Can You Make Risotto with a Southeast-Asian-Twang?

Apparently yes.

I was dealing with some stuff so I wasn’t so into it, but other people who tried it liked it… I suppose that’s encouraging, this being my first risotto. (It was a bit too salty, though.)

I basically followed Felicity Cloake’s advice, though:

  • I had to use arborio rice–the other stuff wasn’t available.
  • I forgot to get white cooking wine, so I just used red, which gave the risotto a pinkish color (deepened by the red bell pepper I threw in later).
  • I ended up using a mix of cheddar and pecorino cheeses, again beause that’s what we had on hand… though I really like pecorino so that was fine with me.
  • I threw in some garlic and lemongrass in the first stage, along with the onions, though that didn’t really come through.
  • The soup stock was homemade, with lime leves and galangal included in the mix, though those didn’t really shine through much either–I think the galangal would need to go in later in the process, perhaps with the rice, and that the lime leaves would need to be used in more abundance in the stock for the flavor to come through.
  • At the end, just before adding the cheese, I added diced red bell pepper, and after getting the cheese in and whippin g it up to the right consistency, I flavored the risotto with fresh basil, coriander–which did have enough punch to get through the cheese and butter.

The result?

Coriander and Basil Risotto

The saltiness was a disappointment for me… in part because it resulted from a stupid mistake–while making the soup, I realized I had failed to reserve any stock for the risotto, and had to add (salted) soup stock to (salted) risotto-on-the-cook. Of course, all things are relative: it was too salty for me, but I suppose everyone else was fine.

Anyway. That’s that. Next week, Aglio Olio pasta, using a method I came up with the other day. It was pretty badass… Mrs. Jiwaku said it was the best she’d ever had, and that’s saying something as she’s crazy about Aglio Olio.

Comments

  1. Kevin Kim says:

    Looks amazing. Really amazing. But PUT MORE ON THE PLATE, YOU STINGY BASTARD!!

    1. gordsellar says:

      Yeah, that was a second serving to someone who was going easy the second time round. I forgot to snap a picture on the first serving. (Was feeling particularly unwell at the time.)

      1. Kevin Kim says:

        All joking aside, that looks like art. I wish I could’ve tasted it. I mentioned your risotto on my blog, noting that risotto can be temperamental to cook. You’re a braver man than I.

        1. gordsellar says:

          Ha, you’re kind, but it’s really not that hard. As I just commented at BigHo, if I can do it then surely you can too… The only secret I can offer is: stir the bastard constantly, and that adding ladles of stock one at a time helps you judge when the rice is ready for the cheese and herbs.

          I’ll try it again in a few weeks… one housemate wants to watch, and maybe I can get him to video it for you. But seriously… it’s not that hard.

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