The Amazing World of Rice (27 page)

The black bran on black rice turns the water it is cooked in a deep purplish black, or milk a lovely shade of lavender gray. For this pudding, begin with soft-cooked black rice. Not all black rice needs to be soaked before cooking. If you use the Chinese Forbidden Rice from Lotus Foods (which is less sticky than some black rices and available in better supermarkets) or some brands of Thai black rice, it will be tender in 35 minutes and very soft in 50 minutes without soaking. Sticky black rice, found mostly at Asian grocers, may need to be soaked for several hours before cooking. Cooking black rice might seem like a lot of trouble, but this exotic rice, with its haunting aromatic flavor, is worth it—especially when used to make this irresistibly creamy pudding.

One 14½-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk

¾ cup (approximately) half-and-half or heavy cream

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups soft-cooked black rice (see Notes)

2 ripe mangoes

½ cup unsweetened dried coconut, toasted (see Notes)

2 tablespoons brown sesame seeds, optional

• 1.
  Pour the coconut milk into a 2-cup measure; whisk to blend the solid coconut cream with the liquid coconut milk. Add enough half-and-half to equal 2 cups. Whisk to blend.
  
• 2.
  Combine the coconut milk mixture, sugar, and salt in a deep saucepan; heat to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring to prevent scorching. Ladle out 1 cup and reserve to serve as a sauce.
  
• 3.
  Add the rice to the saucepan; heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low; cook, stirring often to prevent sticking and adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a steady simmer, until the pudding is very thick, about 10 minutes or
  more depending on the rice. Add more cream, if needed. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature.
  
• 4.
  Cut the mangoes just to the left and the right of the flat center pits. Peel the skin from the two cheeks. Place the cut sides down and cut crosswise into ½-inch-wide slices.
  
• 5.
  To serve the pudding, spoon a mound onto each dessert plate. Fan the mango slices and arrange on the side of each plate. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and/or sesame seeds. Pass a pitcher of the reserved sweetened coconut milk mixture to drizzle on top of the pudding, if desired.
  

NOTES:
To cook black rice, first place it in a large bowl. Add tap water to cover, swish it around, and drain in a strainer. Repeat at least twice. If the rice needs to be soaked before cooking, return the rice to the bowl, cover with cold water, and soak for 4 hours. Drain.

Put the rice either soaked or unsoaked in a large saucepan. Cover with plenty of water and cook, uncovered, until the rice is plump and tender, anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes. Drain and let cool. Alternatively, to steam the rice: Place the soaked rice in a large bowl and add just enough boiling water to cover the rice. Place the bowl in a steaming basket set over gently boiling water. Cover the steamer and cook until the rice is tender and fluffy, 30 to 50 minutes, adding more boiling water to the rice if necessary. (One cup uncooked black rice will yield approximately 4 cups cooked black rice. Use leftovers in salads or stir-fries, or use ½ cup uncooked black rice.)

 

CREAMY WHITE RICE PUDDING WITH COCONUT MILK AND MANGO.
Substitute 2 cups cooked Thai jasmine rice for the cooked black rice.

C
ooked rice, rice wine, and rice flour
inspire a unique assortment of sweets from cookies to poached fruits. Many are straightforward recipes that are made by stirring rice into a batter or poaching fruit in sweetened and spiced rice wine.

But baking with rice flour presents more of a challenge, because it is gluten-free. Baked goods need gluten to hold moisture and form a crumb that stays together. The following recipes use a combination of rice and wheat flours, resulting in cookies that are tender, crisp, and buttery with a slightly sandy texture. I use both plain rice flour from my Asian market and the boutique rice flours made from ground Bhutanese red rice and black rice in these recipes. The black rice flour gives the cookies an unusual pale lavender color, and the red flour lends a pale pink color. Otherwise, there is no discernible difference among the different rice flours.

Ground walnuts go into the cookie dough and coat the cookies after they are shaped. Handle carefully, as cookies made with rice flour are very tender. These will keep about a week stored in an airtight container.

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

1½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup white, black, or red rice flour

3 cups walnuts, finely ground in a food processor

2 large egg whites

• 1.
  In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt with an electric mixer until very light and creamy, about 10 minutes.
  
• 2.
  Combine the all-purpose flour, rice flour, and 1 cup of the ground walnuts in a medium bowl; stir to blend. Add to the butter mixture; beat on low speed just until the dry ingredients are incorporated, about 1 minute. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour, or until firm enough to form into small balls.
  
• 3.
  Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place the egg whites in a shallow bowl and whisk until foamy. Place the remaining 2 cups walnuts on a sheet of wax paper.
  
• 4.
  Shape the dough into ¾-inch balls. Coat the balls with the egg white, then roll in the walnuts. Place on ungreased baking sheets about 1 inch apart.
  
• 5.
  Bake one sheet at a time until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for about 10 minutes before carefully removing cookies from the baking sheet to a rack with a thin metal spatula. When the cookies are completely cooled, store in an airtight plastic container. Will keep one week. Cookies freeze well.
  

Delicate and buttery, these cookies are made with wheat flour and white rice flour, or one of the specialty rice flours made from red rice or black rice. Dried unsweetened coconut adds a nice crunch and extra richness.

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

1½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup white rice, black rice, red rice flour

½ cup unsweetened dried coconut, plus ½ cup for coating

• 1.
  In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt with an electric mixer until very light and creamy, about 10 minutes.
  
