Make perfect rice

Say good bye to Uncle Ben, I'm sure he's a pleasant enough feller, but you really ought to be able to cook up a batch of boiled white rice by now! Its quick and more economical than buying packets of microwave rice and besides what do you do if your ever caught in a rice emergency and all you have are loose rice grains!?

Being a big rice eater and not and not being big on measuring (hence the lack of baked good on this blog) I can now perfect rice with my own approximations, but to help you out I have weighed and measured all the required amounts.

Plain Boiled Rice
Basmati rice (or other long grain white rice) 200g
Water 400ml
pinch of salt

1)Wash rice in the cooking pot (one with a tight fitting lid) with cold water a couple of times, until the water is noticeably less cloudy. Drain all the washing water.
2) Take the rice to the hob and add your measured water to the rice. I have found that your water should cover the rice and rise about a 1-2cm above your rice. 3)Bring the water to a boil on a medium to high heat this may take about 2-3 minutes give the rice a good stir to make sure it is not sticking to the pan. Don't stir too much or you will break up your rice and cause more starch to be released.
when the water is boiling quickly pop the pans lid on and immediately turn the heat down to its lowest setting. Leave the rice in the pot, lid unmoved for 12 minutes.
4) When the time is up turn the hob off and tilt the pan lid to let some steam out of the rice, you can also now gently separate the rive with a fork.
Done.
Note: This quantity of rice give me enough for two hungry people.
In Chinese the word for food is the same as their word for rice
Rice is the main food for half the population of the world
Rice is grown in over 100 countries and every continent except Antarctica
96% of the worlds rice is eaten in the area where it is grown

Nasi Goreng

What's the different between prawns and shrimps? There's apparently an international debate on this point: http://www.biology-online.org/biology-forum/about1016.html

What ever you want to call them I brought a pack of our curly pink friends, a big pack of the small variety not normally known to produce as spectacular a result as their much bigger full-bodied cousines/friends/brothers/sisters? But they were perfect for this very quick and no-fuss recipe.

This Indonesian meal is traditionally eaten at breakfast in the far east. I wont be giving up my Cheerios just yet; I love to eat this dish served with some pickled beet root and a variety of chilly sauces!
 Edit *Nasi Goreng paste of a good standard is available in most regular supermarkets now. Substitute it with the red Thai curry paste if you like and then also miss out the Oyster sauce using 2 teaspoons of fish sauce instead.* 

cooking oil

2 eggs (whisked)

2 salad onions chopped

2 cloves garlic
1 chicken breast sliced thinly 

small courgette -chopped into fingers 

pepper chopped

small pack -mange tout

half Cucumber chopped into 1 inch pieces 

red Thai curry paste 2-4 table spoons (brought or your own)

small cooked prawns 200-250g

juice from half lime + wedges to serve

2/3 table spoons fresh coriander

Left over boiled rice (I cooked my rice with peas)

2 table spoons soy sauce

1 table spoon oyster sauce 

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1) Heat some oil in a large non stick pan and add the whisked egg. swirl around the pan so you get a thin layer of the egg, cook until just set then flip over for 30 seconds. Remove from the pan roll up and chop into ribbons.

2) Add a little more oil to the pan and when hot fry the chicken until just sealed. Add the chopped spring onions and garlic, after a few minutes of frying on a medium high heat add the curry paste, frying for a few seconds before adding the courgette and pepper pieces. Stir fry on a medium high heat until the vegetables are just nearly cooked (4-5 min) then add the mange tout, the prawns and the rice to the pan; shake and stir the pan until everything in mixed.

3) Pour in the soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame seed oil and squeeze in the lime juice. Scatter on the coriander and cucumber pieces.
Serve in big bowls with the ribbons of omelet strewn on top and a slice of lime.