RICE

Authentic recipes around asia

ductionIntro

Rice has been a staple meal for Asian coun-tries for thousands of years. Rice was not only a main source of food, but the farm-

ing of rice was a way of life. I am from Vietnam, where rice is indispensable in our country, our econ-omy, and our everyday meal. People have created endless possibilities from rice: noodles, wrappers, or drinks... We can make breakfast, lunch, and din-ner by using one main ingredient: Rice. My cook-

ductionbook gathers different famous recipes around Asia praising the beauty of rice. From the entrees like Pad Thai and Vietnamese Fried Rice, to desserts, such as Japanese Mochi Icecream and Thai Sticky Rice Ice Cream, you do not have to spend thou-sands of dollars to travel to taste these authentic Asian dishes because you can make your own by following this cookbook.

Intro

BIBIMBAPINGREDIENTS:Cooked RiceA package of bean sproutsA bunch of spinach 2 small size of cucum-ber 5-7 Shiitake mush-rooms½ lb of ground beef1 small carrot, eggs

Soy sauce, hot pepper paste, garlic, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:Arrange everything on a platter.1. Cook rice. You can use a rice cooker or a stainless pot.2. Next, prepare a large platter to put all your ingredients on. Rinse bean sprouts 3 times and put them in a pot with a cup of water. Add 1 ts of salt and cook for 20 minutes. Drain water and mix it with 1 clove of minced garlic, sesame oil and a pinch of salt. 3. Put your spinach in a pot of boil-ing water and stir it for a minute. Then rinse it in cold water a few times and squeeze it lightly. Mix it with a pinch of salt, 1 ts of soy sauce, 1 clove of minced garlic and sesame oil. 4. Cut 2 small size zucchinis into thin strips, sprinkle them with a pinch of salt, and then mix them together. A few minutes later, sauté them in a pan over high heat. When it’s cooked, it will look a little trans-lucent. Put it on the platter.5. Prepare about 2 or 3 cups of kosari for this 4 servings of bibim-bap. Cut it into pieces 5-7 cm long and sauté in a heated pan with 1 ts of vegetable oil. Stir and add 1 tbs of soy sauce, 1/2 tbs of sugar, and cook them for 1-2 minutes. Add

sesame oil. Put it on the platter.6. Slice shitake mushrooms thinly and sauté with 1 ts of vegetable oil. Add 2 ts of soy sauce and 1 or 2 ts of sugar and stir it for 2 minutes. Add some sesame oil, and put it on the platter.7.On a heated pan, put some oil and 200 grams of ground beef and stir it. Add 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tbs of soy sauce, 1/2 tbs of sugar, a little grounded black pepper, and sesame oil. Put it on the platter.8.Cut a carrot into strips, sauté it for 30 seconds and put it on the platter.9.prepare eggs with sunny side up.10.Put your rice In a big bowl, and attractively display all your veg-etables and meat t. Place the sunny side up egg on the center.11.Serve it with sesame oil and hot pepper paste.Lastly, mix it up and eat!

BIBIMBAP

INGREDIENTS:Tteok (Rice Cake):330gr of short grain rice flour360ml water½ ts Salt360ml water and 5ml sesame oil Tteokbokki: 100gr Cabbage1tb spoon sesame seeds 1tb spoon sesame oil2teaspoon garlic 4 cups of water

1 tablespoon sugar3 green onions, cut into 3 inch long pieces1kg fish cakes 2 hard boiled eggs, shelled1/3 cup hot pepper

TTEOKBOKKI

DIRECTIONS:Making Tteok (Rice Cake) 1.Mix rice flour with salt then slowly add water into the mixture. Knead the mixture until it is consis-tent 2.Put the dough into the steamer for 20 minutes. 3.Spread ½ ts sesame oil on the cut-ting board. Put the hot rice cake in the oily spot on the cutting board. Pound it with a pestle for about 5 minutes, until it becomes smooth and elastic. 4.Cut it into 8 equal pieces, then roll each piece out into a 4 inch long cylinder shaped rice cake5.Put ½ ts sesame oil onto your hands and gently rub the rice cakes to coat them in a thin sheen of oil. This will give them a nice flavor and keep them from sticking to each other6.Cut it into 2 equal pieces, then roll each piece out into two 10 inch long cyclinder shaped rice cakes 7.Let them cool at room tempera-ture for several hours, then slice diagonally into thin discs8.Making Tteokbokki9.Cut cabbages and fish cakes into an-inch slices

10.Add chicken broth and water into a shallow pot or pan 11.Boil for 15 minutes over medium high heat without the lid 12.Combine hot pepper paste, hot pepper flakes, and sugar in a small bowl. Add the rice cake, cabbage, the green onion, fish cakes and hard-boiled eggs. 13.Stir gently with a wooden spoon when it starts to boil. Keep stirring until the rice cake turns soft and the sauce thickens and looks shiny, which should take about 10-15 minutes. If the rice cake is not soft enough, add more water and con-tinue stirring until soften. When you use freshly made rice cake, it takes shorter time. 14.Remove from the heat and serve hot.

