Steamed Jasmine Rice With Grilled Eggplant Salad Food

STEAMED JASMINE RICE WITH GRILLED EGGPLANT SALAD

Steps:

• Place the rice in a bowl, cover with water and swirl the rice around. Drain and repeat this step two or three more times until the water runs clear. Drain, place the rice in a medium-sized, heavy saucepan, and add enough water to cover the rice by a little more than 1/2 inch. (Measure by placing the tip of your index finger on the surface of the rice; the water should come to just below the first joint.) Add salt if desired, and bring to a boil. Allow the water to boil hard for about 15 seconds, then reduce the heat, cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid during this time.
• Turn off the heat, and leave the lid on the rice. Let stand for five to ten minutes. Remove the lid, and gently turn the rice with a paddle to bring the rice up from the bottom of the pot. Return the lid, and let stand while you prepare the eggplant.
• Heat a panini grill to high, or prepare a hot grill. Brush the eggplant slices with canola oil. Grill for three to four minutes in the panini grill (five to eight minutes per side on a regular grill) until the slices are slightly browned and tender all the way through. As each batch is done, remove to a bowl. When all of the eggplant has been grilled, cover the bowl tightly and allow the eggplant to steam and eventually to cool.
• Coarsely chop the eggplant, and toss together with the herbs and diced tomato. Mix together the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and chile. Toss with the eggplant mixture. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to an hour, then taste and adjust seasoning.
• Place the rice on a platter or on individual plates, top with the eggplant mixture and serve.

STEAMED JASMINE RICE

Steps:

• Wash the rice well by putting it in a bowl and covering it with cool water. Swish the rice around with your hand until the water gets cloudy. Drain and repeat until the water gets only slightly cloudy; usually it takes about three rinses.
• Drain the rice, put it in a small (1-qt) metal bowl, and stir in 1 cup cold water and the salt, if using. Fit a rack or steaming trivet into a pot large enough to accommodate the bowl. Pour about an inch of water into the pot. Put the bowl of rice on the rack (it shouldn't touch the water in the pot), cover the pot, and bring the water in the pot to a boil over high heat. As soon as the water in the pot begins to boil, set a timer for 25 minutes and reduce the heat to maintain a steady amount of steam. When the timer goes off, take the pot off the heat and use tongs or a hot pad to remove the hot bowl from the pot. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.

JASMINE RICE

Steps:

• Rinse rice: Place rice in a fine-mesh strainer set inside a large bowl. Fill the bowl with enough cool tap water to cover the rice by an inch or two. Use your hand to gently stir the rice, 30-40 seconds; then lift the strainer from the bowl. The water in the bowl will be cloudy from the rice starch. Empty the water, set the strainer in the bowl again, and repeat the process until the water that covers the rice is mostly clear (probably two or three changes of water); the rice grains will begin to look translucent. Discard the water in the bowl; set the strainer on top and let the rice drain, about 5 minutes, gently shaking the strainer occasionally to get rid of excess water.
• Cook rice: Place the drained rice into the rice cooker in an even layer. Add 2 cups water; the level should be close to an inch above the rice (or the height of one knuckle above your forefinger). Add more water to reach this marker if necessary. Close the lid and turn rice cooker on; rice is done when indicated by the rice cooker. Once done, let the rice sit in the rice cooker with the cover on for about 15-20 minutes. Don't skip this step: it allows some of the moisture to dissipate as steam, and some to get reabsorbed into the rice. This keeps the rice from clumping and gives the grains a chance to cool slightly, so when you fluff the rice, the grains don't break apart.
• Fluff rice: Open the rice cooker and use a spoon or fork to gently separate and fluff the cooked grains. The rice will keep for several hours after fluffing in the rice cooker on the "Warm" setting. To serve, pack a small bowl with rice, level off the top, and turn it over onto a plate; lift the bowl away to uncover a tidy dome of rice. (Store leftover cooked rice in a covered container in the refrigerator, 1-2 days.)

