Tag Archive for 'rice'

Chicken Biryani

Published
by
marc
on May 20, 2008
in Indian and Poultry
. 12 Comments

While most often associated with northern Indian cuisine, Biryani is a dish with Persian origins found in various forms from Iraq to Thailand. As you might imagine, there is a huge variety of different preparations stemming from the vast swath of land it calls home. Common elements include some type of meat (goat, lamb or chicken), rice, and spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, coriander and mint.

I’m not going to say that my recipe originates anywhere specific, but it rely heavily on Indian flavours. Though it takes a bit of prep work, it’s not complicated and there’s a lot off leeway to improvise with your own blend of spices. The chicken gets married to the rice between layers of caramelized onions. This symbiotic relationship keeps the chicken moist while infusing the rice with some serious flavour.

It’s fantastic with a cucumber raita and a squeeze of lemon, cooling off the heat while adding a fresh zing that brightens all the spices in the dish. The ingredient list below might look intimidating at first glance, but there’s nothing all that exotic on the list and it all comes together in about an hour + cooking time.
Continue for more >>

Similar posts

Unagi Kamameshi (iron pot rice with eel)

Published
by
marc
on May 12, 2008
in Asian, Japanese and Seafood
. 15 Comments

While it’s not exactly a culinary mecca, Texas is loaded with gut bustin’ soul satisfyin’ comfort food. My weekend was filled with elephant sized portions of smokey bbqed sausage, cajun spiced bbq burgers, tender carne asada, and chicken fried steak drowned in creamy gravy, all washed down with margarita’s and Coors light.

Gut busted and soul satisfied, I returned to NYC craving something a little different… something a little more asian and little less cajun… something filling, but not heart-attack inducing… something like kamameshi!

Kamameshi is rice cooked in a cast iron pot along with a flavored broth and some other goodies. It’s similar to takikomi gohan except the pot it’s cooked in encourages the bottom layer of rice to lightly burn (known as “okoge” in Japanese) giving it a nice flavor reminiscent of rice crackers.

Unfortunately I don’t have a kama (iron pot) and I imagine most of my readers don’t either, so I made this using a small Le Creuset (enameled cast iron pot). You could probably use any heavy bottomed pot with a lid you have as long as it’s not teflon.

The rice cooks with a sweet soy sauce flavored broth and is topped with a layer of mitsuba (which I talk about more in this post) and unagi while it steams. After it’s all done, I mix it all together before serving which helps integrate all the flavors.
Continue for more >>

Similar posts

Banana peel steamed pork and rice

Published
by
admin
on April 25, 2008
in Dinner, Experimental and Pork
. 21 Comments

Last week, I was sitting in a product meeting at work. Our CTO was eating a banana and as he set the peel down on the table it struck me that it would make the perfect vessel to hold food. Since then I’ve been mulling over all the different ways one could cook food in a piece of the fruit that’s come to symbolize rubbish.

I began to fantasize about fork tender hunks for moist pork surrounded by rice infused with the flavors of banana and the savory pork. Over the following week I decided that a Cuban mojo would make a fine marinade (although I’d considered using a tamarind based marinade).

My biggest concern was that the astringent taste of the peel would ruin the contents. Upon doing some research I found that banana peels are used in some regions of India to make chutney. I also learned that there are some nasty pesticides used on bananas so I decided it would be best to use organic bananas. Beyond that I found nary a reference to cooking with banana peels.

My first inclination was to roast them at a low temperature, but after thinking about it for a bit, I realized that the dry heat would make it take a lot longer to make the meat tender. I was also thinking that it could potentially render the rice inedible. In the end, I decided to steam the bundles.

As with most things one fantasizes about for days on end, this didn’t quite live up to the high expectations I had, but that’s not to say it wasn’t good. As expected, it had a fairly strong banana flavor, so if you don’t like bananas, this might not be for you. The meat came out incredibly moist and tender and the rice was cooked perfectly, soaking up the flavors of the peel along with the juices from the pork.

The next time I do this, I’m going to try serving it with a salsa… maybe a mango coconut celery salsa.

      

Continue for more >>

Similar posts

Crab and bamboo rice (Kani takikomi gohan)

Published
by
marc
on March 20, 2008
in Japanese and Seafood
. 0 Comments

Crab and bamboo rice (Kani takikomi gohan)

Takikomi Gohan (also known as Gomoku Gohan) literally translates to “cooked with rice”. It’s basically rice cooked in stock with stuff in it, like a pilaf. In Japanese groceries you’ll usually find a whole section of instant packets that you just add to rice before you cook it, but they often contain loads of MSG. It’s fairly simple to make from scratch and you can add all sorts of things like burdock, carrots, wild mushrooms, etc.

