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Written by Paul Mutter
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Monday, 08 March 2010 23:28 |
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Having given a number of recipes over the past
weeks and suggested that they would go well
with rice it is probably about time to tackle the
subject of cooking rice itself, not always such an
easy task as it might seem. All too often it can end
up overcooked and on the soft and mushy side,
ideal for sticky rice but not quite the thing for a
good plate of fried rice or to emulate the
wonderful results you get in most Chinese
restaurants. So the recipe this week, when we get
to it, is going to be egg fried rice which is very nice
on its own, as an accompaniment to some of the
other dishes we have cooked such as sweet and
sour pork, or as a base for creating ‘special’ fried
rice containing pork, prawns and chicken. More of
that in a moment but first of all let’s take a look at
rice itself. According to one source rice provides
one fifth of the world’s calorie intake. Most of the
rice that we eat in the west is white rice which
means that it has been milled to remove the husk
and the bran. If the husk is milled off but the bran
left on the resulting grain is brown rice which is
nutritionally superior to white rice but does not
keep so well. There are many different types of rice
but the commonest types we come into contact
with are the medium grain Arborio type used in
paellas, puddings and risottos, the ‘normal’ long
grain used with curries and other dishes and the
‘posher’ long grains of which basmati is the best
known for its flavour and stability when cooked.
Basmati is also used with curries and in dishes such
as byrianis where the presentation of the rice is
particularly important. The use of rice goes back
thousands of years and there is evidence of wild
strains being collected over 10,000 years ago in
China and cultivated strains 4,000 years ago in
parts of India. Rice cultivation was probably
introduced into Spain by the Moors although
some believe the Byzantines brought it earlier.
Someone has managed to work out that
Spaniards consume on average eight kilos of rice
each per year. It is still grown in the country and
although Spain is not a major world producer it
does have three areas whose production is
protected by a quality of origin mark
(denominación de origin) and they are the Delta
del Ebro, Valencia and Calasparra in Murcia.
For most Chinese dishes, plain boiled rice is a fine
accompaniment and for me there are two ways of
cooking it, on the firm side or slightly sticky. For
firm rice like in this week’s recipe make sure you
wash the rice first to get rid of any surface starch.
If you leave that on the rice, you are guaranteed to
end up with sticky rice. Like all ‘natural’ products
rice varies from brand to brand and even batch to
batch so get used to the characteristics of the
brand you normally use. As a good guide use 1½
to 1¾ cups of water to every one cup of rice and
adjust as mentioned earlier depending on your
own brand of rice. Bring to the boil and then turn
the heat down to a low simmer with the lid on.
After about 10 to 12 minutes the water will have
been completely absorbed and you should take
the pan off the heat and allow to stand for five
minutes to allow the heat to distribute through
the rice. Fork the rice up and if all has gone well
you should have nice fluffy rice. For stickier rice
then add a little more water and cook for a little
longer when the grains will start to split. It’s really
a matter of your particular preference as to how
you cook your rice. I think it is a lot more difficult to
cook perfect rice than meets the eye so persevere
if at first you do not succeed.
As mentioned above fried rice is the perfect
vehicle to add other ingredients to turn the dish
into a ‘special fried rice’ with prawns, chicken and
pork as well as other vegetables chopped finely if
you wish. It can be a great way of using up ends of
roast meats and other odds and ends you might
have around in the fridge. Just chop them up and
add to the wok making sure you heat them
through properly.
Egg Fried Rice
Ingredients (Serves 4)
300 grms of basmati or long grain rice
300 ml of water (basically the same volume or
a little more that the quantity of rice)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon oyster sauce (optional)
2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
4 tablespoons of frozen peas
4 tablespoons of peanut or vegetable oil (for
frying)
¼ of a salad onion (optional)
Salt and pepper
Method
Rinse the rice in cold water several times to get
rid of the surface starch. When the water has
run clear add the same quantity of water as the
rice and bring to the boil. Turn down on a low
heat with the lid on until the water has been
absorbed but make sure the rice is still a little
on the firm side and the grains have not split.
The idea is to slightly ‘undercook’ the rice to
ensure the grains have not lost their shape.
Take off the heat and cool the rice. The best
way of doing this is to spread it out on a tray or
shallow baking dish and place in the
refrigerator overnight. This is one of the best
tips to ensure good fried rice that does not end
up as a sticky mess.
