Sides

May – Stir Fry with Forbidden Rice
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May – Stir Fry with Forbidden Rice

Are you familiar with black rice, also sometimes called forbidden rice? I have had a package in my pantry for some time. When perusing the cookbook Vegan, Vegetarian, Omnivore (Dinner for everyone at the table) by Anna Thomas I came upon a stir fry using it and was inspired. It’s a vegan recipe called Fried Black Rice with Peanuts.

Forbidden rice is also known as imperial rice, heaven rice and king’s rice. In ancient China, this exquisite ingredient was exclusive to the emperors, who ate it for longevity and good health. It was forbidden to all but the most wealthy and powerful people, thus its name

According to the registered dietitian Beth Czerwony, RD at the Cleveland Clinic

“We know forbidden rice is high in nutrients and antioxidants, which help protect our bodies against disease,” she continues. “It’s also low in sugar, fat and salt, which is important when we’re looking to improve our diets and maintain health.”

 It has more protein, fiber and iron than other types of rice and contains high levels of:

  • Amino acids.
  • Antioxidants.
  • Fatty acids.

For example, a one-cup serving (100 grams) of prepared black rice contains 2.4 milligrams of iron — more than 10 times the amount in unenriched white rice. It also contains 8.89 grams of protein vs. 6.94 grams in white rice.

What does it taste like? Nutty and it retains a bit more bite and is chewy.

We uncovered our grill for the first time this season and served the rice with grilled asparagus and salmon. It was a perfect Sunday supper.

Stir Fry with Forbidden Rice

Stir Fry with Forbidden Rice

Fried Black Rice with Peanuts

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil
  • 1 tablespoon dark roasted sesame oil
  • 1 3/4 cup sliced green onions, both white and green parts
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste, or 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
  • 4 1/2 cups of cooked black rice (I used the brown rice setting on my electric rice cooker)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon of agave nectar
  • 1 teaspoon of grated orange zest
  • 1 cup of fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
  • 2/3 cup of roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped (I used Trader Joe’s chili onion peanuts)

Method:

  1. Heat the two oils in a large nonstick pan, add the green onions and salt. Stir over medium high heat for about 4 minutes until they are softened and beginning to turn golden.
  2. Add the cooked rice and stir-fry for about another 3 to 4 minutes until the rice is heated through.
  3. Stir in the lemon juice, agave, orange zest and turn off the heat.
  4. Just before serving, stir in the cilantro and peanuts.
  5. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Stir Fry with Forbidden Rice

Stir Fry with Forbidden Rice

February – Sheet Pan Roasted Cauliflower with Chick Peas
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February – Sheet Pan Roasted Cauliflower with Chick Peas

Chickpeas (also called garbanzos or ceci beans) have been popular in the Middle East for many years, and are a staple ingredient in many of the region’s most well-known dishes like hummus and falafel. They are an excellent source of carbohydrate, protein, fiber, B vitamins (especially folate), and some minerals.

We frequently enjoy them tossed into a salad, a few cans are always on the pantry shelf. Have you tried them roasted? You can roast them to a crispness that will rival any nut. Simply toss them with olive oil, salt and any combination of spices you fancy. Then roast them in a 350 degree oven until crisp. Served that way they are excellent as a snack before dinner with your 5pm cocktail.

Lately I have been adding them to the sheet pan when I roast vegetables. The ones on the edge end up toasty and crunchy while the ones in the middle are softer and creamy.

Sheet Pan Roast Cauliflower with Chickpeas

Sheet Pan Roast Cauliflower with Chickpeas

This is an excellent side dish or vegetarian main with the addition of rice or flatbread.

I don’t really have a recipe for this, it’s a ‘no recipe’ recipe.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Cut or break a head of cauliflower into pieces about 1-2 inches in size. If the stem is thick, consider peeling it as you would broccoli. Then cut into manageable pieces. Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas. Spread the cauliflower and chickpeas on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. You could add any spices at this time…cumin or baharat or zaatar. Mix it all up and spread everything out evenly. Roast for about 40 minutes until you see the edges turning toasty brown.

Serve with a scattering of chopped scallions, or cilantro, or parsley, or celery leaves, or anything green that is in your fridge or garden. Squeeze some lemon over the top.

Sheet Pan Roast Cauliflower with Chickpeas

Sheet Pan Roast Cauliflower with Chickpeas

 

November – Kimchi Fried Riced Cauliflower
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November – Kimchi Fried Riced Cauliflower

Fried Riced Cauliflower with Kimchi

Fried Riced Cauliflower with Kimchi

The New York Times has many interesting recipes. I especially like the ones from Melissa Clark and Sam Sifton. This one from Grace Lee (adapted by Francis Lam…and further by me) caught my eye. It was titled Kimchi Fried Rice and suggested the option of adding Spam, which would reflect many Koreans’ love of food that was introduced by the American military. It would not be my personal choice but I haven’t tried it. You could certainly add leftover turkey to the dish.

