Category: Main meals/Rice/Savoury meals/Sweet meals/Dinner/Lunch/Breakfast

Here’s my meal for one on Valentine’s Day that’s not of chocolate, heart and bright sparkling scenery or flowers. I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I had have and I am sharing it with you.

Something that you really love to eat and most of the ingredients are at hand reached. This is one of my favourite meal; after I finished eating I can burp out aloud and there’s no one to offend.

It’s simple, quick, and easy under 30 minutes. There’s no hassle to get a hearty meal for one and yet enjoyable pleasing.

Ingredients

1 c medium grain rice washed in cool water
10 small slices roast beef ( bought)
2 c beef stock ( bought)
2 1/2 c water
1 medium carrot cut to bite size
1 handful baby spinach washed and dried
1 Tsp ginger powder
1 Tsp ginger powder
1 Tsp paprika powder
1 Tsp garlic powder
1 Tsp oregano dried
1/2 Tsp nutmeg powder
Drizzle olive oil
Drizzle lemon juice
A pinch or two of chilli flakes
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Bring rice, stock and water to boil over medium high heat for 15 minutes covered. Stir occasionally. Once boiled reduce heat to medium low. Then add garlic, ginger, paprika, oregano, turmeric, and nutmeg uncovered. Stir again to mix well.

Next add carrots, spinach and roast beef. Stir to combined well with oil and lemon juice. Switch off heat and let it rest further 15 minutes to absorb a little bit more liquid.

Spoon rice to bowl. Sprinkle chilli flakes and lightly drizzle oil a bit. Serve with sweet white wine.

Note: you can use all water instead of half water and stock. You can have any ingredients like seafood. Or add other herbs.

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I love to experiment the combination of various food. I have recreated this dish from epicurious wild rice souffle; link is attached at the bottom. My first time making the souffle.

I trust cooking is not just because we have to eat so we cook. For me, cooking is an interest of heart, hobby, craving for various food and art of loving food by creating, experimenting, exploring and developing culinary skill to the next level.

Out there chefs, professional cooks and some people would argue it is. To me a souffle would be like the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. Souffle is one of a kind dish that is delicate to make and yet it require a strong foundation mentioned above from the cook. A foundation that all chefs trust is necessary to keep it from collapsing: creating the airy architecture.  Souffle can be served as a sweet dessert with chocolate or berries, or a savory meal with sausage and rice.

Souffle are basically separating egg whites and yolks. The egg whites are beaten until stiff peaks form to get the airy tops souffle, while the egg yolks are beaten and combined with other ingredients to create a sweet or savory souffle.

My souffle has yellowy puffiness though its not like the Leaning Tower. It has chicken flavoured rice and sausage. I am please that it did not collapse, is delicious, extra ordinary recreation and has sausage mushrooms salad as side with sweet chili sauce to satisfied my stomach.

Let’s get organised and with love to bake this souffle. Enjoy!!!!!!

Chicken Flavoured Ingredients

2 cups cooked rice (I use my left over chicken flavoured rice:long grain)

Ingredients to add to make chicken flavoured rice

1 medium size whole chicken, bought in prepacked; cleaned
Enough water to sit the chicken inside to make chicken stock
2 inches whole ginger
a handful of black peppercorn
1/2 bulb of garlic
4 stalks of spring onions, tied into knot
salt to taste
5 Tbs sesame oil
2 cooked sausages, slice thinly diagonally
8 dried mushrooms, soak overnight, then sliced thinly

Souffle Ingredients

5 Tablespoons butter, plus a sml cube to grease ramekins or oval baking dish
2 – 5 Tbs bread crumbs to coat ramekins or oval baking dish
3 Tbs flour
pinch of salt
pinch black pepper
1 and 1/2 cup milk heated (use skim milk)
a handful of herbs: basil, thyme, sage, spring onion, rosemary, parsley, chopped finely
3 egg yolks
4 egg whites, stiffly beaten + 1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Sides

2 – 4 Sausage, cut diagonally and cooked
4 – 8 mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 packet mixed salad
Sweet chilli sauce to dress the salad

Method

Prepare rice over night:

Wash, drain well and pat dry rice. In a fry pan heat 3 Tbs oil plus a good knob of butter, add 1 Tsp minced garlic, 1 Tsp minced ginger stir fry till fragrant. Then add rice with 2 Tsp of chicken powdered stock with 1/4 cup of water, pepper and 1/8 Tsp oyster sauce (OPT) for light brown color. Mix well and then transfer to rice cooker to cook, instead of water only; use water and chicken stock about 2 and 1/2 to 3 cups (a bit moist is good).[See Note below].

The next day: Preheat oven to 190° C. Greased with butter and coat with bread crumb on the ramekin. I use oval baking dish.

In medium sauce pan, melt butter. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium. Add milk and herbs, stirring frequently, until sauce comes to a boil. Cook until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Add a ladle of chicken flavoured rice and mix well. Remove from heat.

In medium bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Add a bit at a time to sauce, stirring constantly so egg yolks will not curdle. Then mix in the remainder warm up chicken flavoured rice (crush a bit so not lumpy). Cool for 20 minutes.

Gently fold 1/3 beaten egg whites then mix gently fold to coat but not really cover into rice mixture reserve a bit for topping. Place in ramekins or oval baking buttered dish.Top some egg whites on top.Bake for 20 -25 minutes or until set and golden brown. It will sink a bit if you open the oven door while it is cooking. Serve immediately with cooked sausage, mushrooms and salads; drizzle some sweet chilli sauce or on its own.

Note: To make the chicken stock see the ingredients to make chicken flavoured rice above. Reserved the meat from the chicken; discard the bones, together with sausages, and mushrooms to add into the cooked rice; I shredded the chicken meat; you can cut if you want.

Cooked the sausages and mushrooms in a bit of oil until mushrooms soft and sausages are cooked for 5-7 minutes. Separately cooked the other sausages.

Check out the original recipe https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/LONG-GRAIN-WILD-RICE-SOUFFLE-50145169

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