GRILLED EGGPLANT SALAD (YAM MAKHEUA YAO)

Steps:

• Fried Garlic: Place fine-mesh strainer over heatproof bowl and set aside. Pour oil into a shallow pan, ½-inch deep. Set pan over high heat until oil is lightly bubbling, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, place garlic cloves in a food processor and pulse to roughly chop. Add garlic to the oil and immediately turn heat to low. Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring the entire time to prevent garlic from burning.
• When garlic is light golden brown and the bubbling has slowed, turn off heat. Strain the garlic, reserving the flavorful oil in the bowl. Gently shake the strainer to remove as much oil as possible, then drain and cool the garlic on paper towels in an even layer. Garlic will crisp as it cools. Makes about ¼ cup fried garlic and ½ cup garlic oil. Storage: Fried garlic can be stored in a container, uncovered, at room temperature for up to 2 days. Alternatively, place into an airtight container with a silica gel packet (available online) to store for several weeks. Garlic oil can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
• Fried Shallots: Place fine-mesh strainer over heatproof bowl and set aside. Pour oil into a shallow pan, ½-inch deep. Set pan over high heat until oil is lightly bubbling, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the shallots by peeling, cutting in half, then thinly slicing with the grain into a julienne. When the oil is bubbling, turn heat to low, add the shallots, and stir. Don't rush the process with high heat: cook, stirring and scraping the sides occasionally, adjusting the heat to maintain a gentle sizzle, 5-10 minutes.
• When the oil stops bubbling and the shallots are starting to brown but still look raw, turn off heat. The residual heat will continue cooking the shallots. Continue stirring and flipping the shallots until they are a deep golden brown and crispy, another 1-2 minutes. Strain the shallots, reserving the flavorful oil in the bowl. Cool the shallots on paper towels in an even layer. Shallots will crisp as they cool. Makes about ¼ cup fried shallots and ½ cup shallot oil. Storage: Fried shallots can be stored in a container, uncovered, at room temperature for up to 2 days. Alternatively, place into an airtight container with a silica gel packet (available online) to keep fresh for several weeks. Shallot oil can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
• Eggplants: Preheat charcoal grill according to grill directions to medium heat, about 30 minutes. Once the coals have begun to turn gray but are still flaming, place the eggplants directly on the coals. Cook, turning frequently, until the skin has almost completely blackened and the flesh is very soft, about 4 minutes; the goal is to fully char the skin before the flesh gets mushy. When they're ready, a knife should meet almost no resistance when the eggplant is poked. Alternatively, eggplants can be roasted over the burner of a stove: turn frequently until the skin has blistered and blackened.
• Salad: Julienne the shallot into long strips, thinly slice chiles into rings, and roughly chop boiled egg. Set aside. Meanwhile, remove charred eggplant from the grill or stove. Place in a shallow bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap to steam the eggplants for easier removal of the charred skin, 5-10 minutes.
• Dressing: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add fish sauce, palm sugar simple syrup, lime juice, and sliced chiles. Heat the mixture just until it's warm to the touch, 15 seconds. Peel off and discard the skin of the eggplants. (It's fine to leave bits of charred skin; they will add to the smoky flavor of the dish.) Cut peeled eggplants into 1-inch pieces and place into the warm dressing. Stir gently, then stir in the julienned shallots.
• Assembly: Transfer eggplant mixture to a serving platter. Garnish with dried shrimp, chopped egg, fried garlic, fried shallot, and a few cilantro leaves. Serve.

STEAMED JASMINE RICE

Steps:

• Wash rice in several changes of cold water in a bowl until water is clear, then drain in a sieve. Combine with water and salt in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until rice is tender and water is absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

GRILLED VEGETABLE AND RICE SALAD WITH FISH-SAUCE VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• For salad:
• Preheat oven to 250°F. Spread out coconut (if using) on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring often, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool on pan.
• Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to high. Brush grill grates with oil. Meanwhile, combine okra, corn, zucchini, chiles, eggplant, and salt in a large bowl; drizzle with oil and toss to coat. Grill vegetables (use a grill basket if you have one), turning frequently, until crisp-tender and lightly charred, about 8 minutes. Place chiles in a medium bowl; cover tightly with plastic to let steam for easy peeling. Set chiles aside for dressing.
• Cut corn kernels from cobs; place in a large bowl. Cut zucchini and eggplant into irregular 1" pieces; place in bowl with corn. Trim any tough tops from okra and cut okra in half lengthwise; add to bowl. Set aside.
• For dressing and assembly:
• Peel or scrape off charred skin from chiles and discard. Purée chiles (with seeds) and garlic in a food processor or mash with a mortar and pestle until a coarse paste forms. Add sugar and process or pound until dissolved. Stir in fish sauce and lime juice.
• Drizzle dressing over warm vegetables; add herbs and toasted coconut (if using); toss well.
• Scoop steamed rice onto a platter and top with salad.