The Amazing World of Rice (5 page)

Any type of rice is good stirred into this soup, but the presentation is most dramatic when black rice is spooned into the red broth. Look for black rice in upscale supermarkets or Asian markets. Or, try any of the aromatic blends like Wehani, a rice with a rust-brown bran and a texture similar to wild rice.

Cilantro Cream

1 cup low-fat or whole milk yogurt

½ cup chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems

 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup thin lengthwise slices sweet yellow onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon Madras-style curry powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

Two 28-ounce cans plum tomatoes, with their juices

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

8 ounces spinach, washed and trimmed (about 2 cups packed)

1 cup cooked long-grain black rice or Wehani or wild rice

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, or as needed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1.
  For the cilantro cream:
  Puree the yogurt and cilantro together in a blender. Refrigerate until ready to use. (It will thicken upon standing.)
  
• 2.
  Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook, stirring, over low heat until golden, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic; cook for 1 minute. Stir in the curry powder and cumin; cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
  
• 3.
  Meanwhile, press the tomatoes through a sieve or food mill; discard the solids. Add the pureed tomatoes and ginger to the onion; cover, and cook over low heat for 20 minutes.
  
• 4.
  Stir in the spinach. Heat until the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice; heat through. Add the broth as needed to thin the soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  
• 5.
  Ladle the soup into bowls. Swirl a spoonful of the cilantro cream into each bowl, dividing evenly.
  

The secret ingredient in this soup, inspired by a remarkable black bean salad I ate many years ago at the Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur, California, is Guinness stout. The stout, says chef/proprietor Bradley Ogden, adds a distinctive depth of flavor. Plan ahead; the beans need to be soaked overnight, and the soup only improves upon standing.

1 pound small black beans, sorted and rinsed

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup chopped red bell peppers

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped carrot

2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeños

2 garlic cloves, minced 2 teaspoons ground cumin

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon dried thyme

One 12-ounce bottle Guinness stout

1 cup chopped, drained, peeled, canned, or fresh tomatoes

1 bay leaf

2 cups cooked long-grain white rice

1 tablespoon pureed chipotle chile in adobo sauce

1 to 2 teaspoons salt

Cilantro Cream

1 cup sour cream or ½ cup each sour cream and low-fat or whole milk yogurt

1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves and minced stems

1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped

• 1.
  Place the beans in a large bowl and cover generously with water. Soak overnight; drain. (If the weather is warm, refrigerate the beans while soaking.)
  
• 2.
  Heat the oil in a large wide saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, and carrot; cook, stirring, until the vegetables are golden, about 15 minutes. Add the jalapeños and garlic; cook for 1 minute. Add the cumin, red pepper flakes, and thyme; cook for 1 minute. Add the stout, tomatoes, and bay leaf; heat to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
  
• 3.
  Add the beans and 8 cups water to the saucepan; cook, uncovered, at a gentle simmer until the beans are very tender and the soup is thickened, 2½ to 3 hours; add more water if needed to keep beans moist.
  
• 4.
  With a slotted spoon, transfer 1 cup of the beans to a food processor; add about ½ cup bean liquid. Process until smooth; return to the saucepan. Add the rice, pureed chipotle chile, and salt. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes.
  
• 5.
  Meanwhile, for the cilantro cream:
  Puree the sour cream, cilantro, and jalapeño in a food processor. Transfer to a bowl; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (The cream will thicken upon standing.)
  
• 6.
  To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and add 1 tablespoon of the cilantro cream to each bowl. Serve the remaining cilantro cream on the side to add to taste.
  

The roasted eggplant and vegetables make a delicious side dish served solo, or cut into chunks and spooned on top of hot cooked rice.

