Week 5 of staying home and we never get tired of cooking. Today’s contribution is all about “Rice, rice, baby!” (Thanks to Vanilla Ice for the catchy tune).
Risum meets Oriza meets Óryza meets Riso
No matter whether you speak (Middle) Latin, ancient Greek or Italian. Rice is one of the most important staple foods worldwide, not only in Asia. There are two basic types of rice: long-grain rice (also known as brown rice, there are dry and sticky rice varieties) and round-grain rice (also known as milk rice). And from these two varieties, all other sub-varieties are derived: Arborio, Basmati, Bomba, Chigalon, Irat and many others.
Rice is often served as a side dish, but there are wonderful recipes that put rice in the spotlight. Three of our favourite dishes can be found here:
All’Onda
When you talk about rice, you simply cannot avoid risotto. “All’onda” must be rice: its soft, loose consistency makes waves when you tilt the plate slightly. The classic basic recipe works simply and tastes like bella Italia.
- 2.5 l hot vegetable soup (or chicken soup)
- 125 g butter (or butter substitute)
- 1 onion, very finely chopped
- 400 g risotto rice
- 125 ml dry white wine
- salt and pepper
- Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese, finely grated
How to?
Melt 50 g butter in a large pan, add the onion and cook gently for about 5 minutes until the onion is translucent.
Increase the temperature to medium heat, add the risotto and stir with a wooden spoon until the rice grains are well wetted and warmed with the butter and onion.
Add the wine and let it evaporate while stirring.
Now add the soup in a ladle, stirring constantly. Only when the soup is almost completely absorbed, add the next ladle.
After about 15 minutes of taste – the grains should be firm to the bite in the middle. If the rice is not yet cooked, more soup can be added.
As soon as the risotto has the right consistency, remove the pot from the stove and let the risotto rest for 1 minute without stirring. Then add the remaining 75 g of cold butter and the grated cheese. Season to taste, if necessary with salt and pepper and… enjoy!
Off to Asia
When you think of rice, you automatically think of Asia. So, of course, a recipe from afar should not be missing. A classic is certainly Pad Thai, which can be enriched with all kinds of vegetable leftovers.
- 200 g Basmati rice
- 250 g smoked tofu
- 100 g mung bean sprouts
- 300 g vegetables of your choice
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- Pad Thai Paste
- 15 g whole roasted cashew nuts
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon of oil
How to:
Boil rice in salted water
Wash, cut and blanch the vegetables briefly in hot water, they should be nice and crunchy
Fry the finely chopped garlic and onion in oil in a frying pan and push aside. Add the two whisked eggs, allow to set and chop
Add rice and Pad Thai Pasta and stir
Finally, add the sprouts, tofu, cashew nuts and blanched vegetables – and off you go on the plate.
Mmmmm – rice pudding!
Some like it, some don’t. Many rediscover this delicious dessert as adults. True to the motto “Everything will be fine!” this dish is a delicious dessert. Or even for breakfast. Or simply for in between. Rice pudding forever!
- 1 l milk (also works with soya and any milk substitute)
- 250 g milk rice (round grain or risotto rice)
- 1 vanilla pod
- 1 untreated lemon
- 1 knife tip salt
- Salt
- To sprinkle: granulated sugar and ground cinnamon
How to?
Put cold milk in a pot, sprinkle with rice and stir so that everything is evenly distributed in the milk
Scrape the vanilla pulp from the pod, add the pulp, pod and salt to the rice pudding
Bring to the boil once, then reduce the heat and cook covered for about 25 minutes (stirring repeatedly). The lower the heat, the creamier the rice pudding.
After the cooking time, sprinkle the rice pudding with the sugar/cinnamon mixture and enjoy!
If you need musical support during your cooking session, we recommend “Es gibt Reis, Baby” by Helge Schneider. This is the only song we have found on the subject of rice. Apart from the catchy tune mentioned at the beginning, which you can change so wonderfully from ice cream to rice – enjoy!
Part 1 of the “We-Use-Our-Remains”-recipes can be found here: PART 1 – also here: Have fun with the recipes!
