Mix well then add your basmati rice and let soak for 1 hour.

Bloom the Saffron

1. Use a mortar and pestle or another method to break down the saffron into a fine powder. Add 3 tbsp hot water and stir. Let bloom.

Par Boil the Rice

1. Once the rice has soaked for an hour, drain completely.
2. Bring 8 cups water to a boil in a large pot and once boiling, add the drained rice. 
3. Boil for 4 minutes, then remove from heat and drain the rice again. At this point, it should be considerably fluffy and larger in size. 

Prepare the Tahdig

1. In your non-stick skillet on low heat, add half of your saffron water, 2 tbsp oil, and 2 tbsp gochujang butter. Use your spatula to mix while it melts down and then bring the heat up to medium.
2. Once melted and sizzling, add enough cooked rice to the pan just to create a layer that covers the pan. Bring it up to the edges a little bit as well and use the back of a wooden spoon or spatula to gently press down. 
3. Add the remaining rice to the pan, trying to keep the surface level and even. Use the back of a spatula to create steam holes in the rice. I made about 7 holes. Be sure not to penetrate the crust. 
4. Cover the pot with a lid and steam for 10 minutes.
5. Once the 10 minutes is up, mix your remaining melted butter, saffron water, and oil and drizzle it into the mixture. Lower the heat, cover the lid with a kitchen towel (to capture any moisture that may drip down), and cook with the lid on for about 30 minutes, turning the pan every 5-10 minutes, for even cooking.
6. Remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Loosen the edges with a spatula and place a plate on top of the pan. Gently flip the rice and garnish the rice as desired.

Expert Tips

• Because there is some sugar in the gochujang (most storebought ones especially) beware that it might brown more/be prone to burn but not too burnt that it’s inedible. I’ve heard from Persian friends that that’s preferred by most anyways 😉 
• I recommend using a non-stick pot, but if you don’t have one, you want to coat the bottom with more oil or butter or the Tahdig will stick and not cook properly. 
• If preferred, use regular vegan butter instead of my homemade gochujang butter. 

Storage Tips

• Tahdig is best served fresh, however, if you have leftovers you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and reheat over the stove with a little oil, crispy side down. 
• Unfortunately, crispy rice does not freeze well, so I don’t recommend freezing it. 

Recipe FAQs

More Delicious Rice Dishes…

Takeout Style Fried Rice

Vegetarian Hainanese Rice

Chickpea and Rice Soup

Indonesian-Inspired Fried Rice

Vegan Bibimbap

If you make this Crispy Persian Rice Recipe (Tahdig), be sure to let me know what you think with a comment below! Follow me on Instagram for more delicious recipes!