The comments after each recipe are always entertaining and often useful. They suggest further modifications to the recipe according to the commenters personal dietary needs and taste. Several caught my eye, especially one person who said they used this with riced cauliflower instead of rice. If you are a regular reader you know I am a big fan of riced cauliflower. Quite a few have been written on this blog over the years. BTW, if you are looking for a particular recipe or ingredient, click on categories on the right side. Cauliflower has one all to itself. The categories only show up on the computer version of the blog, unfortunately it won’t work on the mobile app.

The pictures do not do this dish justice, it was delicious even though mostly brown. For extra protein I would recommend putting a fried egg on top. Maybe a garnish of parsley or cilantro for color??? Or, as the NYT recommended crumbled or slivered nori and sesame seeds on top of your fried egg. None of those were immediately available but I will post more pictures when I make this again.

My holiday week included two birthdays as well as Thanksgiving. I am looking for ways to lighten our meals for a few days.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 small onion, diced
  • 1 cup of roughly chopped kimchi
  • 2 tablespoons of kimchi juice
  • 1 package of pre-riced cauliflower or 1 small cauliflower, trimmed and riced in your food processor to rice like consistency
  • 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil, or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon of gojuchang
  • Fried shallots for garnish.

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and spread the cauliflower out evenly. Place the sheet pan on the lowest shelf of your oven and roast for 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower on the edges is starting to brown. Remove and let cool a bit while you prepare the rest.
  3. Mix the soy sauce, sesame oil and gojuchang together in a small bowl. Put the sauce beside the stove. The cauliflower rice will quickly overcook so you will need to move quickly once you add it to the skillet.
  4. In a non-stick or well-seasoned skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions. Cook until the onions start to sizzle, about 2 minutes. Add the kimchi and the kimchi juice and bring to a boil.
  5. Add the cauliflower rice to the skillet, mix quickly, then add the sauce. Toss it all together and taste to see if you need to add any further seasoning.
  6. Turn out into a serving dish and add the shallots on top.

 

July – Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing
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July – Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

I am in love with the dressing on this salad. The recipe came from Alexandra Stafford’s blog at Alexandra’s Kitchen. If you are not familiar with her blog, I recommend it. The salad has been modified from her Cold Peanut Noodle Salad with Cucumbers recipe. I used brown rice noodles to make this gluten-free and slightly reminiscent of Pad Thai. I also added a lot more vegetables.

If you use a natural brand of peanut butter, make sure you stir it before measuring. The dressing will taste wonderful whatever you use. I had Skippy Crunchy in the pantry since we use it as a treat for the dogs. Since I blended it, the crunchy bits didn’t matter. But, I think it would have still been amazing even with a few chunks.

Shanna

Is that my peanut butter you are using?

The cucumbers are spiralized. I have an old one that I purchased when the fad first hit Instagram a few years ago. There are now handheld ones on the market. If you don’t have one, a quick search on Amazon with give you lots of options.

I used Trader Joe’s roasted chili peanuts. Any type of roasted ones will do just fine.

If you are using regular cucumbers, peel them first unless the skins are very tender. European, Asian, or Persian cucumbers won’t need peeling.

Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Peanut Dressing

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of peanut butter (or another nut butter)
  • 1/3 cup of fresh lime juice (from about 4 limes)
  • 1/4 cup of soy sauce or tamari
  • 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup of water plus more if needed
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 teaspoons grated or finely minced fresh ginger
  • 2 – 3 teaspoons of chili-garlic sauce, such as Sambal Oelek
  • Kosher salt

Method:

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, maple syrup, water, ginger, garlic, and chili-garlic sauce. Taste and adjust with more lime juice or salt if needed. Another option is to use your blender. I threw everything in and blended until smooth. The dressing may thicken as it sits, you can add a tablespoon of water until it gets to the right consistency.

The salad ingredients can be varied to what you have on hand. Alexandra’s recipe only called for cucumbers and scallions. I wanted more vegetables in my version. I have added thinly sliced romaine lettuce, julienned carrots, thinly sliced cabbage, or that cole slaw mix that comes in packages at the store. They were all delicious.

Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 package of dried brown or regular rice noodles
  • 2 large cucumbers (more if small), spiralized
  • 1/2 red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
  • 2 sweet peppers, sliced thinly
  • handful of snap or sugar peas, blanched for 30 seconds and sliced thinly
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup of roasted peanuts
  • 1/2 cup of cilantro leaves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup of fresh mint leaves, chopped
Prepped Vegetables

Prepped Vegetables

Prepped Vegetables

Prepped Vegetables

Method:

  1. Break up the noodles a little before cooking, then cook them according to the package directions. Drain and run cold water over them to cool them.
  2. Place the noodles in a large bowl. Pat them dry if they are still wet. Toss them with about 1/4 cup of the dressing. They should be nicely sauced. Add the rest of the vegetables, cilantro, mint, and peanuts. Toss and taste. Add more dressing if needed. My cucumbers with somewhat watery so I drained them on paper towels after spiralizing them, before they were combined with the noodles.
  3. You can serve this immediately but it keeps well in the fridge if you make it ahead. It’s still good the next day for lunch, maybe with a bit of cold chicken or shrimp added
  4. The dressing will keep for up to 2 weeks.
Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Do you think the folks over at Fiesta Friday will like this one? I am joining the party with my contribution, it’s Fiesta Friday #498 hosted by Angie and co-hosted by  Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.

January – Brown Rice Risotto with Edamame Beans and Spinach
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January – Brown Rice Risotto with Edamame Beans and Spinach

Can you make a risotto with brown rice? It was a challenge I set out to investigate. There are several recipes for baked rice out there, even baked brown rice. Ina Garten has an easy baked Parmesan “risotto” method which only requires a few minutes of stirring at the end. Her recipe is similar to America’s Test Kitchen’s baked brown rice. The blog Cookie + Kate combined the two in her recipe for baked brown rice risotto with mushrooms. That sounded delicious and I wanted to go one step further (faster?) and cook it in the electric pressure cooker. Over Christmas, a friend’s daughter made a more traditional risotto with arborio rice in the Instant Pot, it was creamy and everything you want a risotto to be. So here goes…

My inspiration came from a recipe in Suzanne Goin’s book Sunday Suppers at Lucques for shell bean risotto. Fresh shell beans weren’t available but frozen edamame beans are in most grocery stores. Her recipe also has a healthy dose of greens with the addition of chopped spinach.

Because you don’t get any evaporation in a pressure cooker, the quantity of stock has to be reduced. For each 1/2 cup of brown rice, 1 cup of stock should be used. And the quality of the stock is crucial since it gets concentrated in the rice, unsalted homemade is best. When added, the wine should be cooked until it mostly evaporates, otherwise the flavor will be too strong. Trust your nose on this one.

It would be easy to convert this to vegan by using only olive oil and a good quality or homemade vegetable stock.

Ingredients:

6 small side dishes, 2-3 main

  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter (divided)
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons of thyme leaves, fresh (if using dried 1/2 teaspoon)
  • 1 chile de Arbol, crumbled
  • 1/2 cup of dry white wine
  • 1- 1/2 cups of short-grain brown rice
  • 3 cups of broth – I used chicken stock but vegetable would make it vegetarian
  • 1 cup of cooked edamame beans
  • 2 ounces of baby spinach, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons of flat-leaf parsley, chopped for garnish

Method:

  1. Using the saute setting, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter.
  2. Add the onion, thyme, and chile de Arbol. Saute for 5-10 minutes until the onions are turning golden brown.
  3. Add the rice and stir to combine, toasting the rice for about 1 minute.
  4. Add the wine and stir constantly until is mostly evaporated.
  5. Hit cancel or stop to end the saute setting.
  6. Add the stock and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot to ensure there are no bits stuck to the bottom.
  7. Put on the lid and lock it in place, make sure the vent is set to sealing. Set it to high pressure for 24 minutes.
  8. When the cooking cycle is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 min, then quickly release.
  9. Remove the lid, add the second tablespoon of butter and stir for 1 – 2 minutes to create a creamy texture.
  10. Stir in the beans, spinach, and parsley.

I served this with an oven-roasted boneless chicken thigh, a recipe to be posted. The risotto was supposed to serve 6 as a side dish. Don’t believe it, there were no seconds to be had. I would say 4 as a generous side dish, maybe 2 for a main dish with some leftovers. It all depends on the appetite and enthusiasm of your eaters.

Unfortunately, it was gobbled up before I had an opportunity to take any photos of the risotto itself.

It turned out creamy and delicious. Who could have guessed? The brown rice added a nutty fullness to the flavor. I think it would be even more delicious with mushrooms. A combination of dried (use the soaking liquid as part of the broth) and fresh (saute them and add them at the end) would be memorable. Stay tuned for next time.