Fearless Kitchen

Recipe: Tomato Rice

Recipe Source: Mowe, Rosalind. Culinaria Southeast Asia. H. F. Ullmann, 2008 p. 192

I needed a starchy side dish to serve for a small dinner party we had a little while ago. It had to stand up to lamb without overpowering any of the other dishes. It also had to offer something besides starch, for my own peace of mind. I decided on this rice dish – tomato is very healthy, especially cooked tomato. I made a few changes, as usual. I used brown rice instead of white because it offers more nutritional value. I therefore had to increase the liquid, which I did by increasing the amount of tomato juice. Tomato juice was substituted for tomato soup out of preference. I used olive oil instead of butter, also out of personal preference. I used ginger-garlic paste instead of making a paste out of ginger and garlic in a mortar and pestle to save time. I also added some spices to the tomato juice because I wanted to. The result was everything that it needed to be.

Tomato Rice (serves 6; approx. $0.42/serving)

1 ¾ cups brown rice, rinsed

2 ounces ginger-garlic paste

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 ½ cups water

1 cup tomato juice

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon ground cumin

Equipment:

• Saucepan with lid

1. Heat the oil in the saucepan.
2. Add the onion and sauté until golden brown.
3. Add the ginger-garlic paste and cook another minute or two.
4. Add the rice and mix well.
5. Dissolve the turmeric and cumin into the tomato juice.
6. Add the tomato juice along with the water and salt. Bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat, cover and cook until the rice is done and the liquid is absorbed.
8. Serve.

Recipe: Fried Rice with Shrimp

Recipe Source: Kingsley, Farina Wong. Asian. Simon & Schuster Source, New York, 2003 p. 61

A very wise cook once told me, "When you're cooking for a large group, plan to make a lot of starches." Starches are filling. They tend to make a little bit go a long way. They're especially welcome when you're serving a bunch of people who have been engaging in strenuous physical activity all day. I generally find that starchy foods – like fried rice – keep well if reheated properly. That's why I decided that I would make this dish for a Sunday dinner a while ago. I wouldn't mind keeping it and eating it again the next day if I had to, and I could make it stretch to feed as many people as might be inspired to show up that weekend.

I did make a few changes. I increased the garlic. Since I didn't know who was planning to show up or what their heat tolerances might be, I used one habanero and one Fresno chili. I omitted the shrimp paste (couldn't find any) and used minced ginger instead of galangal (likewise.) I actually left the carrots in against my inclination, because I am an anomaly in my distaste for carrots. I used olive oil for the peanut oil because that's what we keep on hand (and I'm allergic to peanuts), and I used bok choy instead of Napa cabbage because I haven't worked my way up to tolerating something quite as "cabbage-y" as Napa cabbage yet. (I'm working on it.) Finally, I omitted the fried shallot garnish, because I personally didn't feel it necessary. The omission probably decreases the authenticity of the dish, but I just couldn't justify adding something quite so fatty. I also decreased the amount of oil.

Fried Rice with Shrimp (serves 10; approx. $1.35/serving)

3 shallots, chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

1 habanero chili, chopped

1 Fresno chili, chopped

1 tablespoon minced ginger

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 ½ tablespoons lime juice

1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce

3 cups cooked basmati rice, cold

2 carrots, peeled, diced and blanched

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 heads bok choy, chopped

½ pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and diced

3 eggs, beaten

½ cup frozen peas, thawed

Equipment:

• Large wok
• Mini-prep miniature food processor

1. Combine the shallots, garlic, chilies and ginger in the mini-prep. Grind to a paste, adding up to 3 tablespoons water if need be to form the paste.
2. Heat the oil over high heat in the wok.
3. Add the chili paste from the mini-prep.
4. Add the bok choy and the carrots. Stir until the greens begin to wilt.
5. Add the shrimp. Cook until opaque.
6. Add the eggs. Scramble until barely set.
7. Add the rice and peas. Stir-fry until the rice is heated through.
8. Add the remaining ingredients (soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and Sriracha). Stir-fry until thoroughly combined.
9. Serve.

Recipe: Malay Yellow Rice

Recipe Source: Jollands, Beverly.  500 Hot & Spicy Recipes.  Anness Publishing, London, 2008 p. 205

I made this recipe for a blogging event.  It's not like I've never entered a blogging event before, but this one was different.  Usually I see a blogging event that looks interesting, I note the event, and if I get inspired in a way that complies with event rules, I enter.  This time, I made a special point of looking for something appropriate and made it.  The event is a monthly event called Food in Colors, and the color in question changes every month.  Last month the color was white.  While I've made white food, I've never really sought out white food before.  If you had played the word-association game with me and said, "white food," I would have said, "bland," or "boring," or "somewhat suspicious."  Reading through the round ups - and there were enough entries that there were four different days of round-up - really opened my eyes and reminded me that just because a food lacks color doesn't mean it lacks flavor. 