1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), trimmed and quartered lengthwise

1 large sweet yellow onion, quartered

1 large tomato, quartered

1 jalapeño or other hot chile, halved, stem and seeds removed

½ large green bell pepper, stem and seeds removed

½ large red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed

3 garlic cloves, bruised with the side of a knife

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (or half broth and half water), plus up to 1 cup more if needed

1 cup lentils, sorted and rinsed

½ cup uncooked long-grain brown rice

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 bay leaf

Red Pepper Puree

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup chopped onion

½ teaspoon chopped garlic

One 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and rinsed

Freshly ground black pepper

 

1½ to 2 cups half-and-half, at room temperature

• 1.
  Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  
• 2.
  Place the eggplant, onion, tomato, jalapeño, bell peppers, and garlic in a single layer in a large roasting pan; drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the vegetables, turning every 15 minutes until tender and the edges are browned, about 45 minutes. Let cool.
  
• 3.
  Carefully scoop the eggplant from the skin; discard the skin. Cut all the vegetables into 1-inch pieces and combine in a bowl. Add about 1 cup of the broth to the roasting pan; set over low heat and scrape any charred bits from
  the bottom and sides of the pan. Add this deglazing liquid to the roasted vegetables.
  
• 4.
  Set a food mill over a large saucepan and puree the vegetables with the liquid; discard the solids. Stir the remaining broth, the lentils, brown rice, cumin, and bay leaf into the puree. Cook uncovered, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the lentils and rice are very tender, about 1½ hours. Add up to 1 cup additional liquid if the soup thickens too much, but keep in mind that the soup will be thinned with the half-and-half.
  
• 5.
  Meanwhile, for the red pepper puree:
  Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a small skillet; add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender. Stir in the garlic; cook for 30 seconds. Process the red pepper, the onion mixture, and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a food processor to a smooth puree. Transfer to a small bowl; add pepper to taste.
  
• 6.
  Remove the bay leaf from the soup. Stir in the half-and-half until blended. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat gently; do not boil.
  
• 7.
  Ladle the soup into bowls. Stir a spoonful of the red pepper puree into each bowl.
  

My mom's chicken soup was a multi-pot affair: one pot for simmering the chicken and making the broth, another for cooking the rice in some of the broth, and another for the greens. Mom made the soup with or without escarole or romaine lettuce. She often served greens in soup or as a softly cooked vegetable side dish seasoned with olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes.

1 chicken (about 3 pounds), thoroughly rinsed and excess fat removed

1 garlic clove, bruised with the side of a knife

1 bay leaf

1 large carrot

½ cup uncooked medium-or long-grain white or Arborio rice

Kosher salt

1 small head escarole or romaine lettuce (about 1 pound), trimmed, rinsed, and leaves torn into bite-sized pieces

½ cup drained, chopped, peeled, seeded fresh or canned tomato, optional

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, optional

• 1.
  Place the chicken in a medium pot and add 3 quarts water, the garlic, and bay leaf. Heat to a gentle simmer over medium heat; skim the foam from the top. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, without boiling, for 1 hour.
  
• 2.
  Add the carrot; cook for 30 minutes more, or until the chicken is falling from the bones. Remove the chicken and carrot; set aside to cool. Discard the garlic and bay leaf.
  
• 3.
  Ladle 2 cups of the broth into a medium saucepan; heat to a boil. Stir in the rice and ½ teaspoon salt; cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, or until the rice is very tender. Remove from the heat and set aside, still covered.
  
• 4.
  While the rice is cooking, remove and discard the skin and bones from the chicken. Tear the chicken into thin shreds; set aside. Cut the carrot into thin slices or small dice.
  
• 5.
  Season the remaining broth with salt to taste; heat to a boil. Add the escarole; cover and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. (Or wilt the greens in a separate
  pot, covered, over low heat, with just the water left clinging to the leaves; add to the simmering broth.)
  
• 6.
  Just before serving, add the chicken, carrot, and cooked rice to the broth; add the tomato, if using. Add pepper to taste. Heat until very hot.
  
