Spruce it up this yuletide season by using rice in your festive spread, suggests Kerry-Ann Augustin
EVERY Christmas, some of us rice lovers experience what I’ve come to call ARWS (Acute Rice Withdrawal Syndrome).
The normal yuletide fare, at least in my home, comprises all kinds of meats cured and roasted, stews, salads, pastas, curries and of course the glue that binds — bread.
This is all great of course, until you realise every relative you visit over the next week will also serve similar dishes.
By the fourth day, the symptoms of ARWS start to set in: You begin having lucid dreams about eating rice, you stare blankly at Christmas decor and begin dreaming of all the dishes you could have with rice. Somehow, no matter how much bread you eat to cure those hunger pangs, it just doesn’t do it. You know your deprivation is severe when the sight of a rice cooker excites you.
Thankfully, two chefs at Brahim’s SATS Food Services Sdn Bhd, executive chef Razaha Harun and Chef Fakhrul Aliff Arifin Mohari, have come up with a festive spread that includes our nation’s staple diet.
“We wanted to create something different using Brahim’s meal ready-to-eat (MRE) rice packs for the festive season,” says Fakhrul, referring to the nine different flavours: the award-winning chicken briyani rice, mutton and briyani rice, Arab rice, tomato rice, mushroom and cheese rice, nasi lemak, salted fish fried rice and the best seller, kampung - styled fried rice.
“We have experimented with some of these dishes before and some, for the first time,” Razaha chips in.
Having worked with Brahim’s for over 30 years, Razaha had no issues identifying flavours that would work with different ingredients. “It took us two days to conceptualise and come up with the menu,” says a beaming Fakhrul.
The dishes laid out included pizza, lamb roulade, bean salad, wraps, stuffed calamari and the classic New Orleans favourite, gumbo.
“We played around with the dishes as we wanted each dish to have that Christmas feel and flavour. For this theme, we also used raisins and cranberries for instance. Those are the kinds of foods we associate with the sweetness of the celebration,” adds Fakhrul, who reveals that the Turkey Pot Pie was the most creative dish crafted.
“We’re used to seeing traditional dishes like Shepherd’s Pie during the festive season. So this time we made the pie using the Christmas classic, turkey. Instead of potato, we used Brahim’s Mushroom and Cheese rice and pumpkin as a base for that natural sweetness.”
Using the highly - versatile ready -to -eat rick packs is all a matter of interpretation, says Razaha. “You can experiment with anything and complement the flavour of the rice with different ingredients. You just have to get creative.”
If you’re at risk of getting ARWS this Christmas season, here are some simple recipes courtesy of Chef’s Razaha and Fakhrul to make your holidays a memorable, rice-filled one!
CRISPY CHICKEN WRAP STUFFED WITH CHICKEN FRIED RICE (serves 4)
Item A:
1 pack of Brahim’s Nasi Goreng Ayam
3 diced garlic
100g Mire Poix (diced onion/ diced celery/ diced carrot/ diced leek)
Salt
Black pepper
Item B:
100g Jullien of tricolor pepper
Item C:
4 sheet tortilla skin
Item D:
4 nos breaded chicken finger
Method
1. Saute all item A ingredients until fragrant. Put aside and let it cool.
2. Deep fry item D until golden brown and crispy.
3. Arrange item D and fill with item B, then item A. Wrap with item C.
3. Ready to be served.
ROULADE OF LAMB LOIN STUFFED WITH CHERRY AND LAMB BIRYANI RICE (serves 4)
Item A:
1 pack of Brahim’s Nasi Biryani Kambing
3 nos diced garlic
100g Mire Poix (diced onion/ diced celery/ diced carrot/ diced leek)
30g diced cherry
50g small cube of tricolour pepper
Salt
Black pepper
Item B:
50ml cooking cream
Item C:
4 nos Lamb Loin
Method
1. Saute all item A ingredients until fragrant and pour in item B. Let it thicken and season. Put aside and let it cool.
2. Prepare lamb loin by slicing it until it forms a large piece of sheet.
3. Arrange the filling in the middle of the lamb loin, roll it to form a roulade and tighten with a butcher string.
4. Sear the stuffed lamb loin and roast it in the oven at 180ºC for six minutes.
5. Once ready, let it rest for about three minutes and cut into pieces and serve.
RED BEAN AND RICE SALAD (serves 4)
Item A:
1 pack of Brahim’s Nasi Goreng Ikan masin
1 nos diced Holland onion
30g small diced raisin
30g chopped parsley
120g kidney beans
50ml olive oil
20ml lemon juice
15g chopped coriander
Salt
Black pepper
Item B:
4 nos Halved Roma Tomato
Method
1. Soak the unopened pack of Brahim’s Nasi Goreng Ikan Masin in boiling water for 15 minutes. Then mix the rice pack with the other ingredients in a bowl.
2. Scoop the filling into the halved tomato.
3. Ready to be served.
CHEESY RICE BALL (serves 4)
Item A:
1 pack of Brahim’s Nasi Goreng Ayam
3 nos diced garlic
100g Mire Poix (diced onion/ diced celery/ diced carrot/ diced leek)
50g parmesan cheese
Salt
Black pepper
Item B:
10g flour
50ml cooking cream
Item C:
40g cubed, mozzarella cheese
Item D:
Breadcrumbs
Method
1. Saute all the item A ingredients until fragrant and pour in item B. Let it thicken and season. Put aside and let it cool.
2. Form a ball out of item A and fill the middle with item C.
3. Roll with breadcrumbs and deep fry for three minutes.
4. Ready to be served.
TURKEY POT PIE (serves 4)
Item A:
1 pack of Brahim’s Nasi Cendawan & Cheese
3 nos diced garlic
100g Mire Poix (diced onion/ diced celery/ diced carrot/ diced leek)
100g small cube turkey breast
50g small cube turkey meatloaf
30g small diced raisin
Salt
Black Pepper
Item B:
200ml cooking cream
Item C:
4 sheets filo pastry
Method:
1. Saute all the ingredients from item A until fragrant and pour in item B. Let it thicken and season. Put aside and let it cool.
2. Use a small soup bowl, fill ¾of the bowl and cover with filo pastry. Pre-heat oven and bake about 10 minutes at 160ºC.
3. Ready to be served.