TTEOKBOKKI

INGREDIENTS:8 oz. Thai rice noodles, linguini-width, available at Asian/Chinese stores1 to 1 1/2 cups chopped chicken breast or thighMarinade for Chicken: 1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 3 Tbsp. soy sauce4 cloves garlic, mincedoptional: 1-2 fresh red chilies, minced3 cups fresh bean sprouts

3 green onions, sliced1/2 cup fresh coriander/cilantro1/3 cup crushed or roughly

chopped peanuts (or other nuts, such as cashews)1/4 cup chicken stockvegetable oil for stir-frying, and wedges of limePAD THAI SAUCE:3/4 Tbsp. tamarind paste dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water (look for tamarind at Asian/Chinese or In-dian food stores)2 Tbsp. fish sauce, + more to taste1-3 tsp. chili sauce, or substitute 1/2 tsp. or more dried crushed chili or cayenne, to taste3 Tbsp. brown sugar1/8 tsp. ground white pepper

PAD THAI

DIRECTIONS:1.Bring a large pot of pot to boil and dunk in rice noodles. Turn down the heat to low and keep an eye on them: you will be frying the noodles later, so you don’t want to over-soften them now. Noodles are ready to be drained when they are soft enough to be eaten, but still firm and a little “crunchy”. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent sticking. Set aside.2.Make the sauce by combining sauce ingredients together in a cup. Stir well to dissolve tamarind and brown sugar, and set aside. Note: this may seem like a lot of sugar, but you need it to balance out the sourness of the tamarind - this bal-ance is what makes Pad Thai taste so amazing!3.Place chicken slices in a small bowl. Stir together the marinade and pour over chicken. Stir well and set aside.4.Warm up a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp. oil plus garlic and minced chili, if using. Stir-fry until fragrant (30 seconds). Add marinated chick-en. When wok/pan becomes dry, add a little chicken stock, 1-2 Tbsp.

at a time, to keep the chicken frying nicely (5-7 minutes, until cooked is cooked).5.Add the noodles, and pour the Pad Thai sauce over. Using two utensils, use a gentle “lift and turn” method to fry noodles (like tossing a salad). Stir-fry in this way 1-2 min-utes. If you find your wok/frying pan too dry, push noodles aside and add a little more oil to the bottom of the pan.6.Add the bean sprouts and and continue frying 1 more minute, or until noodles are cooked. Noodles are done to perfection when they are no longer “hard” or crunchy, but chewy-sticky wonderful! Taste-test for seasoning, adding more fish sauce until desired flavor is reached (I usually add 1 more Tbsp. fish sauce). Toss well to incorporate.7.Lift noodles onto a serving plate. Top with generous amounts of fresh coriander, spring onion, and crushed/chopped nuts. Add fresh lime wedges to squeeze over each portion, and if desired, serve with Nam Prik Pao Chili Sauce (home-made recipe) on the side. ENJOY!

PAD THAI

FRIED RICE

INGREDIENTS:2 (medium) eggs

4 (tablespoon) vegetable oil

1/2 (medium) onion, chopped

1 (medium) carrot, chopped

1/2 (cup) fresh green peas or frozen

peas, thawed

1/2 (teaspoon) black pepper

1 (teaspoon) sugar

2 (teaspoon) fish sauce

1 (teaspoon) soy sauce

4 (cup) cold cooked rice

1/4 (cup) of chopped Cilantro

1 (cup) of cooked chicken or shrimp

(optional)

DIRECTIONS:1.In a small bowl, beat eggs well.

2.In a large skillet, heat 1 table-

spoon oil over medium heat for 1

minute. Add beaten eggs and cook

quickly, scrambling them with a

spoon. Place eggs on a plate and set

aside.

3.In a clean skillet, heat 3 table-

spoons oil over medium heat for

1 minute. Add onions and cook

uncovered for 2 minutes, stirring oc-

casionally. Add carrots and peas, stir

well, and cook 5 minutes, covered.

4.Add pepper, sugar, fish sauce, and

soy sauce and stir well.

5.Add rice, breaking apart any

clumps. Mix well and cook uncov-

ered 7 to 8 minutes, or until heated

through.

6.Just before serving, add scrambled

eggs, cilantro and optional chicken

/ shrimp and mix well. Serve hot.

