Tag Archives: foodporn

Dining, Recipes

Recipe: Sticky Rice with Kiwi

I thought it time to mix up my fave summer treat, mango and sticky rice, with a colorful twist. Golden kiwi and black/purple glutinous rice in sweet coconut milk. This is a gluten-free and “mostly” dairy-free dessert that I appreciate for its hot-and-cold temps in the same dish.

“Mostly” because the stevia I use at home is Trader Joe’s 100% Pure Stevia Extract powder that lists lactose in its ingredient info (the organic version does not contain lactose). If you’re paranoid about artificial sweeteners (or want to avoid the aftertaste), stick to regular sweeteners that contain sucrose, glucose or fructose. Authentic Thai sticky rice calls for palm sugar or coconut sugar.

This recipe requires a little prep time before getting to the end product. The rice needs to soak in water for about 4-6 hours, overnight if possible before steaming or cooking on the stove top.

My instructions call for a 30-45 minute stove top cook using a sauce pan with a vented lid.

  • 4oz black glutinous rice
  • 8oz water
  • 4.5oz coconut milk (reserve half a 9oz can)
  • 2 tsp stevia (or sub with sugar)

Bring to a boil, then partially cover with lid askew and simmer rice at low-medium heat. Cook until liquids are fully absorbed and rice becomes soft-sticky. Let cooked rice stand for 5 minutes while making the coconut milk sauce:

  • 4.5oz coconut milk
  • 2 tsp stevia (or sub with sugar)

Warm the coconut milk and stir in the sweetener until incorporated. Garnish with sliced fruit, in this case, I chose a medium sized golden kiwi, sliced. Arrange rice and fruit in a bowl or cup, drizzle with coconut sauce then  serve.

 

Dining, Foodporn, Recipes

Freshman Brisket on the BGE

We gave smoking a brisket a try on the Big Green Egg this weekend. It was our first attempt at smoking Texas brisket in a BGE. The results were tasty, but not close to the ideal Texas texture and flavor we were hoping for. A few issues marred our attempts, but the man was staunch about doing it his way. He did spend a good 8-10 hours at it, but the end result was undercooked. We learned a great deal about how the Big Green Egg did a better job of maintaining temperatures over long cook times.

A salt rub the night beforehand is key to investing a brisket with flavor, and something I’ve learned to do during my smoke experiments with the Weber kettle. Previously, I did my dry brine and rubs in one step, then let the brisket rest overnight before hitting the grill.

Using a combo of pecan and oak lump, my man finished his brisket at 198F, which seemed too low to me. The dome temp on the BGE never exceeded 270F at its highest, and remained mostly on or below 250F. Unfortunately his coals did die out within the first 4 hours of the smoke, and he failed to use the convEggtor indirect heat plate during that time. So while the brisket nearly approached the right color, it just didn’t have enough time or strong heat to form a good  crust.

The result was a mildly smoked, slightly chewy piece of roast beef that needed an electric knife for slicing. It was a decent freshman effort, and I have a nice flat to use in my brisket chili recipe.