Ingredients
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Risotto
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1 Knorr Chicken Stock Cube
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750ml Water
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75g Coconut Milk
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3 tbsp Coconut Oil
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2 slices Bacon
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1/2 diced Onion
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3 cloves Garlicminced
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3 slices Gingerdiced
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1 tbsp Thai Red Curry PasteRefer to post
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2/3 cups Arborio RiceRinsed and drained
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3 tbsp Hua Diao Wine
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1/4 Carrotdiced
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3 Brown Mushroomscubed
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20 Thai Basilleaves
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6 pcs Pineapplecubed and caramelised
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4 pcs Cherry Tomatoescut into quarts
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2 pcs Ladies FingerBlanched and sliced
Directions
I love risottos and they are really so easy to make. All you need is a little bit of patience and you will have a creamy, tasty plate of risotto. I always make seafood and vegetables or bacon and vegetables risotto. Recently I thought maybe I should step out of my comfort zone. I have been wanting to try saffron risotto, but I felt like something with a touch of spiciness and I needed to clear my fridge to make space for a 9 inch cheesecake I promised some ex-colleagues.. So I decided to make Thai Red Curry Risotto to use up my last bit of Thai Red Curry paste.
When Ed heard my suggestion of making a Thai Red Curry risotto, he paused for a moment. Then nodded his head slowly and went… Ok…. Should be good. So yeah! I mean can you imagine…. Creamy spicy curry soaked right into the rice with slow cooking. It is totally delicious!!! Only thing Ed requested was that he wanted more texture to this risotto as he does not like all the ingredients mixed in. So I thought instead of adding the fish and squid into the risotto, we prepared a calamari and pan seared sea bass to serve by the side and top the risotto with bacon bits and blanched ladies fingers and fresh cherry tomatoes, instead of cooking it all with the rice. Thus, this dish can work perfectly well and be perfectly tasty when when it is vegetarian.
I went online to look for recipes and came across this one by Love and Olive Oil and decided to use that as an inspiration.
We make our own Thai Curry Pastes, after learning how to do so at cooking school in Bangkok. You can find our Thai Red Curry Paste recipe here. It also has a Vegetarian option. In fact, this dish is an extremely satisfying vegetarian dish too. Just replace the Chicken stock with Vegetarian stock, calamari with fried bean curd and bacon with vegetarian bacon bits.
One thing I would do differently is that I would caramelise the pineapples instead of cooking them in the risotto for about 3-5 minutes. It tastes good in the risotto, but caramelizing it not only will give it more texture and more sweetness, but more colour too. But if that is too much work, just mix it into the rice the last 5 minutes. When Ed heard about adding pineapples, he was skeptical, but it gives this dish an added playful dimension. A tangy sweet that goes so well with the spicy creaminess and coconut richness.
THE RISOTTO
The trick to making a really creamy risotto is just to cook the risotto using a broad pot for easy stirring, and adding the stock bit by bit. We used Knorr Chicken stock cubes because it is just so easy. I also added a few splashes of hua tiao wine (white wine) and it really gives the risotto a sweet and aromatic note. It is really so easy, there is not really much for me to say except, keep stirring, so that it does not stick.
CALAMARI
Calamari is so simple, I try not to order it when I am eating out. It pains me to pay that much. All you need to do is clean the squid by rinsing it and removing the legs and eyes, etc in one firm pull, with one hand holding the body and another holding the top of the legs. Pull out the spine and then remove the purple skin all over the body by rubbing one side off a little and pull off like you would with a sticker.
Many people wonder what to do with the gooey stuff in the body. Those are good to eat but if you are feeling queasy, you may remove them. But they are really tasty, so try not to do that. Then pat the squid dry and set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, mix about 1/4 cup of potato flour or potato starch with 1 heaped tsp of paprika powder, 1/4 tsp of salt and some black pepper. Stir to mix the powder evenly and add the squid ensuring that you coat evenly. Leave it for about 20 minutes then deep fry at 180C. I use potato flour here because it will give a very light and airy batter. If you want something with more crunch, then do the flour 1/2 potato and 1/2 all purpose flour.
This spicy, creamy and crunchy dish is so dimensional that it will transport you back to Thailand. This recipe is mildly hot. If you want more heat, you can add more of the Thai Red Curry paste or some fresh cut bird’s eye chilli as a topping.
SEA BASS
Rinse and pat dry the sea bass fillet and cut to size. Using the same flour mixture from the calamari, coat the sea bass and set aside for 30 minutes to marinate. Pan fry skin side down first on a non-stick pan till skin is golden brown then flip to fry other side. Or air fry at 180C till golden brown.
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Steps
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1
Done
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Prepare stockBoil a pot with 750ml water and knorr chicken cube to prepare chicken stock. |
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2
Done
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Fry baconWarm up a non-stick frying pan. Add coconut oil and add bacon to fry till crispy on high heat. |
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3
Done
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Fry aromatics and Curry PasteLower the fire to medium and add in onions, garlic, ginger and fry till onions are almost translucent. Add more coconut oil if necessary. |
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4
Done
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Fry rice and vegetablesAdd rice, carrots and mushrooms. Stir to mix evenly. |
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5
Done
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Adding stockAdd one ladle of stock and keep stirring till stock is almost gone. Repeat till rice is cooked, adding one ladle and letting the rice absorb at a time. |
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6
Done
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ServeOnce rice is cooked thoroughly, serve risotto topped with bacon bits, ladies finger, tomatoes and caramelized pineapple. Serve calamari and sea bream by the side. |
