Text 14643, 104 rader
Skriven 2008-10-03 21:05:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
Ärende: Viet 7
==============
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
 
      Title: Crispy Rice Cake Com Chay (Kuhm Chay)
 Categories: Vietnamese, Rice, Info
      Yield: 4 servings
 
           Rice
 
  When you cook rice the old-fashioned way in a pot, a nice crust
  sometimes forms at the bottom if the initial high-heat boiling is
  prolonged. The toasty, crisp result is called com chay, which
  literally means burnt rice in Vietnamese, though the grains are not
  black. Ideally, they're golden brown and have a nutty-sweet flavor.
  The crust is broken into shard-like pieces and enjoyed with saucy
  savory dishes that can flavor and soften the grains.
  
  Some folks wax nostalgically about enjoying com chay with fish
  that's been simmered with caramel sauce and fish sauce. Serving com
  chay with such preparations (called kho) is a classic Viet pairing.
  If you've ever enjoyed Persian food, you may have come across
  delectable crusty rice preparations that are purposefully crafted to
  be a highlight of the meal.
  
  In the past, before the days of heavy-bottomed pans and electric
  rice cookers, com chay was a common part of everyday eating. The
  vagaries of unreliable cooking vessels and heat sources (often
  times, the source was coal) made it easy for cooks to get com chay
  from their daily rice pots.
  
  But even when I was growing up here in the States, whenever we
  didn't mind the rice pot carefully during the cooking process, we
  got a bit of com chay at the bottom. Mom would scoop out the fluffy
  cooked rice and then she'd pry out the crust. (She loves com chay
  but unfortunately chipped a tooth on some years ago and hasn't dared
  to indulge since then.) Carolyn Jung, my good friend who's a food
  journalist at the San Jose Mercury News, recalls that when her mom
  made rice in an electric rice cooker (this was before the days of
  fuzzy logic rice cookers) and left the cooker on for too long, they
  got the Chinese equivalent of com chay.
  
  Carolyn and I had this conversation over lunch at a Viet restaurant
  in San Jose where an interesting version of com chay was served.
  Translated into English as "crispy rice cake" but presented in
  Vietnamese as com chay, the disk of toasty, slightly crisp rice was
  made in a skillet. Of course it couldn't be part of the rice pot.
  How could it have been? They concocted a la minute. I ordered for it
  with some scallion oil for an extra touch of richness, and Carolyn
  and I enjoyed the rice with a mackerel kho.
  
  It had been so long since I'd had com chay that I actually just like
  the rice cake on its own. Once home, I made a pot of rice and
  experimented. My reproduction went exceedingly well and frankly, was
  better than the restaurant version. Here's how you do it:
  
  1. Make a batch of rice. I used Golden Phoenix jasmine and cooked it
  in a heavy-bottomed saucepan to a chewy-firm texture with a ratio of
  1 cup rice to 1 1/4 cups water. You can certainly use a rice cooker
  and your favorite type/brand of rice.
  
  2. While the rice cooks, make some scallion oil garnish. Set aside.
  
  3. After the rice is cooked (it can be hot or warm), heat an 8-inch
  nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add some rice and use a spatula
  (wooden or heatproof rubber kind works) to gently press the rice
  into a 1/2-inch thick disk. How much rice you use depends on the
  bottom width of your skillet.
  
  4. Let cook, undisturbed, for 5 minutes, during which the grains
  will basically dry fry. You'll eventually hear gentle sizzling.
  Increase the heat to medium-high and let the rice dry fry for 2
  minutes, or until the grains at the edge are slightly golden. You
  should be able to shake the disk of rice around in the skillet by
  now. Peak underneath to check on the color of the rice. Cook for a
  little longer, if you like. However, be careful not to burn the
  grains!
  
  5. With a spatula or a firm and confident jerk of the skillet, flip
  the rice cake over. Lower the heat to medium and repeat the
  dry-frying process, remembering to increase the heat to medium-high
  at the end. You may neaten up the rough edge by pushing it down and
  inward.
  
  6. Slide the finished rice cake onto a plate, top with scallion oil
  garnish, and serve. At the table, use chopsticks or a knife to cut
  wedges of the rice cake. Enjoy with saucy dishes like one of the kho
  from this LA Times article.
  
  NOTES & TIPS
  
  Leftover rice can be used but reheat it first in a microwave oven to
  refresh the texture.

  From: Andrea Q. Nguyen's Vietworldkitchen.com
 
MMMMM

Cheers

YK Jim


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