As a little girl, I fondly remember going with my family to a local restaurant famous for its Java rice with chicken barbecue. It was same dish I ordered everytime. The Java rice tasted heavenly and was always golden yellow in color. The chicken was savory, always grilled to perfection. It was always served with sweet-picked papaya (atchara) on the side.
I thought it would be easy to make Java rice but it wasn’t anything close to how one makes fried rice or Spanish rice. Java rice has a different flavor all its own.
Until the internet came along, I have always wondered how Java rice is cooked. After some finger surfing, I found the recipe. The recipe calls for lemon grass, a grass-like herb used in many Thai and Vietnamese cooking. It has a strong pungent ginger-like aroma and taste.
I haven’t tried the recipe to find out if it’ll come close to my childhood memory of the savory rice.
To all my girls, try cooking it if you may. Remember, I am only a phone call away in case any of you need a bonafide food critic. Kain na tayo!
Ingredients :
6 c. of cold cooked rice
1 tbsp. of finely minced garlic
1 tbsp. of finely minced ginger
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 red or green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp. of finely minced lemongrass
1 tsp. of sambal oelek or 1 finely chopped chili pepper
1 tbsp. of turmeric
6 tbsps. of ghee or clarified butter (instructions below)
salt
Cooking procedure :
To make ghee or clarified butter, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until frothy. Reduce the heat to low and cook the butter until the cream separates from the oil. Strain the oil through a fine piece of cloth. The strained oil is the ghee or clarified butter.
Heat the ghee in a skillet or wok. Over medium-high heat, add the garlic, chopped shallots and bell pepper, ginger, lemongrass and sambal oelek. Cook for about 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add the turmeric powder and stir well to blend. Add the cold rice and toss well. Add some salt, about a teaspoonful will do, and cook until the rice is heated through.
“I went to a restaurant that serves “breakfast at any time”. So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.” ~ Steven Wright
this is the raddest recipe ever.