• 7.
  To serve, ladle the soup into bowls, distributing the ingredients evenly. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
  

This is my version of
pho
(pronounced “far”), the hearty Vietnamese rice-noodle soup that is served in enormous bowls with a fork to eat the noodles and vegetables and a dipping spoon for the rich broth.

3 ounces dried rice vermicelli (rice sticks; see Note)

8 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 scallion, trimmed

1 garlic clove, bruised with the side of a knife

3 ounces shiitakes, stems discarded, caps wiped clean and cut into
¹
/
₈
-inch slices

4 ounces baby bok choy (about 4), outside leaves and stems trimmed, cut across into ½-inch strips (2 to 3 cups)

4 ounces frozen small cooked shelled shrimp, thawed and blotted dry (about 1½ cups)

1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon unseasoned Japanese rice vinegar

½ teaspoon chile oil, or to taste, or a pinch of red pepper flakes

Kosher salt

Garnishes (choose at least 3)

1 cup fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and crisped in ice water

½ cup thin diagonal slices scallion greens

Mint leaves

Cilantro leaves

Thai basil leaves

• 1.
  Place the rice vermicelli in a large bowl and cover with room-temperature tap water. Let stand for about 1 hour, checking for tenderness occasionally. When the noodles are soft but still slightly firm to the bite, drain. (They should yield about 3 cups.)
  
• 2.
  Meanwhile, for the broth:
  Combine the broth, ginger, scallion, and garlic in a large saucepan; heat to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Set a strainer over a large bowl and strain the broth. Discard the solids.
  
• 3.
  Pour the seasoned broth back into the saucepan. Add the shiitakes; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
  
• 4.
  Stir the bok choy, shrimp, and drained noodles into the simmering broth. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and chile oil. Season to taste with salt.
  
• 5.
  Ladle the soup into deep soup bowls, distributing the ingredients evenly. Sprinkle with the garnishes.
  

NOTE:
Rice vermicelli, also called rice sticks, are thin (about
¹
/
₁₆
inch), brittle strands often folded into loose wads. The packages are large (often about 14 ounces) and the vermicelli are tough and hard to break apart. I use heavy-duty poultry shears to cut them into the amount needed. When soaked, they soften, unravel, and expand. Soak them in room-temperature tap water; some package directions say to soak them in boiling water, but I find that can make them gummy. They take about 1 hour to soften enough to be pliable and just slightly firm to the bite. They will continue to soften in the simmering soup.

This pretty, flavorful soup has traveled a long way from its original inspiration. It has a thick, almost porridge-like consistency typical of the Chinese soup called
congee
or
jook
. Congee is traditionally served as a breakfast dish, but this soup is particularly soothing if you are feeling tired or under the weather.

1 slice (about ¼-inch-thick) fresh ginger

¼ cup uncooked long-, medium-, or short-grain (sushi) white rice

¼ cup chopped white part of scallions, plus 1 tablespoon slivered scallion greens

Kosher salt

8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and cut crosswise into ¼-inch slices

1 teaspoon minced seeded jalapeño or other hot chile

1 large egg

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

½ cup packed, thinly sliced spinach leaves, optional

1 tablespoon finely chopped red bell pepper, optional

½ to 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth or water, if needed

• 1.
  In a large saucepan, heat to a boil 6 cups water, the ginger, rice, scallion whites, and 1 teaspoon salt; stir well. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes, or until the rice is swollen and the soup is very thick.
  
• 2.
  Stir the chicken and jalapeño into the soup. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes; do not boil.
  
• 3.
  Whisk the egg and sesame oil in a small bowl. Heat the soup to a rolling boil. Gently stir in the egg in a slow, steady stream; the egg will cook into short threads.
  
• 4.
  Stir in the spinach and red pepper, if using; cover and cook over very low heat for 2 minutes. Add broth if needed to thin the soup. Season to taste with more salt. Ladle into bowls and garnish with the scallion greens before serving.