• 2.
  Combine the all-purpose flour, rice flour, and coconut in a medium bowl; stir to blend. Add to the butter mixture; beat on low speed just until the dry ingredients are incorporated, about 1 minute.
  
• 3.
  Lay a sheet of aluminum foil on the counter. Turn the dough (it will be very soft) out onto the foil. With floured hands, shape the dough into an oval and divide in half. Gently roll each half into a log about 12 inches long. Roll up in foil. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. (If the dough becomes very firm, it will crumble when cut. Let very cold dough stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes before slicing.)
  
• 4.
  Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly brush the outside of the dough logs with egg white. Spread the remaining ½ cup coconut on a sheet of wax paper; roll the logs in the coconut, pressing lightly to coat evenly. Using a sharp, thin-bladed knife, preferably serrated, cut the dough into ¼-inch-thick cookies. Place on ungreased cookie sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake one sheet at a time until the edges are golden, about 20 minutes. Cool on cookie sheets for 10 minutes before removing from baking sheets to racks with a thin metal spatula. When the cookies are completely cooled, store in an airtight plastic container. Will keep one week. Cookies freeze well.
  

“Belles calas tout chaud”
was once a familiar cry on the back streets of the New Orleans French Quarter. Sold from carts by street vendors,
calas
were a popular breakfast food—and a practical way to use up leftover cooked rice from the night before. This recipe, from cookbook author and food writer Terry Thompson, is made with a yeast dough and produces a light airy fritter, similar to a doughnut, that is hard to resist. Plan ahead: the rice sponge (see Step 1) needs to stand overnight.

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 package active dry yeast

1½ cups cooked long-grain white rice

3 large eggs, beaten

1½ cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

Confectioners' sugar or warm honey

• 1.
  Combine ½ cup warm water (105° to 115°F) and 1 teaspoon of the sugar in a large bowl; sprinkle the yeast over the water. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand until the yeast is dissolved and foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the rice and let stand, covered, in a warm place overnight.
  
• 2.
  The next day, the rice will be swollen; stir just to blend. Add the eggs, flour, salt, vanilla, nutmeg, and the remaining 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons sugar; beat with a wooden spoon just until smooth. The batter will be the consistency of cookie dough or stiff cake batter. Cover and place in a warm place until the batter doubles in bulk, about 1 hour.
  
• 3.
  Heat 3 inches of oil in a deep heavy saucepan or a deep-fryer to 350° to 375°F. Stir the batter gently to blend. Scoop up rounded tablespoonfuls and drop into the hot oil; fry 3 or 4 at a time, tapping the fritters occasionally with the back of a spoon (they will puff up slightly), until golden, about 4 minutes.
  
• 4.
  Drain on paper towels. Serve hot, sprinkled with confectioners' sugar or drizzled with warm honey.
  

In Bologna, Italy,
torta di riso
, or rice torte, is a specialty. This recipe is a favorite inspired by a recipe from Biba Caggiano, a wonderful cook, restaurateur, and cookbook author from Sacramento, California, whose food I greatly admire. The torta has the texture of a cheesecake and the flavors of a pudding. The quality of the candied orange peel is critical to the success of this torte. If you must rely on supermarket candied peel, be sure it is a fresh supply (usually available around the holidays), but I buy it in bulk at Italian, Middle Eastern, or other specialty food shops.

¾ cup uncooked medium-grain white or Arborio rice

4 cups whole milk

1½ cups sugar

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 cup finely ground natural (skin-on) almonds

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

5 large eggs

½ cup finely chopped candied orange peel

¼ cup Grand Marnier

¼ teaspoon pure almond extract

Confectioners' sugar

Optional Garnishes

1 pint raspberries or strawberries, hulled and sliced

1 cup heavy cream, stiffly beaten

Minced candied orange peel

• 1.
  Heat 6 cups water to a boil in a large wide saucepan. Add the rice; cook, uncovered, until partially cooked, about 12 minutes. Drain.
  
• 2.
  Combine the rice, milk, and sugar in the same pan; heat to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thickened and the rice is very tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; let cool to room temperature. Stir in the orange zest.
  
• 3.
  Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  
• 4.
  Spread the ground almonds in a baking pan. Bake, stirring once or twice, until evenly toasted, about 10 minutes; let cool. Brush the bottom and sides of a 10-inch spring form pan with the melted butter. (Make sure the seal is tight so that
  the cake batter will not leak out during baking.) Evenly coat the bottom and sides of the buttered pan with approximately ¼ cup of the ground almonds. Reserve the remaining almonds for the torta.
  
• 5.
  In a large bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer until light in color. Stir in the cooled rice mixture, the candied orange peel, the reserved ground almonds, 2 tablespoons of the Grand Marnier, and the almond extract until thoroughly blended. Pour into the prepared pan; smooth the top.
  
• 6.
  Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes, or until the cake is well browned and the sides are beginning to pull away from the pan. While the cake is still warm, make holes in the surface with a wooden pick and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier. Cool the cake on a rack.
  
• 7.
  When the cake has cooled, run a thin spatula around the edges and remove the rim of the pan. Serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar, with a few fresh raspberries or sliced strawberries on the side, if desired. Or, cover the surface of the torta with tiny rosettes of whipped cream, using a pastry bag with a star tip; sprinkle the cream with minced candied orange peel.