Anyway, this month the event is hosted by SunshineMom at Tongue Ticklers and the color is yellow.  To see the rules for the event (and other great recipes) click here.  I thought about the foods I knew that were yellow.  Off the top of my head, they consisted of saffron ice cream.  I've made saffron ice cream before.  I entered it into a blogging event.  Re-posts were specifically forbidden, and wouldn't have been much fun anyway.  But this dish, which I found in a cookbook I picked up on a whim, looked like it would fit the bill.  It was yellow - vibrantly so.  It was reasonably light, especially if lightt coconut milk was used.  And it used turmeric, which is a lot cheaper than saffron and is reputed to have anti-inflammatory properties as well.  After the weekend I had, I will take any anti-inflammatory properties I can get. 

Anyway, I didn't make a lot of changes to the recipe.  I used hot pepper sesame oil instead of the options of plain sesame oil or vegetable oil.  While the book claimed that it was the home of hot and spicy recipes, this didn't seem particularly hot or spicy, so I decided to add a little something.  I increased the quantity of garlic.  I reduced the amount of salt to a pinch and I used light coconut milk.  Finally, I had to omit the red chile garnish, because I had no red chilies.  The result was a frankly delightfully light, fluffy rice.  It matched well with the main course I served that night.  The turmeric flavor really came through well, and if I hadn't put the coconut milk in there myself I would never have realized it was there.  It still wasn't very spicy, although there was a little something on the finish that was pleasantly perky. 

Malay Yellow Rice (serves 4 generously; approx. 1.28/serving)

2 tablespoons hot pepper sesame oil

3 shallots, finely chopped

4 tablespoons minced jarred garlic

2 cups basmati rice, washed and drained

1 14-oz can light coconut milk

2 cups water

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

4 curry leaves

Pinch salt

Ground black pepper to taste

Equipment:

• Saucepan with lid

1. Heat the oil in the saucepan.
2. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until they begin to color.
3. Add the rice and stir until the rice is well coated with the pan mixture.
4. Add the coconut milk, water, turmeric, curry leaves, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes.
6. Turn the heat off and let stand, still covered, another 10 minutes.
7. Fluff with fork and serve. 

Recipe: Chicken with Golden Turmeric

  Recipe Source: Baljekar, Mridula.  Best-Ever Curry Cookbook.  Anness Publishing, 2005 p. 207

I decided to make this recipe last Thursday.  We were going to the Auto Show and I wanted something that could be cooked ahead of time and reheated when we got home.  I also wanted something that would use up something that lurked within my freezer.  I managed to accomplish one of these feats, but not the other.  I did use up a chicken that was taking up valuable real estate, but I did not get to make this ahead of time.  I spent too much time walking the dog.  Instead, I made it when we got home from the Auto Show, and we ate it at 1:30 in the morning before we had to get up at 4:00 AM to get on a plane.  Sigh.  Oh well.  Fortunately, it tasted so good that we didn't mind still having the lingering flavor in our memories. 

I didn't make a lot of changes to this recipe.  I used almonds when the choice between macadamias and almonds was given; I have nothing against macadamias, but I have a lot of almonds on hand.  I used more garlic than called for.  I didn't have any shrimp paste, so I substituted fish sauce.  It isn't the same thing, I know, and I'm sure it changed the flavors, but it also gave the dish that little something special that either shrimp paste or fish sauce would give.  (I can't think of an appetizing way to describe that little something special, so I won't even try.)  I reduced the amount of oil and omitted the garnish. 

Chicken with Golden Turmeric (serves 4; approx. $2.87/serving)

1 chicken (3 - 3 1/2 lb), hacked into 8 pieces

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

6 almonds

6 garlic cloves, crushed

1 onion, quartered

1 piece fresh galangal, about 1" long

2 lemongrass stalks, sliced

About 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce

2 teaspoons dried turmeric

1 tablespoon tamarind paste dissolved in 2/3 cup warm water

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 14-oz can coconut milk

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Equipment:

• Food processor
• Wok or saute pan

1. Rub the chicken parts with the sugar and set them aside.
2. Grind the nuts, garlic, onion, galangal, lemongrass, fish sauce and turmeric in the food processor.
3. Heat the oil in the wok. 
4. Cook the paste from the food processor without browning until it becomes very fragrant. 
5. Add the chicken and toss well with the spices.
6. Add the tamarind juice.
7. Add the coconut milk.
8. Cover and cook 45 minutes. 
9. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.