TDG: Desperate Measures: Peachy Rice

[Fat Guy]

Mamster thinks outside the fruit crate.

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[Schielke]

Good thinkin' Mammy!

I love peaches and have been wanting a reason to try to cook sticky rice.

Ben

[fifi]

This is one of my fovorite desserts. And I don't really like desert. One of my cooking buddies cooks dynOmite Thai food. She and I have done the sticky rice in a big steamer thingy that I got at the Asian market. One of the recipes has pandanus leaves imbedded in the rice while steaming. It adds a nice aromatic sort of green note. But the steaming is a PITA. Then, one day, my friend got lazy, dumped the rice in the fancy fuzzy logic rice cooker like mine and... IT WORKED! No more steaming for us! (And some folks said I was crazy to pay $200 for a rice cooker, even if it does have a retractable cord.)

Luckily, we get some really good mangoes here in Houston. They compare favorably to the tree ripened ones I have had in Mexico and Hawaii right off of the tree. That faintly gasoline taste is to me more like turpentine. When my kids were young, they called the taste "sweet Christmas tree". I just got back from a week in the Netherlands. The only really memorable food I had was some really fantastic mango from the breakfast buffet at my hotel. Go figure.

[mamster]

Even if you can get good mangoes, try the peaches anyway--it rocks.

"Sweet Christmas tree" sounds like an expletive. "Sweet Christmas tree this is some tasty corn on the cob, Myrtle!"

[fifi]

"Sweet Christmas tree" sounds like an expletive. "Sweet Christmas tree this is some tasty corn on the cob, Myrtle!"

Can't get good peaches. I am not sure I would know what one tasted like if I fell into it. I do remember getting some amazing apricots at a roadside stand in west Texas years ago. We ate so many we got the trots. I haven't tasted an apricot like that since.

[Alex]

We're right in the middle of Michigan peach season -- ripe ones are everywhere! I know what I'm making this weekend.

[babyluck]

Another example of egullet serendipity. The thread on sticky rice w/ mango really "stuck" in my head after browsing through it a few weeks ago. This weekend, I found myself with the results of a rice-pudding-in-the-slow-cooker experiment (too little liquid -- ended up pretty solid with a nice brown crust) and some perfectly ripe but bruised peaches. I made a ring of peach slices in a bowl and put a scoop of rice stuff in the middle, then sprinkled with cinnamon & sugar since the rice was also under-sweetened, and to give it that traditional diner rice pudding taste that I crave almost daily. Scrumptious.

It was juicy enough with the perfect peaches, but I wanted to drizzle something over it -- coconut milk would have been a good idea. Something vanilla/rummy would be good too. And how about toasted coconut on top?

[mamster]

Toasted coconut on top sounds delicious, especially if you find the rice pudding by itself too pablum-like. I have no problem shoveling down coconut sticky rice in mass quantities, but I know some people are looking for a little more texture.

[alanamoana]

Then, one day, my friend got lazy, dumped the rice in the fancy fuzzy logic rice cooker like mine and... IT WORKED! No more steaming for us! (And some folks said I was crazy to pay $200 for a rice cooker, even if it does have a retractable cord.)

fifi, how did you steam the thai sticky rice in the rice cooker?! did you add water, if so, how much? did you soak it ahead of time like you're supposed to? did you use the real "sweet rice"? i'm curious. i don't have a fuzzy logic cooker...you can only find them on vulcan (bad joke), but i do have a regular electric rice cooker. i need details!

[fifi]

I don't have exact quantities. The rice cooker has a cup for measuring rice and then there are lines on the rice pot for how much water per "cup" of rice. There is also a setting for "sushi" rice. That is what we do. No soaking, no washing, no nothing. I used the "sticky rice" from the Asian grocery. Dump the rice, add the water, turn it on sushi setting, walk off. That thing didn't cost $200 for nothing.

Seriously... I suspect all of this washing, soaking , getting-ridiculous-about cooking the rice is probably just so much bull cookies. Rice is not all that complicated. It is a starch. It will absorb so much water. The starch will cook. End of story. I have gone through all of the washing, soaking, steaming hoopla and I can't tell any difference from the "dump and cook" routine. The old rule of thumb (er... I mean forefinger) about putting the rice in a pot and adding water until one finger joint depth of water above the rice will probably work.

edit to add: When I cook the short grain brown rice, I use the brown rice setting. Takes forever but it is perfect.

