Turkish Rice Pilaf

There's a charcoal chicken takeaway place just up the road from where I live and I love eating the rice that is served with the chicken. Wanting to recreate the meal at home one day, I had a go at making my own Turkish rice pilaf. I'm not sure how authentic this Turkish rice pilaf recipe is but it tastes pretty similar to the take away place and was quite easy to whip up.

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice

⅓ cup risoni pasta

2 cups chicken stock

Olive oil

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon onion powder

Method

1. Drizzle 1 tablespoon or so of olive oil in a saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat and add the risoni when the oil has warmed up. Sautee the risoni until it browns.
2. Add the rice and combine until everything is coated with the oil and toast together for about a minute. Add the stock (there will be a sizzle and steam) and a generous pinch of salt, bring to a boil, and cover. Drop the stove to very low and let cook for 20 minutes. Do not lift the cover to stir or even check progress.
3. Once the 20 minutes has passed, uncover and stir the rice. If it still has some liquid in it, leave the cover off and keep over low heat, stirring frequently until it has evaporated. Drizzle over a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Serve.

Mushroom and spinach risotto

Recipe adapted from Super Food Ideas Magazine, April 2012 issue, page 35

Ingredients

1 litre chicken stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium brown onion or shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme
200g Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
15g dried porcini mushrooms, sliced
1½ cups arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
50g baby spinach
½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
40g butter, chopped

Method

1. Rehydrate the porcini mushrooms with 1 cup hot water for 20 minutes.
2. Place stock and mushroom water in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 6 minutes or until mixture starts to simmer. Reduce heat to low to keep hot.
3. Heat oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, thyme leaves and mushrooms. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onion has softened. Add rice. Cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes or until coated. Add wine. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or until wine has absorbed.
4. Add 1/3 cup stock mixture to rice mixture. Cook, stirring, until stock has absorbed. Repeat with remaining stock mixture, 1/3 cup at a time, until liquid has absorbed and rice is tender (stir every minute for approx 16 to 18 minutes).
5. Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, parmesan and butter. Season with salt and pepper and add a splash more stock if needed. Set aside, covered, for 2 minutes. Season. Serve with grated parmesan.

Notes & Tips

Adding more than 1/3 cup stock at a time will make the risotto cook too quickly, and the rice will not be tender. Make sure the stock is hot when adding it to the pan.

Fried Rice

This fried rice recipe is quick and easy and probably a lot healthier than your local Chinese takeaway!

Recipe adapted from Fresh Living Magazine, September 2004 issue, page 6

Ingredients

1 cup cooked long grain white rice
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
100g diced bacon
1 cup frozen pea, carrot & corn mix
2 shallots, trimmed, finely sliced
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Method

1. Using a whisk, lightly beat eggs in a small bowl. Heat oil in non-stick wok or large frying pan over medium heat. Add eggs. Swirl over base to form an omelette. Cook 2 minutes. Turn over. Cook until set. Transfer to a chopping board. Set aside to cool slightly then cut into small pieces.
2. Add bacon to wok. Cook 4 minutes until light golden. Add frozen vegetable mix and shallots. Stir fry 2-3 minutes then add rice. Cook, stirring, 2-3 minutes. Add egg and soy sauce. Stir until heated through. Serve immediately.

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

I was holidaying in the Gold Coast a couple of months ago and whilst there, hubby and I decided to visit a Thai restaurant located not too far from where we were staying. We ordered Thai pineapple fried rice amongst other Thai dishes and were pleasantly surprised and amused that the fried rice came served in a pineapple boat!

I've always admired fruit and vegetable carvings so it wasn't a surprise to my hubby that I was keen to try and carve out my very own pineapple boat when I got back home to Sydney. But as usual, life got very busy as soon as we got back from our holiday and so I just never got around to playing around with this dish. Until...

Just the other day I had a whole pineapple left over after making my fruit kebabs. So, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to recreate some Thai pineapple fried rice.

The ingredients in this fried rice is a little different to how I would normally make my fried since it is Thai style fried rice as opposed to the Chinese-style fried rice. Nonetheless, the method of cooking is very similar. 

In this recipe I have added lots of extra curry powder and chilli since hubby likes a bit of spiciness in his food ;) However, you can adjust the following recipe to make it as mild or as spicy as you wish just by adding more or less curry powder, omitting the chillies etc.

This is also a good dish to bring along for a pot luck or to make if you're having a lunch or dinner with friends over. They'll be pretty impressed with the presentation!

