Curried Rice with Avocado and Tomato

It occurred to me the other day when I posted my recipe for rice patties made from leftover curry rice, that although that post includes the recipe for the curried rice, that some folks may want the down & dirty simple recipe for the rice on its own. So as I sat down to eat my easy-peasy super-cheap delicious lunch, I snapped a photo before my first bite (that took will power!)

This meal is really satisfying but doesn't leave you in a food coma, so it's great for work. You can also make 4 meals for hella cheap (depending on where you buy that avocado!)

So here's the recipe (which is really just cooking rice with a little yellow curry powder & cumin). I like to top it with avocado, freshly picked cherry tomatoes, and a sprinkle of S&P. Enjoy! 

To Make Yellow Curry Rice
Boil 1.5 cups of water and set aside (microwave for 3 minutes).
Measure 1 cup dry white rice (I find that jasmine, or any regular medium-grain rice works well)
Heat 1 teaspoon butter or olive oil in a quart-sized saucepan (one that has a lid)
Stir in the rice, & add about 2 teaspoons yellow curry (I like the Sun Brand Madras Curry), 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1/4-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.
Pour the 1.5 cups of boiling water over the rice. It will come to a rapid boil. Stir, cover with the lid, & turn the heat all the way down. A gas burner should be barely going. On an electric burner, use the lowest setting.
Set your timer for 20 minutes. Do not take the lid off the rice during this cooking time.
Once the timer goes off, turn off the burner but LEAVE THE LID ON THE RICE FOR ANOTHER 5 MINUTES.
Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork, top with whatever, and eat. 
If you prefer, omit or change the seasoning as desired. Just remember that salt it key. You can also use veggie or chicken broth for more flavor. Add onion, herbs, & almonds or pine nuts for a pilaf.
Store leftover rice in a container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 

Easy Perfect Polenta

Looks good, doesn't it? It is.
Read on to see how easy it is to make!

That does look good, but polenta is one of those things you break your arm stirring for hours, right? Nope. 

It's true. Cooking polenta takes about 30 minutes total. But with a couple tricks provided by my culinary heroes of making difficult easy (while amping up the delicious) - America's Test Kitchen - we can make creamy, luscious polenta with very little stirring.

Preparation
3 & 3/4C water
3/4C polenta (Bob's Red Mill works great!)
pinch of baking soda
1/2t kosher salt

2T butter
1/3C grated Parmigiano Reggiano 
Pepper

Bring the water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed 4Qt pot. Keep the lid on so the water doesn't evaporate. 
Once the water is boiling, add a pinch of baking soda, and the 1/2t kosher salt. The baking soda will help break down the large grains of corn, and save you a lot of stirring. 
While whisking the water back & forth, sprinkle in the polenta. If it foams up, whisk quickly, and if needed, turn off the flame. Stir down the raging boil, then turn down your burner to the lowest setting possible, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. If you have a "simmer" burner on your stove, transfer the pot to it, and use the lowest possible flame. 

Some newer gas ranges feature a "simmer" burner, which is ideal for cooking polenta. 

The lowest possible flame I could get out of my simmer burner before it goes out. Make sure there is no draft in your kitchen, or the flame could go out, and your kitchen could fill with gas. Although you don't have to stir the whole time, keep an eye on the flame. 

After 5 minutes, remove the lid and stir the polenta. It should be starting to absorb most of the water. Stir it well, replace the cover, and cook for 20 more minutes. If you can't get your flame as low as you'd like, check the pot after 10 or 15 minutes. You can stir as often as needed to keep the bottom from scorching, but ideally, you won't have to. 

After 25 minutes total cooking time, your polenta might look done. Give it a good stir, and check two things: 

• Give it a taste. If you're biting down on chewy pieces of cornmeal, it needs to cook for another 5 minutes. 

• Also, stir it, and see how the polenta falls off the whisk. If it runs right off, it needs another 5 minutes. 

Cooked polenta should be velvety-smooth in your mouth, but still hold up a bit on the whisk. (See the photo below)

Some of the polenta stays in the whisk, and the part that falls
sits on top rather than sinking in. It's done!

Perfectly cooked polenta is soft and flowing, but doesn't run off the whisk.
When spooned into a bowl, it will settle a bit, but maintain a soft mound. 