Edited September 20, 2003 by fifi (log)

[alanamoana]

i get all that stuff, but the thai sweet rice (which isn't really sweet) definitely has a different texture than rice which is cooked submersed in water. when steamed separate from the water, each grain is separate and "dry" but it all sticks together. that is where my questions come from. i feel that cooking it in water will change the actual texture/consistency of the sticky rice. the amount of water that the grains absorb through the steam alone has to be different than the amount it absorbs when submersed under a knuckle depth of water.

i know that some people i have asked don't know the difference or have never had real thai sticky rice...they are just thinking of asian style rice or sushi rice.

i can see the p.i.t.a. quotient, but really i just soak it overnight and the next day steam it until it is done. it really isn't that hard to do. no more difficult than measuring it out and pushing a button.

i feel that if it were the case and you really could dump it in a cooker, nobody would bother to do it the "old fashioned way". when i get back home, i'll try it your way and see how it comes out.

[fifi]

We have done it both ways and can't tell the difference. The rice dessert is one of our favorites and we have made it often. For a long time we only made it the traditional way. Then, when my friend did the dump and cook routine, we couldn't believe it. She has a much pickier palate than I do and if she can't tell the difference, well...

[alanamoana]

man, and after i spent 11 dollars on the steamer basket and pot to match! i'll have to give the cooker a try

[fifi]

man, and after i spent 11 dollars on the steamer basket and pot to match!  i'll have to give the cooker a try

Well... There is always brocolli.

[LaurieA-B]

This is one of my favorite desserts. And I don't really like desert.

I love desserts, the more dessert-y the better--crusty fruit pie a la mode, thickly frosted layer cakes, cheesecake, just about anything. So when I saw "mango and sticky rice" on the menu in Bangkok, I wasn't expecting it would be much of a dessert. MY GOD. It was one of the best desserts I've ever had. No resemblance to, say, a Linzer torte, but mango and sticky rice immediately became one of my all-time favorites. Something about the textures, the flavors, and the sweetness just hits it. The first time was at Sara-Jane's restaurant. I remember it well.

The peach version is luscious. The key is to have some peach/mango and some rice in every bite. I always try to make them come out even.

[BettyK]

This is one of my fovorite desserts. And I don't really like desert. One of my cooking buddies cooks dynOmite Thai food. She and I have done the sticky rice in a big steamer thingy that I got at the Asian market. One of the recipes has pandanus leaves imbedded in the rice while steaming. It adds a nice aromatic sort of green note. But the steaming is a PITA. Then, one day, my friend got lazy, dumped the rice in the fancy fuzzy logic rice cooker like mine and... IT WORKED! No more steaming for us! (And some folks said I was crazy to pay $200 for a rice cooker, even if it does have a retractable cord.)

Luckily, we get some really good mangoes here in Houston. They compare favorably to the tree ripened ones I have had in Mexico and Hawaii right off of the tree. That faintly gasoline taste is to me more like turpentine. When my kids were young, they called the taste "sweet Christmas tree". I just got back from a week in the Netherlands. The only really memorable food I had was some really fantastic mango from the breakfast buffet at my hotel. Go figure.

Fifi, does your fuzzy logic has a setting for casserole? Have you used it? I'm thinking about buying one just to make arroz con pollo.

Edited September 21, 2003 by BettyK (log)

[fifi]

It has a "slow cook" setting so that may be what you are referring to. I have never done that as I have a crock pot. This is the one from Williams Sonoma. I love this thing. (I have been accused of loving it because I spent $200 for it and I had better love it.) My friend has the identical cooker. When she does a really big Thai spread, she borrows mine. You can cook 10 "cups" of rice and it will hold it PERFECTLY for several hours. I have experimented with all kinds of rice that I find at the Asian grocery. I make a best guess at the setting and it has never failed me yet. Buy it for that. Crock pots are a lot cheaper for casseroles.

[fifi]

I am hoping that mamster hasn't abandoned this thread due to it being hijacked into rice cooker-ville. What I want to know is... Is there any chance that the peaches at my local supermarket could ever compete with what you made? Is it worth a try? What about other "stone" fruit?

[mamster]

I would never abandon you, fifi. If you enjoy your supermarket peaches, by all means use them. I'm thinking about other fruits. You don't want something with a subtle flavor. Pear doesn't seem like it would work at all. How about a nice, tart plum? I see possibilities there, although you'll want to skin it.

Banana could work, although this would play up the baby food angle, I think. You know what else I can imagine? Squash. Slices of steamed kabocha squash. And sesame seeds.

[fifi]

ooo... ooo... SQUASH! That has possibilities. Bake a squash with coconut cream and a star anise in the cavity. Glaze it with honey or palm sugar. The possibilities are amazing. You may have something there.

[mamster]

Let me know how it turns out, please!

[snowangel]

Had this last night (with mangos; peaches looked like crap).

Leftover rice, warmed, with another mango, makes a most spectacular breakfast. I did not share with the kids.