It was a stay at home Friday and I decided to make some risotto (my brother in law calls this ang mo porridge) for dinner. Risotto is one dish that has been sitting on my "to cook list" for the longest, but i have been procrastinating because i thought it will be difficult to prepare. It turned out to be really easy and I think anyone can make this dish. Risotto is too simple to prepare and I can't believe i even took so long for my first attempt. Even though the steps aren't complicated, you probably have to spend quite a bit of time standing in front of the stove, stirring continuously.
In an authentic risotto, the main ingredient is aborio rice. The short and thick grain rice provides the slightly heavier consistency and helps to provide its firmness throughout preparation. Risotto must be cooked until al dente. Yes, that is the authentic version of risotto. As for the risotto I've prepared, I have made some changes but I guess that works for me as well. I didn't have aborio rice on hand, so i used japanese rice grain instead. Both are short and thick and that shouldn't pose a big problem. If you don't take alcohol, feel free to substitute with water or more stock. You want to go easy on the soup stock because if your soup stock is salty, you will end up with a really salty risotto.
Ingredients: (serves 3)
1 packet of shitake mushrooms
1 knob of butter
1 onion
1 cup of Aborio rice
750 ml of soup stock (chicken, mushroom, beef stock etc.)
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
White wine
1. Chop and slice the onions and mushrooms.
2. Get your soup stock ready.
3. Melt butter in a pan, add onions and sauté them till they are half caramelised or look translucent.
4. Throw in your mushrooms and cook till they have developed some colour.
5. Add the the rice into the pan and coat it with the butter. Let it cook for about a min or two.
6. Add 2 ladles of wine and let it reduce for about a min or two.
7. Add 1-2 ladles of soup stock and stir continuously until the rice has soaked the liquid before adding another.
8. Repeat the process and continue cooking for another approximately 19 mins.
9. When they are done, add parmesan cheese and butter. Stir it, cover the pan and let it sit for about 5 mins. Top with some parsley before serving them.
Here is a tip for you if you are going to make this dish in advance before your party. You can make risotto in advance and store in an air tight container. Follow the above process until step 8. Instead of 19 mins, reduce the duration of cooking to probably 12 mins. The catch here is not to over cook your rice because you don't want to serve a mushy risotto. When your guests have arrived, transfer the not-fully-cooked risotto into a saucepan. Add a reasonable amount of butter and soup stock and cook until the rice are al dente.
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