2 posts tagged “rice”

I like wandering through the grocer and being inspired by...

what's on sale.

Particularly the "going bad" clearance sales, if it's something I can fix for dinner that night.

Yesterday my browsing was rewarded with 8oz of fresh mushrooms for $1 (down from $2), two Moroccan artisan olive loafs $1.50 each (down from $4.50), grated Romano cheese 5oz. $2.19 (down from $5) and a pound of fresh strawberries for $1.50 (down from $4).

I already had rice at home and a pan full of sausage grease from the morning, so I used some garlic, onion, spices, the mushrooms and Romano to turn that into a Risotto after lots of stirring and adding just enough liquid to keep the rice barely covered (minus the white wine that the Wife doesn't care for.)

Carved the olive loaf tops in a "v" trench, removed the top, added cooked chicken breast slices, and filled the trench with my sort-of Risotto, and baked them to crisp for a few minutes before serving.

The strawberries for dessert were cut and soaked in the tiniest bit of Balsamic Vinegar and sugar.

I finally talked my wife into permitting me a culinary experiment outside the world of white rice that we were both raised in and that our early days together in college, read poor, necessitated.

We were in Costco to buy the usual bulk staples that having two dogs and two kids under 3 require when presented before me in the aisle was a burlap sack from India.

I have an itch for things I haven't tried before.

Yes, Basmati rice is a bit more expensive than the plain ol' white rice, but it being in Costco held down the unit cost considerably.

Anyway, it really is worth it.

I found Basmati rice to be more robust and aromatic than its generic flavor-and-color-challenged cousin.

Longer and delicately thin compared to white rice, Basmati's body-texture actually holds up better after cooking and resists that transformation to mush.

Basmati's longer aging process may account for this characteristic.

So if you're making rice-pudding, sure, go ahead, use white rice.

If you want a good dinner, use Basmati.

Below is one application for Basmati rice I used recently.  Feel free to imitate or improvise the recipe.

(Recipe feeds two, probably with remnants for left-overs)

What you will need:

Quart size pot with tight lid
Large stove-top skillet, or wok
Small bowl to mix sauce in
One cup dry Basmati rice
One and One-Half cups water
Chicken, one breast or five tenderloin sections
1/4 onion
1 Bell pepper
5 baby carrots (very small)
Handful of green beans
Small amount Sesame oil
Couple TBSP Soy sauce
Couple more TBSP BBQ sauce
1 TBSP minced garlic
1 TBSP brown sugar
Pinch of cayeane pepper
1 drop liquid smoke
5 TBSP of water for sauce

Pour water into the Quart pot and apply high heat to boil.  A pinch of salt to encourage boiling is optional.
When water boils, add Basmati rice, place tight lid on pot and reduce heat to simmer (very low)
Set a timer for 30 minutes.
Place chicken in the skillet on high heat. 
Pour just enough Sesame oil over chicken to coat the bottom of the skillet.
In the small bowl off to the side combine the Soy sauce, garlic, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, cayeane pepper, water for sauce, and liquid smoke.  Stir the liquid mix together well and set aside for later.
Slice the onion and bell pepper into long slivers.
Chop the baby carrots into small medalions.
It's probably time to flip the chicken in the skillet at this point.
This is the part of the cooking process that I like to take a 1-2 beer break and or 1-2 glass of wine break.
But I'm detoxing from that wedding in Southern California last week, so nothing for me until Turkey Day.
Okay, check the chicken and see that it's browned and golden nicely on both sides.
Use a chef knife to slice it into small skinny strips, chunks, cubes, or any geometric shape you fancy.
Just be quick, or it'll turn out too tough to chew.  Go, go, go, chop, chop.
Add in the sliced, diced, and chopped vegetables to the chicken.
Add in the sauce you mixed together.
Stir-fry baby, stir-fry your apron off!
Everything should be happy in a minute or two, and if you planned your beer break accordingly and reduced heat throughout the process keenly as needed, you should be done stir-frying with plenty of sauce left, though now reduced, at nearly the exact second that the Basmati rice 30 minutes has expired.

Dish up and enjoy.