Thaw the peas and drain. If you are using the
salad onion try using part of the stem to
imitate spring onions and chop finely. Heat
your wok and add half the peanut oil to it.
When hot add the previously beaten eggs and
cook to from a flat omelette. When ready lift
out on to a plate and slice up into thin strips. If
necessary clean the wok of any surplus egg
mixture so that I does not burn and add the
other half of the oil. Break the rice up with a
fork and add it to the hot oil in the wok
followed by the peas, cut up omelette, sauces,
onion if using and salt and pepper to taste. Mix
thoroughly and heat. Tip into bowls or a
container and serve while still hot.
A perfect accompaniment to many dishes, nice
on its own or ‘supercharged with other
ingredients (see notes above the recipe).
Next week we are off on our travels once more
to pastures new as far as the cuisine is
concerned. |
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6893
(1 vote, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Written by Paul Mutter
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Monday, 08 March 2010 23:26 |
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Margarita
Restaurant
The Margarita Restaurant is situated right in
the middle of Los Montesinos opposite the
Cam bank very close to the pedestrian
crossing. It is under new ownership with a
new menu and plenty of good food for you
to try. My wife and I went along to see and
taste for ourselves on a cold and windy night
last week. The first thing you notice as you
walk in is how very snug it is, a perfect
respite from the winter weather. There was
also a warm smile and a friendly welcome
from Mark who operates front of house and
offered us the menus and a pre-dinner drink.
Many of those who were eating last Friday
had chosen the traditional English Fish and
Chips which has recently been introduced to
the menu and is available every day except
Sunday to eat in the restaurant or take away.
Their talented chef Danny has also
introduced a new menu del la noche which
we were particularly impressed by and there
will be more details of that a little later. The
main menu offers a lot of choice and has also
been updated. Mark told us they had asked
their customers what dishes they wanted to
see added and he and Danny have followed
their wishes.
To start you can choose for example chicken
wings, onion rings, garlic bread or a combi
platter with dipping sauces. Then on to the
main course and, once again, you might find
it difficult to decide from a well balanced
interesting selection, which is usefully
divided into sections such as chicken dishes,
meat, salads, burgers, fish and so on. Just to
pick out a few examples from each, in the
chicken section there is Lemon chicken, a
New Yorker chicken breast which has bacon
and melted cheese on top or spicy buffalo
chicken wings. If you are after a burger how
about a Manhattan which consists of a
burger, bacon, fried egg, mushrooms and
onion rings. There is a very nice choice of
salads too with an American, based around
chicken, an Atlantic with prawns or how about
chicken and orange salad. If you like pasta the
Magarita has a number of options for you
including Carbonara and Arabiatta. As for fish
we have already mentioned traditional fish
and chips but there is also salmon, swordfish
or scampi. Then there is still the meat section
where you will find ‘surf and turf’, a mixture of
steak and prawns, rib eyed steaks, gammon
steaks, ribs and then something that caught
my eye, a mixed grill. I had earlier in the week
mentioned that a good old fashioned mixed
grill seemed to be quite hard to find and there
it was on the menu in front of me. It was
obviously fate and so it had to be my choice.
My wife selected from the Menu del la noche,
recently introduced at 11.95 euros. I thought
the dishes had been very interestingly chosen
for his menu. To start there was a choice of
home made Scotch egg, vegetable pakoras or
a salmon and broccoli fishcake. For a main
course there was bangers and mash, always a
favourite, half a roast chicken with trimmings
or Salmon in dill and I’ll tell you about the
desserts in a minute. My wife chose the
pakoras, a selection of vegetables cooked in
batter with a chilli and a soy dipping sauce.
They were delicious and I managed to sneak
a few. I decided not to have a starter as I rightly
anticipated the mixed grill would be
substantial. I had guessed right it was and
truly delicious. My wife had the roast chicken
from the menu del la noche men and that was
also succulent and tender. After a pause it was
time for dessert. For me jam sponge and
custard creatively presented in a tower and for
my wife it was Irish lumpy bumpy cake which
had a shot of Baileys in it. The food was very
good indeed as was the service which was
friendly and efficient. Margarita’s has a menu
del dia which changes weekly and the menu
del la noche changes monthly. You can
contact Margarita’s on 966 720 888. They are
open every day for breakfast lunch and dinner
except Sundays. |
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