Congratulations! You made perfect polenta. Now, finish it with the butter, Parmesan, and pepper (or omit the butter & cheese if you are vegan). If you think it needs more salt, I suggest you sprinkle a little on each serving, rather than stir more into the whole batch. If you're planning on saving the rest for the next day, you'll be glad. Salt can taste more concentrated once a dish has cooled. I also add other things to my leftovers (like Tapatillo!), and prefer to control the salt then. 

Bonus! You can have soft polenta with just about any accompaniment for dinner, then save the rest for next level action the next day (or two). 

Soft polenta poured into a lightly oiled dish sets firmly when chilled. This 8" dish will yield 4 generous wedges of polenta that you can sear, creating an irresistible crust

To fry leftover polenta, cut a slice out of your chilled pan. Gently pat it dry on a paper towel. Water will spatter when it touches a hot pan, so you want to avoid that.

Heat a nonstick pan to high. Add 2T olive oil. Once the oil is heated, gently lay in the polenta, and don't move it for at least 5 minutes. If you have a spatter screen, you'll want to use it. Once one side is nicely golden, use a thin spatula to shimmy under the polenta and give it a quick flip. Ideally, flip it to a spot on the pan that has some oil. Again, don't move it for about 5 minutes. That way you'll get that lovely crust. 

The magic? The center will be as soft and velvety as fresh polenta. Eat it as is, or top with a fried add and a dash of Tapatillo. Add some veggies if you like, and enjoy! 

A Great Kitchen Tool

The inexpensive and indispensable Microplane!
In this recipe I used it to quickly and finely grate the Parmesan.
You'll find it works great on hard cheese, citrus zest, ginger, garlic, and more.
Be careful. The blades are razor sharp. They now come with rubber handles for easier gripping. 

Fried Rice...Russian Easter Style

Restaurants are making a killing selling you a carton of leftovers for about $8. 

Next time you find yourself with leftover meat and rice, make a honkin' batch of fried rice, and feed your whole family for a fraction of the cost (and without wondering how much sodium or "mystery ingredients" may be lurking behind that carrot). 

My family only cooks a ham twice a year - at Easter and Christmas. We eat meat so rarely that when we do, we indulge in a pricier nitrite-free ham from a good butcher. And we all want leftovers, so we tend to overbuy (even for a Russian family, hell-bent on overfeeding our guests). This Easter, my Mom* wanted to try a new method she had read about - braising the whole ham in apple cider and spices. This resulted in a moist, delectable flavor, deeply spiked with apple, clove, and allspice. 

Since my Mom is highly praised for her beef Stroganoff, we had a sort of "turf & turf" Easter buffet. Cold ham served with an assortment of salads, and hot Stroganoff served with rice. It was a very warm day, and one of those years when Russian Orthodox Easter falls on the same day as the Gregorian Easter. This meant more leftovers than usual, which was fine with everyone who went home with lovely parting gifts of meat and Easter bread. 

Having cooked and cleaned for days ahead of our annual party, I was not in the mood for preparing anything at all time consuming for myself the following week. And then it hit me. Russian + Chinese makes sense in my family. After all, my Father's family came through China on their way to the U.S. My paternal grandparents were born in Shanghai. And with this Easter falling on April 20th (the anniversary of my Great Grandmother's passing), nothing felt more right than using Russian Easter leftovers to make Chinese food for an American girl. 

Now, contrary to the pomp that precedes the instructions, preparing fried rice can be quite simple and quick. I opted for using fresh veggies, which I usually have in abundance. Most people have a carrot lying in wait in the fridge, and if that bag of peas hasn't been in & out of the freezer for years of bruise-tending, it should be good to go as well. I'll list the ingredients I used, but as always, feel free to improvise. The best way to a successful dish is to prep everything ahead of time so that when you're cooking, you can work quickly. 

Pork Fried Rice
2-3T soy sauce
2T rice vinegar
1t sesame oil
pinch of sugar

3T grapeseed or vegetable oil

1C diced leftover ham
1/2C+ thinly sliced carrot
1/2C+ peas (either blanched fresh, or thawed frozen)
3-4 crimini mushrooms, sliced 
1-2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 green onion, thinly sliced
2-3C leftover white rice
pickled ginger garnish

Whisk together the first 4 ingredients, and set aside. 

