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Dinner last night
Plain white rice with garlic hoisin greens.
I used basmati because I only tend to keep two sorts of rice around - basmati and arborio. Any more sorts and they start falling out of the cupboard onto me. Half a mugful of rice, soaked for about ten minutes while I changed out of my cycling clothes, then rinsed, swished and drained three times. One mugful of boiling water over the rice on a highish heat. Stirred once when it came to the boil, let bubble until the steam had made chimneys in the rice and the sound of the water on the bottom of the pan had just changed - you can tell when the water's just about gone because it stops bubbling and starts sounding like it's almost frying. At that point, I swooped in: the lid clanged on and the saucepan went on the lowest possible heat for five minutes. Then I turned it off and got back to the greens.
One small head of spring greens, washed in a bowl of cold water and torn to pieces. Large bits of stalk and any yellowing leaf edges to the compost bin and the rest swished round. I took the darker shreds first, a handful or so with the water still dripping from them, and stirred them round in a non-stick frying pan (I couldn't be bothered to get the wok out of the back of the cupboard) on a medium heat. When they started to wilt, I added another handful; when they started to stick I added a drop of water. When they were all just about soft and the water had gone, I put them into a bowl to wait. Garlic next: two fat cloves, green centres removed, sliced finely and fried in a tablespoon or so of sunflower oil until just beginning to colour. I stirred the spring greens into the garlic oil, moving the pieces of garlic up over the leaves so they didn't colour too much more. Finally, a teaspoon of hoisin sauce (I'd rather have had oyster sauce but I haven't got any) and a tablespoon of water, allowed to bubble while I put the rice into my bowl, then spooned out over the rice.
Extremely simple, delicious, and exactly what I wanted. Recorded because for once I managed to cook all of the components for the perfect amount of time.
I used basmati because I only tend to keep two sorts of rice around - basmati and arborio. Any more sorts and they start falling out of the cupboard onto me. Half a mugful of rice, soaked for about ten minutes while I changed out of my cycling clothes, then rinsed, swished and drained three times. One mugful of boiling water over the rice on a highish heat. Stirred once when it came to the boil, let bubble until the steam had made chimneys in the rice and the sound of the water on the bottom of the pan had just changed - you can tell when the water's just about gone because it stops bubbling and starts sounding like it's almost frying. At that point, I swooped in: the lid clanged on and the saucepan went on the lowest possible heat for five minutes. Then I turned it off and got back to the greens.
One small head of spring greens, washed in a bowl of cold water and torn to pieces. Large bits of stalk and any yellowing leaf edges to the compost bin and the rest swished round. I took the darker shreds first, a handful or so with the water still dripping from them, and stirred them round in a non-stick frying pan (I couldn't be bothered to get the wok out of the back of the cupboard) on a medium heat. When they started to wilt, I added another handful; when they started to stick I added a drop of water. When they were all just about soft and the water had gone, I put them into a bowl to wait. Garlic next: two fat cloves, green centres removed, sliced finely and fried in a tablespoon or so of sunflower oil until just beginning to colour. I stirred the spring greens into the garlic oil, moving the pieces of garlic up over the leaves so they didn't colour too much more. Finally, a teaspoon of hoisin sauce (I'd rather have had oyster sauce but I haven't got any) and a tablespoon of water, allowed to bubble while I put the rice into my bowl, then spooned out over the rice.
Extremely simple, delicious, and exactly what I wanted. Recorded because for once I managed to cook all of the components for the perfect amount of time.
no subject
The rice doesn't take that long - less than 10 minutes on a high heat and five on a low heat, by which time it's steaming rather than boiling. I'm not claiming it's better than any other method, just that it seems to work for me. I don't cook risotto that often but sometimes it's just what I fancy, and I like having some rice around in case.