This Asian-Style Risotto bears a resemblance to congee, a common Asian dish made by boiling grain in a large amount of liquid until it gets very soft, much like a porridge. This version also draws on Asian flavors of ginger, garlic, mushrooms and cayenne pepper, rather than the traditional Italian flavors of butter, white wine, onion, parsley and Parmesan cheese.
Make it without chicken for a side dish, or substitute white beans for the chicken for a vegan dish. For a full meal, add broccoli florets or rice near the end of the cooking time.
Step 1: Brown and Cook Chicken
- 4 chicken thighs, boneless or bone-in
- 1-2 Tbsp. coconut or neutrally flavored oil like canola
- ½ cup water
In a large, heavy-bottomed saute pan or Dutch oven with a lid, warm oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Carefully add chicken thighs and brown on all sides. Reduce heat to low, add water and cover and simmer until thighs are cooked through. Remove to a plate and scrape pan juices over them.
Step 2: Saute Aromatics
- 2 Tbsp. coconut or neutrally flavored oil like canola, divide
- 1-2 Tbsp. chopped garlic (from about 3 to 5 cloves), to taste
- 1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
- ½ cup chopped shallots (from about 2 medium)
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- ½ lb. mushrooms, shitake or cremini, halved and sliced about ¼” thick
Add 1 Tbsp. oil to saute pan and warm over low heat. Add garlic, ginger, shallots and cayenne and saute gently until fragrant,about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Push to sides of pan
Add second Tbsp. oil to pan and warm. Add mushrooms to oil and stir to coat with oil, then stir in garlic mixture. Raise heat to medium-low and continue cooking until mushrooms become slightly softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 3: Add and Cook Rice
- 3 cups cooked short-grain brown rice
- 3 cups rich broth, chicken, mushroom or vegetable
Stir rice and broth into aromatics, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until rice plumps, absorbs most of the liquid and becomes tender to taste, about 20 to 30 minutes. Stir occasionally so rice cooks evenly.
Step 4: Debone Chicken
While rice cooks, de-bone and/or chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. When rice is almost done, stir in chicken along with pan juices and cook until warmed through.
Step 5: Finish Dish
- 2 Tbsp. light (yellow) miso
- ½ cup broth
- Freshly ground pepper
- Sea salt, if needed
- Freshly squeezed lime juice
Blend miso and broth in a small bowl. When rice is done, remove from heat and stir in miso mixture. Taste and add pepper and salt, only if needed (but miso and cayenne may add enough of both salt and heat.)
Serve with a squeeze of lime juice.
Notes: Solving the Risotto Problem
While it is luxuriously creamy and richly comforting, risotto has a couple drawbacks:
- The Time Factor Risotto takes a lot of hands-on cooking time. As explained on one site: “For upward of 20 minutes, you have one job and one job only: Add hot stock a ladleful at a time to the rice and cook slowly, stirring often, until the stock is absorbed.” Are you kidding? 20-plus minutes babysitting just one dish?!!
- The White Factor Risotto is made with a special rice called Arborio, because it “becomes fantastically creamy when cooked.” Unfortunately, however, it is also “white,” i.e., it has been stripped of its nutritionally dense germ and bran leaving a white interior that is pretty much inert nutritionally.
Despite these two drawbacks, there is a simple solution demonstrated by this recipe:
Substitute pre-cooked short grain brown rice for white Arborio!
Because it’s pre-cooked, the brown rice can be plumped up into a creamy porridge by hands-off simmering in extra broth. And because it is a whole grain, you’re not cheated of all the nutrients that are naturally “packaged” with rice!