Rice is a commonly spotted food in the grocery and for most people in this planet, it is their staple food. Rice gives us a good dose of carbohydrates to keep our knees strong all throughout the day. (No wonder for the energy imparted by these wonderful grains… for they are carefully planted with the farmers’ strong knees and backbone: energy emitted, energy held and energy shared.) Well, to give this carbohydrates-packed food a real dealing it simply deserves, here’s an equally yummy-licious recipe: Rice Pudding!
Now, we’ll be preparing rice pudding in two ways: Classic Style (which is to be baked) and the Unbaked Creamy Style. We’ll be doing the Classic one first and Creamy Style second. Here are the recipes:
CLASSIC STYLE RICE PUDDING
First, prepare the ingredients and cooking tools. (Note: Preparation is very important as it will render you a hassle-free cooking.)
Ingredients
- 5 cups milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup (165g) sugar (granules, not the cubes)
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 220g short-grain rice, such as Arborio
- 2 cups of water
- 1 tsp of salt
Tools
- Saucepan
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Baking dish (9×9” preferably)
- bowls
When the ingredients and tools are all set and prepared, proceed to cooking the Classic Style Rice Pudding.
- Pour water into the saucepan and add a tablespoon of salt.
- Add the rice into the saline mixture.
- Turn on the oven into medium heat until the water boils.
- As the water boils, reduce fire into low heat. Cover the saucepan with lid. Let the rice simmer until the water evaporates then remove from heat.
- Preheat oven into 350 degrees F or an equivalent of 175 degrees C.
- In a bowl, mix in well 2 ½ cups of a now cooked rice, milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and some raisins.
- If the ingredients are well-blended together, pour the mixture into a 9×9” baking dish.
- Put it into the preheated oven for 30- 60 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- Let it cool. You can serve it hot or cold.
(Health Tip: For a sugar-less and healthier dish, you can use sugar substitute like Splenda. Use 1/3 of the amount based from the measurement of the sugar.)
CREAMY STYLE RICE PUDDING
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) of whole milk (cream can be a substitute, too)
- 1/3 cup (66 grams) of uncooked medium-sized grain white rice
- Pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1/3 cup (40 grams) raisins
Tools
- Saucepan
- Measuring cups and spoons
- bowls
(Kitchen Tips: a. Medium-grain rice gives just the right amount of starch to thicken the pudding and make it creamy, but stays tender without breaking apart; b. Milk makes the pudding more succulent than the cream. )
Of course, after preparing all the necessities, you are all ready to cook.
- Mix the milk, rice and salt in your saucepan and let it boil it in high heat. When the rice boils, let it simmer until rice is tender. That will take from 20-25 minutes at best. It is imperative to stir the mixture from time to time so you can prevent the rice from sticking to the sides and bottom of the pan.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and the sugar until evenly blended.
- Add the cooked rice to the egg-sugar mixture, one to two tablespoons at a time. Blend them completely until finely mixed and there are no lumps left.
- Pour in the mixture back to the saucepan and continue stirring.
- Cook it in low heat for about 10 minutes until it thickens. Add vanilla.
- Remove from heat and add the cinnamon and raisins.
- You can then serve it – hot or cold—in a decorative bowl.
- Share it with complement drinks to your family or friends. Enjoy.
You can enjoy chatting with our friends over this wonderful dish and share your most enjoyable experiences. Rice pudding can be cooked indifferent ways. Be creative enough and experiment on this dish—that’s actually the beauty of this recipe. It is pretty flexible… so you can individualize this dish, suiting to your own taste.
