Thai Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice

One of my favorite desserts is mango sticky rice. I lean toward the fruit side of the dessert world and this one is perfect for those cravings. It's so much easier than you think and the results are so perfect.

Thai Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice via The Kitchn:

Makes 2-4 servings

1 c. Thai sweet or sticky rice
1 can coconut milk, unshaken
3 Tb. raw or white sugar, divided
1 tsp. salt, divided
½ tsp. cornstarch (or tapioca flour, available in Asian groceries or in gluten-free section)
2 ripe mangos
Toasted sesame seeds and mint, to garnish

Soak 1 cup of dry sticky rice in water for about 1 hour. Drain the rice and rinse it thoroughly. Then pour about 1 cup of water into a saucepan, and place the rice in a steamer insert inside the saucepan. Cover tightly and steam over low to medium heat for 20 minutes.

While the rice is steaming, make the first sauce. You will make two coconut sauces to go on the rice: One thin one to mix into the rice itself, and then a thicker sauce to spoon over top. Start by opening the can of coconut milk and spooning out the thick cream on top.

Place the thicker coconut cream in a small bowl. You should have approximately 1/2 cup, give or take a bit. Pour the thinner, lighter coconut milk left in the can into a small saucepan. It will be a little over 1 cup. Stir in 2 tablespoons sugar and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Warm over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Do not let the sauce boil.

By now the rice is probably done. The grains should be tender and shiny. Spoon the rice out into a bowl. It will be clumpy. Slowly pour the warm coconut milk over the rice in the bowl, stirring frequently. You want the milk to coat the rice but not leave puddles. Keep stirring, and stop pouring in coconut milk when it looks like the rice is saturated. You may not use all of the milk. Set the rice aside to finish absorbing the coconut milk; after 15 minutes or so it should have soaked up any milk that is still liquid.

While the rice is standing, make the coconut topping sauce. Rinse out the coconut milk saucepan, and pour in the coconut cream that you took off the top of the can. Stir in 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together a few teaspoons of water and the cornstarch. Whisk this cornstarch slurry into the coconut cream and cook over low heat for about 3 minutes, or until the mixture thickens considerably. Set aside.

To cut up the mango, first cut off the bottom so it can stand upright. Slice away the skin in thin strips, until the mango is completely peeled. Cut off the flesh in slices, starting with the broad cheeks on each side, then the thinner strips that will come off either side. Try not to eat all of the mango when you're doing this. It's hard, I know, but the end result is worth it.

To serve, place about 1/3 cup cooked sticky rice on each plate, and arrange mango slices around it. Drizzle with the coconut topping sauce, and sprinkle with a few toasted sesame seeds. Garnish with a mint sprig, and eat while still warm.

So good. So so good.

Risotto Rice Pudding with Brown Sugar and Vanilla

Sometimes you just need dessert and you need to not leave the house. Sure, cookies are always a good choice, but sometimes you just gotta do something different. Sometimes you gotta make rice pudding. This is a fabulous recipe, though it does take a little longer to come together than stated. Worth it. Add the caramel like we did. Also so worth it.

Risotto Rice Pudding with Brown Sugar and Vanilla via Joy the Baker:

Serves 4

2 Tb. unsalted butter

1 c. Arborio rice

3½ to 4 c. milk

¼ c. brown sugar

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

large pinch allspice

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (seeds only) or 1 Tb. pure vanilla extract

Blackberries (or any berries) for topping

Caramel sauce for topping

In a medium saucepan, over low heat, scald 4 cups of milk. Bring the milk to just under boiling, turn off the flame and let it rest.

In a large saucepan, over low heat, melt the butter. Add the rice grains and stir to coat. Ladle in just enough hot milk to cover the rice. Stir (with a wooden spoon) over the low flame. The rice will begin to absorb the milk. When the milk is almost fully absorbed, ladle in more hot milk. Stir until absorbed. Continue this process, standing over the stove, stirring milky rice. Taste the rice as you near the end of the milk. You may only need 3½ cups instead of 4. As you add the last bit of milk, also incorporate the sugar, salt, spices, and scraped vanilla beans. Stir well to combine.

Stir over low heat until the milk is gone and the rice is tender, with just a hint of a toothsome bite.

If you want it thicker, continue to cook it for a bit longer. Serve warm or cold, with fresh berries or without. Or frozen berries. Or caramel sauce.

Rice pudding will last, in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days.

Super tasty! Super easy! Do it now!

30 Before 30: Saffron Rice (#2)

I needed something to go with my salmonmeuniere and when it comes to fish dinners, rice is usually the answer. Again I used this 30 before 30 challenge to do something other than just rice. I grabbed Ad Hoc at Home (and with the meuniere, I had my two largest cookbooks in the kitchen at once) and tapped into the genius that is Thomas Keller. This rice is basically paella without the rest and tasted amazing with the salmon. I used homemade chicken stock, but you can easily use veggie stock and make this vegetarian or vegan. It tastes great the next day too.