7.Preparation time: 10 minutes

8.Cooking time: 30 to 40 minutes

FRIED RICE

INGREDIENTS:¾ cup shiratamako (100 g) or sweet rice flour (115 g)¾ cup (180 ml) water¼ cup sugar½ cup (100 g) potato starch/corn starchIce cream of your choiceWhat you will need:12 aluminum/silicone cupcake lin-ersA cookie dough scoop (smaller than an ice cream scooper)A rolling pin3.5 inch (9 cm) cookie cutter or a round bowl

MOCHI ICE CREAM

DIRECTIONS:1.Using the cookie scoop, scoop out ice cream into aluminum/sili-cone cupcake liners. The ice cream will melt quickly so I recommend freezing them immediately for a few hours or until ice cream balls are completely frozen solid.2.Once the ice cream balls are frozen solid and ready, you can start making mochi. Combine shirata-mako and sugar in a medium bowl and whisk all together.3.Add water and mix well until combined.4.Steaming Method: If you’re using a steamer, cover the steamer lid with a towel so the condensation won’t drop into the mochi mixture. Put the bowl into a steamer basket and cover to cook for 15 minutes. Half way cooking, stir with wet rubber spatula and cover to finish cooking. The color of mochi should change from white to almost trans-lucent.5.Cover the work surface with parchment paper and dust it gen-erously with potato starch. Then transfer the cooked mochi on top.6.To prevent from sticking, sprinkle more potato starch on top of the mochi. Once it’s cool down a bit, you can spread the mochi into a thin layer with your hands or with a rolling pin. Make sure to apply potato starch on your hands and the rolling pin. I recommend using a rolling pin because it’s easier to evenly spread out.7.Transfer the mochi with parch-ment paper onto a large baking sheet. Refrigerate for 15 minutes

until the mochi is set.8.Take out the mochi from the refrigerator and cut out 7-8 circles with the cookie cutter.9.Dust off the excess potato starch with a pastry brush. If you find some sticky part, cover the area with potato starch first then dust off. Place a plastic wrap on a plate and then mochi wrapper on top, then lay another layer of plastic wrap-per down. Repeat for all wrappers. With leftover mochi dough, roll into a ball and then flatten into a thin layer again and cut out into more circle wrappers.10.Now we’re ready to form mochi ice cream balls. On the work sur-face, place one sheet of plastic wrap with a mochi layer on top. Take out one ice cream ball from the freezer and put it on top of the mochi wrapper. Pinch the four corners of the mochi layer together to wrap the ice cream ball.11.When mochi gets sticky, put some potato starch on the sticky area and seal the opening. Quickly cover with the plastic wrap and twist to close. Place each mochi ice cream into a cupcake pan to keep the shape. You will need to work on one mochi ice cream at a time in order to keep the ice cream frozen all times. Put mochi ice cream back into the freezer for a few hours. When you’re ready to serve, keep them outside for a few minutes until mochi gets soften a little bit.

MOCHI ICE CREAM

INGREDIENTS: 3 cups sticky rice, soaked overnight in water or thin coconut milk and drained2 cups canned or fresh coconut milk3/4 cup palm sugar, or substitute brown sugar1teaspoon salt4 ripe mangoes, or substitute sliced ripe peaches or papayasOption Garnish:Mint or Asian basil sprigs

Sticky Rice Ice Cream

DIRECTIONS:1.Steam the sticky rice until tender.Meanwhile, place the coconut milk in a heavy pot and heat over me-dium heat until hot. Do not boil. 2.Add the sugar and salt and stir to dissolve completely.3.When the sticky rice is tender, turn it out into a bowl and pour 1 cup of the hot coconut milk over; reserve the rest. Stir to mix the liq-uid into the rice, then let stand for 20 minutes to an hour to allow the flavors to blend.4.Meanwhile, peel the mangoes. The mango pit is flat and you want to slice the mango flesh off the pit as cleanly as possible. One at a time, lay the mangoes on a narrow side on a cutting board and slice length-wise about 1/2 inch from the center — your knife should cut just along the flat side of the pit; if it strikes the pit, shift over a fraction of an inch more until you can slice down-ward. Repeat on the other side of the pit, giving you two hemispheri-cal pieces of mango. (The cook gets to snack on the stray bits of mango still clinging to the pit.) Lay each mango half flat and slice thinly crosswise.

5.To serve individually, place an oval mound of sticky rice on each dessert plate and place a sliced half-mango decoratively beside it. Top with a sprig of mint or basil if you wish. Or, place the mango slices on a platter and pass it around, together with a serving bowl con-taining the rice, allowing guests to serve themselves. Stir the remaining sweetened coconut milk thoroughly, transfer to a small serving bowl or cruet, and pass it separately, with a spoon, so guests can spoon on extra as they wish.Notes:You can substitute black Thai sticky rice for half the white rice. Soak the two rices together; the white rice will turn a beautiful purple as it takes on color from the black rice. Cooking will take 10 minutes longer.Unlike plain sticky rice, Coconut Milk Sticky Rice has enough mois-ture and oils in it that it keeps well for 24 hours, in a covered container in the refrigerator, without drying out. Rewarm it the next day by steaming or in a microwave.

Sticky Rice Ice Cream