The key to it’s light flavor is in the dashi, and while hard to find, Mitsuba adds a nice woodsy dimension. It does look a bit like parsley or cilantro but it doesn’t taste anything like either of those. If I had to go out on a limb and suggest a substitute, it does taste a tiny bit like carrot leaves, if you’re feeling daring, give it a go and let us know how it turns out in the comments. I’m pretty sure carrot leaves are a lot stronger though so you might wanna go light at first.

I strongly suggest you use a rice cooker to make this. While you could make this on the stove in theory, I’m so reliant on a rice cooker I’m not sure how much liquid to use or what heat to cook it over, so you’re on your own there. If you’ve cooked rice on a stove before please do post your tips in the comments.

360 ml of short grain rice rinsed (2 rice cooker cups, or about 1 1/2 regular cups)
1 Tbs sake
1/4 C canned crab meat crumbled, liquid reserved (see tofu with crab sauce for more info)
dashi, about 2 cups
1/4 C chopped bamboo (I prefer the whole vacuum sealed ones if you can find them)
1/4 C chopped nameko or enoki mushrooms
Salt to taste

1/4 C mitsuba leaves and stems roughly chopped

salmon roe as garnish (optional)

Rinse the rice until the water runs almost clear, then drain as much of the water out as you can.

Add the sake and reserved crab liquid. Fill the rice cooker bowl up to the “2″ mark with dashi.

Add the crab, bamboo, and mushrooms. Stir the liquid and taste for salt. It should taste like a slightly watery soup. Add more salt if needed.

Run the rice cooker according to directions. When the rice is done and has had a chance to steam, add the mitsuba and gently fold into the cooked rice.

Garnish with salmon roe and serve immediately.

Similar posts

Mapo Tofu (Marpo Doufu)

Published
by
marc
on March 10, 2008
in Chinese, Japanese, Pork and Tofu
. 3 Comments

Mabo Tofu

For the same reasons people love antiques or old Victorian houses, I love foods of legend that have a story behind them. I had a fairly intense day presenting to the entire partnership of a venture capital firm (with 3 continents video conferenced in).

While some might consider cooking a stressful activity reserved for days with lots of time, I actually see it as quite the opposite. When I got home I wanted to make a food from my childhood that’s both familiar and comforting.

Depending on who you ask, you’ll probably get a different story about the origins of Mapo Tofu, but the commonly accepted myth is that this dish was created by an old woman with meager means who cooked it for weary travelers that happened upon her shack along a remote country road. Some versions go on to say she once cooked the dish for the emperor of China.

Whatever the history, the dish was appropriated by my people in more recent history and is as common as mac & cheese on a Japanese dinner table. Asian groceries stock packets of sauce you just heat up with tofu, but that would be cheating, and it’s not much harder to make from scratch. I usually make this with varying spices, sauces and veggies, but I figured I should document something to give y’all a starting point.

1 Tbs dark miso
2 Tbs Mirin or other sweet cooking wine
1 Tbs oyster sauce
2 tsp asian chili sauce (Tobanjan, Gochujang, Sriracha, etc)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp corn starch
1/4 cup water

2 cloves of garlic minced
1 Tbs ginger minced
1/2 lbs. ground meat (I use pork but you can use turkey, beef, or veggies like eggplant)
14oz package silken tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 scallions sliced thin

Mix the first group of ingredients in a bowl to make the sauce. Adjust seasonings as you see fit.

Put a splash of oil in a hot saute pan and fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant.

Add the ground meat and break it up with a wooden spoon. When the meat is cooked, drain off any excess oil and add the sauce mixture.

Stir to combine, then add the tofu. If the sauce seems thick (or non-existent), add some water and cook until the tofu is heated through. If you’re using silken tofu, be careful not to mash up the tofu too much.

Stir in the scallions just before taking it off the heat and serve with white rice.

I make different versions of this sauce depending on what’s in the fridge and as always I encourage you to experiment with what you have. Some things I’ve tried include Szechwan pepper, chinese 5 spice powder, hoisin sauce, dengjang with varying amounts of chili sauce (I like it spicy). For vegetarians, you can leave out the meat, or include veggies like red bell peppers, onions, or eggplant.

Similar posts