Ingredients

2-3 tbsp oil
1 whole pineapple or 225g tinned pineapple pieces, juice drained
4 cups of cooked rice, cooled
1 cup frozen carrots, corn, peas mix or whatever vegetables you desire
3 cloves garlic
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 red bird eye chilli
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbs soy sauce
3 eggs, beaten
8-10 medium prawns, peeled, deveined and chopped into small pieces
⅓ cup cashew nuts (optional)
cracked pepper (optional)

Method

1. Slice off one side of the pineapple to remove the skin (do not cut off the leaves). Carve out the fruit from inside the pineapple. Set carved pineapple aside.
2. Pound chilli and garlic in a mortar and pestle to make a paste. If you don't own one, just use your knife to flatten it.
3. Place oil in a work or frying pan and turn heat to medium high. Add the chilli paste and diced shallots. Saute until fragrant.
4. Add the frozen vegetables, cashew nuts, prawns and stir fry for about 2 minutes.
5. Add the rice, soy sauce, curry powder and cracked pepper. Stir fry everything together until well combined then add the pineapple pieces.
6. Push the rice to the edges of wok/fry pan, add the beaten eggs into the centre of the wok/fry pan and scramble them till cooked.
7. Continue to stir fry the rice and ensure that all ingredients are mixed thoroughly.
8. Taste the rice, if not salty enough add some soy sauce or salt.
9. Serve in the carved out pineapple.
10. Enjoy!

Wok Seared "Shaking" Beef + Vietnamese Red Rice (Com Bo Luc Lac)

Com Bo Luc Lac is a widely popular dish in Vietnamese restaurants despite it not being part of many Vietnamese home cook's repertoire.

A Vietnamese friend of mine tells me that the “luc lac” is merely a description for the “shaking” or tossing of the beef back and forth in the wok after it’s quickly seared. This dish is often paired together with red rice.

To make the red rice, it's best to use 'one-day-old' rice instead of freshly cooked rice so that the rice doesn't become soggy after cooking. I actually didn't have any left over rice when I made this dish, so I just cooked the rice as usual on the day, spread the rice out on a flat dish leaving it at room temperature for about 15-30 minutes than I popped it into the fridge to dry out for about an hour or two. The results still turned out OK :P

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

750g beef (any cut you like)

Marinade:

½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1½ teaspoons sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons light soy sauce and 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce

Garnish:


Lettuce leaves
2-4 Tomatoes, sliced
1 Cucumber, sliced

2 tablespoon canola or peanut oil
½ Spanish onion, thinly sliced

Method

1. Trim excess fat from the beef and then cut into cubes. In a shallow dish, combine the pepper, sugar, garlic, oyster sauce, fish sauce and soy sauce. Add the beef and toss well to coat. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for 2 hours.
2. Place lettuce leaves onto a platter or serving dish. Heat oil in a wok over high heat then add the onions and beef  (spread it out in one layer. Cook in batches, if necessary). Let the beef sear for about 1 minute, before shaking the wok to sear another side. Cook for another 30 seconds or so and shake. Cook the beef for about 4 minutes total, until nicely browned and medium rare.
3. Transfer the beef onto lettuce leaves, sprinkle some more cracked black pepper and garnish with sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. Serve immediately with Vietnamese red rice (see recipe below).

Vietnamese Red Rice

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cooked rice
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Put the cooked rice on a baking sheet and refrigerate it, uncovered, for 8 to 24 hours, until it is dry enough for you to gently crumble in your hands. Midway through, turn the rice to ensure even drying. Before cooking, return the rice to room temperature.
2. To make the rice, heat a large nonstick fry pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Then add the garlic, and cook, stirring frequently for about 2 minutes. Add the rice and stir to combine. Add the tomato paste and stir to coat the rice and turn it red. Increase the heat slightly and cook, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes, until the rice is heated through.
3. Push the rice to sides of wok, add the beaten egg to the centre of the wok and scramble it for about 2 minutes. 
4. Sprinkle the salt on the rice and eggs and stir fry everything together to combine well. For extra richness, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Continue to gently fry the rice for another 1 to 2 minutes, to sear in the flavors. Remove from the heat, taste and add extra salt, if necessary. Transfer to a bowl and serve immediately. 

Notes & Tips

Like all good fried rice, cook your rice on the firm side (use less water than usual) so that the grains retain their individuality. Then let the rice dry out in the refrigerator. If you have leftover rice, here's a great way to use it up! The rice will literally fry without soaking up tons of fat. The less moisture the better for fried rice, otherwise it becomes soggy.  The tomato paste is a great addition to the rice since it gives the rice great colour and a touch of sweet flavour.