Saffron Rice via Ad Hoc at Home:

Serves 6

1/4 c. canola oil

3/4 c. finely chopped onion, cut just smaller than a grain of cooked rice

Kosher salt

1 tsp. saffron threads

2 c. short-grain rice

2 3/4- 3 1/2 c. chicken or vegetable stock

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until hot. Add the one and season with a sprinkling of salt. Reduce the heat and cook gently for 3 minutes. Add the saffron. Reduce the heat to very low and cook for another 2 minutes. Do not brown the onions and saffron. Add the rice and cook over medium heat, stirring often, to toast the rice for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add 2 1/2 cups of the stock, stir once, scraping the side of the pan if necessary and cover. Bring the stock to a simmer and simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary, for about 8 minutes, until most of the stock is absorbed. Taste the rice and, if necessary, continue cooking, adding up to 3/4 cup more stock 1/4 cup at a time, as necessary, until the rice is almost tender and the final addition of liquid is almost absorbed. Turn the heat to low to allow the rice to absorb the remaining liquid, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and serve hot.

Simple, delicious, and a little different.

Recipes Complete: 2

Recipes to Go: 28

Thai Style Buffalo

I feel like I should post a warning when a new semester starts for me: WARNING! SCHOOL IN SESSION. I MIGHT FORGET I HAVE A BLOG.

It makes me sad too because I love making good food and posting about it. So here we go, back to the middle of last month when I was talking about that fun, three-course meal I made for Aaron. The entree course was Thai-style buffalo. I was going to make them into meatballs, but decided to go with it loose over rice. It as tangy and fun and I really liked it.

Thai Style Buffalo with Rice:

Serves 4

1/2 lb. ground buffalo
Zest and juice of one lime
1 Tb. garlic chili sauce
2 Tb. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. oyster sauce
1/2 c. rice vinegar
1/2 c. island soyaki
1/2 c. olive oil
1 c. cilantro, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
Zest and juice of 1/2 orange
Olive oil
1 c. cooked rice

Mix buffalo with zest and juice of lime and next 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Place in fridge and marinate for about two hours, mixing every 30 minutes.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add buffalo and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.

It’s tangy and a little spicy and, of course, garlicky, which made it all a very satisfying main course. I’m sure you could marinate it for less time for a quicker mid-week meal.

Jambalaya

My husband is wonderful and a fantastic cook. Have I mentioned this before? Again, this is an older dish, but due to delays, is only being posted now. Just know that I loved this and coming home to that home cooked delicious smell is one of the best feelings in the world.

Aaron found this recipe on allrecipes.com (original here) and used our slow cooker, which is one of the greatest things ever invented. He did some substitutions and took some things out that we didn’t have at the house, but this was delicious nonetheless. I’d also like to point out how many times I’ve misspelled jambalaya in this post and had to correct it. The answer is a lot. I am constantly misplacing the a’s.

Jambalaya modified from allrecipes.com:

A couple of chicken breasts, cut into 1” cubes
A couple of chicken andouille
1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
½ large sweet onion, chopped
1 c. chicken broth
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried parsley
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning (we got this at the Saturday Market, which I first mentioned back in this post)
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. dried thyme
1 c. cooked rice

In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.



Cover and cook seven to eight hours on low or three to four hours on high. Aaron said it was closer to four hours on high. When it is done cooking, mix in your favorite cooked rice, serve and enjoy. This was spicy and delicious! If you took a look at the original, Aaron took out the shrimp as we didn’t have any, but next time he said he’d definitely put some in. I also had this as leftovers this next day and it was still fantastic!

Risotto with Fresh Tomatoes and Basil

It’s so great when you set out to do something and it comes out exactly the way you wanted it to. I do have a lot of bravado when it comes to matters of the kitchen, but when attempting my first risotto, I was a little wary. As a result, I followed the recipe almost to a T, with one exception, just because I didn’t want to screw it up. And I didn’t! Oh my goodness, it was so good and although time consuming as far as prep goes and trapping me at the stove, easy enough and so worthwhile. I saved a bit a time by doing most of the prep earlier in the afternoon.

My exception to perfection in following the recipe comes from the fact that Marcella Hazen, from which I got this recipe, is so bossy! Everything is supposed to be done in a certain, particular way that there is no room for change and if you do it wrong, it’s stupid and so are you. That’s how I read it anyway. For example, for the risotto you need homemade broth, not stock like I used. It needs to be “a pale amber broth in which veal and beef predominate, with minimal amounts of chicken and bones. Pure chicken broth generates distractingly sharp flavor”, etc., etc. I used my homemade veggie stock because I don’t make meat broth and I’m not going to go near veal. So ha! My stock was just fine and everything tasted wonderful.