Heat a large skillet or wok on high, and add the oil. 
Saute the ham until golden on the edges. Add the carrot and mushroom, and cook about 2 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning. Add the peas to heat through. Make a well in the center of the pan, and add the egg, stirring to scramble, then mix in with the other ingredients. Add the green onion and rice, stir to combine & heat through. Pour the soy sauce mixture evenly over the rice, and heat through for about a minute. 

Serve immediately, topped with julienned pickled ginger. 

Allow leftovers to cool to room temperature before storing in the fridge. 

Note: The special braise on this ham gave this dish a wonderfully authentic Chinese flavor akin to 5-spice. I have made fried rice with regular ham, chicken, shrimp, and tofu - all delicious. Have fun improvising! 


*The ham was Mom's idea, but the credit goes to my brother-in-law, who prepared and sliced the ham to perfection. 

Pitter-Pat Rice Patties (Glorious Leftovers for a Rainy Day)

It is a universal (to me) truth that the more I have to do, the more I will take on. Somehow in the ADD din, this comforts & makes sense to me. Today I am committed to many projects, including making gnocchi, & finishing a costume for SFBP tomorrow night.

So what do I do? Make a delicious brunch, of course! Since it's raining, I wanted something hot, & luckily this meal was simple to prepare. The hardest part was stopping to take photos before I ate.

I've seen several variations on how to turn leftover rice into a tasty hot patty, but I think the one I made up worked very well. I used just enough egg to bind the rice together, and a little cheese to add creaminess and character. Depending on what kind of rice you have, add complimentary ingredients & moisture as needed. Goat cheese would make an amazing binder for these cakes. Instead of mixing it into the batter, I would hide a dollop of it inside each patty, or let it melt on top of the fried patties.

I started with leftover yellow curry rice. I make this rice often & eat it with diced tomato, avocado, salt & pepper. See recipe for rice below. Since this blog is about the leftovers, I will start with the patty recipe.


To Make the Rice Cakes
2 cups leftover curried rice
2 large eggs
1/2 an onion, diced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (or goat cheese if you have it)
1/2 cup chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
Sriracha or other hot sauce
salt
pepper
butter
olive oil

Saute the diced onion in some butter & oil until brown & caramelized. Take about 1/2 cup of the rice along with the cooked onions, and blend them in a mini prep or blender until somewhat emulsified. This step is not necessary, but will add a creamier texture to your patties.

Combine the rice, eggs, rice/onion mixture, parmesan cheese, most of the parsley (leave some for garnish), in a bowl. Season as desired with hot sauce, salt & pepper. Since the eggs are raw here and I can't taste, I go easy on the salt & sprinkle a bit more on before frying.

Form into patties and refrigerate for about 20 minutes (also can be left overnight, but who can wait that long?) Chilling will help set the patties and ensure they stay together when flipped.

Heat the pan from your onions, and add more butter. Once it starts to sizzle, add the patties and fry for 4-5 minutes on each side. You want a nice crispy crust on these, so be patient and only flip once.

I served these with a fried egg on top, extra hot sauce & parsley. Aside from adding color, the parsley kicked the flavor into high gear.

A hot cup of cardamom coffee is a delicious accompaniment to this dish. Simply add a 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom to 2 packed tablespoons of grounds. Makes 3-4 cups, depending on how strong you brew it.


To Make Yellow Curry Rice
Boil 1.5 cups of water and set aside.
Measure 1 cup dry white rice (I find that jasmine, or any regular medium-grain rice works well)
Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a quart-sized saucepan (one that has a lid)
Stir in the rice, & add 1 tablespoon yellow curry (I like the Sun Brand Madras Curry), 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1 teaspoon salt.
Pour the 1.5 cups of boiling water over the rice. It will come to a rapid boil. Stir, cover with the lid, & turn the heat all the way down. A gas burner should be barely going. On an electric burner, use the lowest setting.
Set your timer for 15 minutes. Do not take the lid off the rice during this cooking time.
Once the timer goes off, turn off the burner but LEAVE THE LID ON THE RICE FOR ANOTHER 5 MINUTES.
After the full 20 minutes, remove the lid, and fluff the rice with a fork.
If you prefer, omit or change the seasoning as desired. Just remember that salt it key. You can also use veggie or chicken broth for more flavor. Add onion, herbs, & almonds or pine nuts for a pilaf.
Store leftover rice in a container in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!