rice

Thai Chicken Rice

2020, cooking, family

One of my favorite dishes to get from the hawker stalls when I visited my family in Penang! I don’t know why it has taken me so long to try it at home! The sauce is slightly different than what they make in Penang, but I sadly can’t remember what it taste like. This sauce is Thai-inspired. I had trouble finding the right soybean paste, but the thick Chinese version I found was pretty close. It just needed to be thinned out a bit.

Chicken and stock:

  • 1/2 uncut chicken. Trim the fatty pockets and some skin to render for the rice
  • 1/2 onion
  • few springs of cilantro
  • enough water to submerge the chicken, you may also use a bit of chicken broth
  • salt

Place the chicken into the cold water, bring the water to a boil, then let simmer till the chicken is done (20 minutes). Remove the chicken and allow the broth to cool. Season to taste. Should be just lightly salted.

Sauce:

  • 1 scoop of Chinese soybean paste or a few TBSPs of Thai soybean paste (Chinese version is more concentrated and saltier)
  • small amounts of dark soy sauce and regular soy sauce
  • sugar and vinegar to taste
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced and pounded
  • 1″ knob of ginger, minced and pounded
  • Red chilies, finely minced
  • water to meet the right consistency

  1. Start with the soybean paste and add water to create a thin sauce consistency (like soy sauce)
  2. Gradually add the soy sauce and dark soy sauce. Use a light hand
  3. Add sugar and vinegar to taste to get a good balance of both sweet and sour
  4. Stir in the ginger and garlic and chileis

Rice

  • 3 cups of Jasmine Rice, rinsed well. Could use a bit of Glutinous rice to improve the texture. The sweet rice needs to soak overnight)
  • 2 TBSP minced garlic
  • 2 TBSP minced ginger
  • 3 TBSP rendered chicken fat (Take the fat and put in a cold pan with a little oil. Turn to medium low, careful not to burn or smoke the oil)
  • Enough chicken stock for the rice cooker
  1. In a wide bottomed skillet, fry the ginger and garlic in the chicken fat on medium. Do not brown. Cook for about 2 minutes.
  2. Add the rice, turn up the heat and fry for about 2 minutes.
  3. Pop the rice into the rice cooker and fill with chicken stock up till the line for 3 cups of rice.

Serving:

Plate a bit of rice on a plate. Top the rice with sliced chicken. Serve the sauce on the side. Te left over stock can be served with the dish as well.

Spanish Rice

2016, celebrations, cooking, entertaining, family, holidays

Made fish tacos with fixings for a pre-party dinner this July 4th.  Don’t have the exact measurements for the liquids used because I used a rice cooker

  • 1/2 white onion, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups white Jasmine rice
  • Chicken broth
  • Tomato sauce (El Pato, preferred)
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn (no need to thaw)
  1. In a medium skillet, sauce the onions over medium heat until soft and translucent
  2. Add the rice and fry until the kernels are less opaque
  3. Add rice to the rice cooker
  4. Add chicken broth until the liquid line hits the “1”
  5. Add tomato sauce until the liquid hits “1 1/2”
  6. Stir, then start the rice cooker.  Once the cook cycle has completed, stir the rice.  You may need to press the cook button again to help the rice absorb any leftover liquid.
  7. Stir in the frozen corn and add salt to you preference

 

Thanksgiving Rice

cooking, holidays
  • 4 cups mixed brown and wild rice (from Spouts)
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 chopped leeks
  • 2 sausage links (spicy is preferred), casing removed
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 6 oz mushrooms, chopped
  • herbs: thyme, sage
  • 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries
  • 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Cook rice per rice cooker instructions. Set aside

Saute onions and leeks.  Once soft, add sausage and brown.

Add celery, mushrooms and herb.  Cook through till soft

Add rice, cranberries and nuts.  Stir to combine.  Season with salt.

Mixed Paella

cooking

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 chicken thighs or legs (skin-on, bone-in
  • 1/2 pound chorizo sausage
  • 4 shrimp
  • 6 clams
  • 8 oz fish fillets, cut in 1 inch chunks
  • 16 oz whole tomatoes, crushed by hand
  • 1 Spanish onion, diced
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 TBSP sweet paprika
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup rice
  • 1 tsp saffron

Season chicken with oregano, salt and pepper and cook till all sides are browned (but not fully cooked)  Remove from pan.  Then cook chorizo till browned.  Cook shrimp till almost done.

Remove chorizo and shrimp, then add onion, garlic, paprika till onion caramelized.  Then add tomato, season with salt and pepper.  Let cook about 15 minutes

Add rice, then saffron.  Add water and simmer for 10 minutes.  Do not constantly stir, just shake the pan a few times

Tuck in the fish and clams, let cook till the seafood is almost done.  Then reintroduce the chicken, chorizo, shrimp and add peas