Risotto with Fresh Tomatoes and Basil from Marcella’s Italian Kitchen:

For 4 persons

1½ lb. firm, ripe plum tomatoes (I used organic romas)
5 c. veggie stock
4 Tb. butter
1 Tb. oil
1/3 c. chopped onion
Salt (I used kosher)
Black pepper in a grinder
1½ c. Italian Arborio rice
½ c. freshly grated parmesan
10 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips



Wash the tomatoes in cold water, skin them with a peeler (she recommends not doing the blanch and peel method as you want the tomatoes to be very firm when you start cooking them), and cut them into ½” pieces. If there are very many seeds, pick out most of them with the tip of a paring knife. I cut mine in half and washed the seeds out. Sorry Marcella!

Put the stock in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer.



In a heavy-bottomed pot put ½ of the butter, the oil, and the chopped onion and turn on the heat to medium. When the onion becomes colored a pale gold, add the tomatoes with a little bit of salt and grindings of pepper. Cook, stirring from time to time, for 10 minutes. Add the rice and stir it a few times to coat it thoroughly.



Add a ladleful of stock and stir the rice constantly to wipe it away from the bottom and side of the pot. When there is no more stock, add another ladleful. Stir steadily to keep the rice from sticking at any point, adding more stock, a ladleful at a time, as required. Repeat the procedure, never ceasing stirring, until the rice is done. It should be firm but tender, without a chalky center. This took me approximately 25 minutes, with a little bit of stock leftover.



Add the remaining butter, the grated cheese, and the basil, stir for a minute or two, taste and correct for salt and pepper, and serve at once.

The only thing I would change about this recipe is the addition of garlic, but that should be obvious. I’m going to fiddle around with this, adding and creating, and see what I come up with. As Hannibal says, I love it when a plan comes together.

Fried Rice and Teriyaki Chicken

The other night Aaron and I had our friends over for dinner. Earlier in the day Aaron had asked me what I wanted to make so as to run it by our friends before we went shopping and got started on the whole thing. I panicked and couldn’t think of anything, even though I was staring at my huge to-cook list. Fortunately for me, Aaron stepped in and he decided that he would cook dinner. Tasty dinner made by Aaron and I only have to do prep? Brilliant!

Aaron has done fried rice before and, as he puts it, he improvises as he goes along, so it might be a little inexact. There was some help from a few epicurious recipes, past experience, and our 1000 Chinese Recipes cookbook. The teriyaki has an actual recipe though. Initially we had the fried rice and the chicken separate, but the chicken got mixed into the leftovers, which is what you see as the final picture. I was so hungry that I didn’t even take a photo of the food before I ate it Wednesday night. It was quite tasty too! My leftovers got a bit of extra pineapple, but that’s because I’m pineapple obsessed.

Vegetable Fried Rice and Teriyaki Chicken from Aaron’s brain, 1000 Chinese Recipes, and epicurious.com:

Serves at least 6

For the teriyaki:
1/3 c. soy sauce
2 Tb. mirin (Aaron subbed in citrus sake)
2½ Tb. cider vinegar
2 Tb. sugar
1½ Tb. chopped peeled fresh gingerroot

4 chicken breasts, roughly chopped

For the rice:
5-6 c. cooked rice (eyeballed by Aaron)
3 eggs, whisked
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 carrot, finely chopped
½ sweet onion, finely chopped
3 small heads of broccoli, chopped
6 pineapple rings, chopped
½-¾ c. scallions
Decent splash of soy sauce
Oil



For the teriyaki sauce, simmer sauce ingredients, stirring until sugar is dissolved, until reduced to about 1/2 cup. This simmered and reduced for forever, but didn’t quite get thick enough. We will have to try it again. It was still quite good. Strain out the gingerroot and set aside.

Heat a wok and oil over high heat. Throw in chicken and cook through, about 5 minutes or so. Set aside.

In a separate pan, cook eggs over high heat and scramble into small pieces. Set aside.



(look at how gorgeous my broccoli was!)



Heat oil in the wok again and add garlic. Cook until brown or fragrant, less than 1 minute. Add the rice and then the veggies. Cook for about 5 minutes, turning frequently. Aaron eyeballed this whole process. The more you do it, the easier it is to tell when it’s ready. Add soy sauce, cook for about 1 minute to add flavor and color. Throw in scallions and egg at last minute and toss thoroughly.



Toss chicken with teriyaki sauce. Serve rice and chicken immediately. This whole meal was super tasty and quite filling. We’ve had it for lunch a few times as well. This makes a ton and is quite the crowd pleaser.