Fat Rice Recipes

FAT RICE

Steps:

• For marinated chicken:
• Whisk garlic, lemon juice, paprika, curry powder, and turmeric in a medium bowl; add chicken and toss to coat. Cover and chill at least 6 hours.
• DO AHEAD: Chicken can be marinated 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
• For raisins:
• Bring raisins, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons water to a boil in a small saucepan, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates, 8-10 minutes.
• DO AHEAD: Raisins can be prepared 3 days ahead. Let cool, then cover and chill.
• For soffritto:
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add bell peppers and onion; season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until softened, 8-10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are caramelized, 45-60 minutes.
• Add garlic and tomato paste to skillet and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until tomato paste begins to darken, 10-15 minutes longer. Mix in vinegar and paprika; season with salt and pepper.
• DO AHEAD: Soffritto can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool, then cover and chill.
• For rice:
• Remove chicken from marinade; season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy 5-6-quart pot with a lid over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, skin side down, until skin is brown and crisp, 10-12 minutes; transfer to a plate. (You can remove bones at this point, if desired.)
• Reduce heat to medium. Add chorizo to pot and cook, stirring often, until crisp, about 2 minutes; transfer to a small bowl.
• Add soffritto to pot and cook, stirring constantly, until sizzling, about 1 minute. Add broth, scraping up any browned bits; season with salt (salting liquid adequately here is important for flavorful rice). Add rice, sausage, chorizo, and raisins. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, arrange chicken on top, cover pot, and simmer gently, until rice is tender, 20-25 minutes. Uncover; increase heat to medium-high. Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons oil around edges of pot and cook, undisturbed, until underside of rice is crunchy, about 5 minutes longer.
• For prawns and clams:
• While rice is cooking, mix garlic, fermented beans, if using, cilantro stems, and chiles in a small bowl. Peel prawns, leaving heads and tails on. Devein, stuff cut side with garlic mixture, and set aside.
• Combine clams and wine in a large skillet, cover, and cook over high heat, stirring often, until clams open (discard any that do not open), about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer clams to a large bowl.
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Lightly season prawns with salt and cook in same skillet until opaque in the centers, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer prawns to bowl with clams; pour pan juices into a small bowl.
• DO AHEAD: Prawns can be stuffed 1 hour ahead. Cover and chill.
• For assembly:
• Mix gochugaru, cayenne, and salt in a small bowl. Dip cut sides of lemon wedges into seasoning mix.
• Top rice with prawns and clams and drizzle with reserved pan juices. Top with lemon wedges, eggs, olives, pickled chiles and peppers, and scallions.

FAT RICE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In an oven safe, stove top safe dutch oven or pot with a tight lid, sauté the onion in the butter until translucent.
• Add rice to the pot and sauté carefully until the grains are slightly colored.
• Add in the stock and bring to a boil.
• Cover tightly and do not remove the cover until the last step.
• Put into the center of the oven for 15 minutes.
• Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes without removing the cover.
• Fluff with fork and serve.
• Variation A -- For green rice, sauté a cup of parsley and a cup of green onions with the yellow onion. Proceed as directed.
• Variation B -- For a safari supper, start by browning one pound of ground meat (we prefer turkey) with the onion, add the rice and 1/2 cup peanut butter, 2 tsp or more of curry powder, 1 tsp of fresh grated ginger, 2-3 Tbs honey, 1/2 cup peanut butter, and 1/2 cup dried cranberries, add stock and proceed as directed.
• Variation C -- For a Mexican style rice, saute a cup of green onions and a cup of cilantro with the yellow onion. Add rice. Combine three cups of chicken stock with 1 cup of prepared salsa, proceed as directed.
• Variation D -- For rice with an Asian flair, omit the yellow onion and use only one cup of green onions. Add rice. Put 3 Tbs EACH of sake, soy sauce, and mirin into a cup and combine with enough dashi (fish stock) to make 4 cups of liquid. Proceed as directed. Before fluffing, add 2 cups of parboiled peas to the rice.
• Variation D -- For a simple vegetable rice, precook 2 cups of frozen vegetable mix and add it to the rice when fluffing.
• Variation E -- For a fruited rice, add dried fruits and nuts to the rice after sautéing and proceed as directed.
• Variation F -- For standard fat rice, sauté ground meat, sausage, or small diced chicken with the onion. Usually, I drain off the extra fat because there's no reason to go overboard on the namesake. Season as desired and proceed as directed. Add in 2 cups of pre-cooked vegetable mix prior to fluffing and serving.

RIZ GRAS - FAT RICE (BURKINA FASO)

Steps:

• Put the habaneros, garlic, tomatoes and onion into a food processor and pulse until you get a nice paste. Then heat the oil over medium heat and add the paste to the pan. Cook for 8 minutes, then remove from the fire and set aside.
• Use a little bit of water (about 1/2 to 1 cup) to rinse out your food processor, then put the water in a separate pot along with the meat. Bring the meat and water to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add the meat to the pan containing the paste. Add the tomato paste, water and Maggi (or stock) cube. Stir.
• Wash the rice until the water runs clear. Then add it to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. Check it, then cook for another 10 minutes or until the water has been absorbed.
• Garnish with thin slices of onion.

EASY, CREAMY LOW-FAT RICE PUDDING

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add rice and stir; reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until rice tender, about 20 minutes.
• Increase heat to medium; add 1 3/4 cups milk, sugar, and salt. Cook and stir until thick and creamy, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Beat remaining 3/4 cup milk with egg in a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Add 3 tablespoons of the hot rice mixture, 1 spoonful at a time, stirring each time to temper the egg. Pour mixture into the pan and stir for 1 more minute.
• Remove from heat and stir in raisins, vanilla extract, and lemon extract. Mix in cinnamon and nutmeg. Serve hot or cold.