Cook Like a Chef Episode 5: Rice

Today I watched an episode on rice. The person did three risottos, two sticky rice recipes, and a sticky rice risotto.

The first three risottos used arboreal rice. It is one of the hardest rices around. The first two risottos used butter and onions, while the third used just butter. The first risotto had wine, chicken stock, and blanched watercress, baby spinach, carrots, celery, and onions. That made a very veggie risotto. It was topped with Parmesan. The second risotto used chicken stock, lemon and lime juice and zest, heavy whipped cream, and blanched asparagus spears. It was a citrus based risotto. The last risotto was my favorite. It used water boiled with cloves and star anise, bittersweet chocolate, whipping cream, a dash of brandy (also known as the water of life), and topped with hazelnuts. I am going to have to try that sometime.

The sticky rice is actually called sweet rice. It is used in sushi. It is different from other rices in the fact that it is steamed, not cooked in water. The first sticky rice recipe used an egg, butter, scallions, and cilantro. Then they formed the mixture into patties and browned both sides with oil. The second recipe used scallions, cilantro, aged soy sauce, sesame oil, and lime juice.

The sticky rice risotto was based on tropical flavors. The first ingredient was a chopped mango. Then the sticky rice was added to a simple syrup (a mixture of sugar and water) with toasted sesame seeds. Then coconut milk was added with sugar and salt. Then the mango was added to the risotto and it was all mixed together.