Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Cheesy Baked Rice


I think I must have gotten this idea from N.Y.D.C in SG. Growing up in a traditional Chinese family, I did not have many chances to try other cuisines. Hence on my first visit to NYDC, I was shocked to see that someone would actually place rice with cheese! If you are wondering this must have happened years and years ago.... well, I believe the first time I stepped into NYDC was only 3-4 years ago? I can accept pasta with cheese but rice with cheese sounded so foreign to me at that point of time. So silly of me!

I try to make it a point to cook or bake something new every week at home. Besides planning and dreaming about our wedding (as a little girl, I have never given too much thought about my wedding so I'm compensating), cooking and baking something new gets my creative cell membranes going. Perhaps if I'm back to seeing clients, I will be ok but since I have a few more months to finish writing "the book", I'm going to need all the creative cells all I can to keep my spirits up.

So I pucked up the courage to try this dish at home! To be very honest, I can't remembered how the one in NYDC tastes like anymore.. so I can't make a comparison. It's very filling and I can't eat too much of it. Possibly because of the cheese AND rice combi. However, I added tomatoes and that provided a tangy flavour, kinda like baked pasta with rice...

Cheesy Baked Rice (if u r really hungry, this probably will serve 2-3, if not, this will serve 4-5 easily).
1 can of diced tomatoes
3-4 diced roma tomatoes
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 sliced red capsicum
2 cups of stock
2 cups of basmatic rice
olive oil
garlic
shredded bbq chicken meat (about 2 cups)
4 cups of shredded chedder cheese
cracked pepper and sea salt

In a large deep pan, heat oil up. Add desired amount of minced garlic. Once fragrant, add the rice in. Crack open the can of diced tomatoes and tip it into the pan. Stir and simmer. Toss chopped roma tomatoes, capsicum and mushrooms in. Add approximately 1 cup of stock. Cover and simmer for about 3-5 minutes.
Stir. Add more stock till the rice is almost cooked. That will take about 15-20 minutes. If the mixture is too dry, add more stock or water. Toss in bbq chicken meat and continue stirring for another 5 minutes. Season.
Transfer the mixture to a heat proof bowl (I used pyrex). Sprinkle cheese liberally on the top. Put it under the grill for 5+ minutes.
Ladle and serve.

*I made this last week again, substituting bbq chicken meat with chopped chicken sausages. If anyone is keen to experiment, you can omit the tomatoes and add cream for a richer touch. I'm not sure if I'm game to try that version though.. ;p

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the first time I've had rice baked with cheese is at Swensons, SG!!! Their seafood baked rice!
A dish tasting delicious and nice when eaten immediately after cooked.

ling239 said...

baked cheese with rice is kinda common over here with all the Hongkie style cafe... usually topped with seafood, chicken, beef or pork, with either cream sauce of tomato paste before the cheese and into the oven ~ ^_^

Big Boys Oven said...

oh anything to do with cheese is lovely for me!

Retno Prihadana said...

I think rice with cheese sounds tasty. Should try this!

SIG said...

OOoohhh... sounds great. I never put thought into how they make this dish. I love the Swensen's baked rice. It's one of the most popular items on their menu. Have not tried NYDC's.

Oh for the love of food! said...

Daphne, Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! You must be on cloud 9!
I have not tried baked rice with cheese- unfortunately I have too much of an Asian tastebud, but I have seen quite a few Hong Kong 'Char Chan Thaeng' serving up dishes like this lately, probably with bit of an asian twist.

Little Corner of Mine said...

Hmmm...not sure I have tasted baked rice with cheese yet. I'm too have strong Asian tastebud! LOL! It does sound yummy though with all the gluey cheese ...MmmmMmmm...

Christo Gonzales said...

sounds tasty...sort of like a baked risoto...whereis NYDC....?? and SG?

KellytheCulinarian said...

Mmmmm, cheese and rice. You really can't go wrong.

SteamyKitchen said...

when i'm pms'ing, this will serve 1.

daphne said...

Tigerfish-oooo.. i didnt know abt swensens! Sounds like they do a good job!

ling239-is it? u r right girl! so many hong kong style cafes sprouting out in KL and SG right?

big boys oven- hehe.. another cheese lover!

retno-yeah! do let me know. It's an interesting combination.

singairishgirl-oh dear..everytime i'm at swensons i go straight to their ice-cream menu..and chips of course. doh doh. should hv look at the main items!

Carol- yes I am! haha... just hv to get back down on earth sometimes to do my work ;p it took me sometime before i dare try this dish as well but even though i'm "ok" with it, it still feels strange.

Littler corner-it's a good and fulfilling meal but not something i can have everyday.

doggybloggy-yeah! it is something like a baked risotto. NYDC is a New York cafe style bistro in Singapore. They have several branches-one in Orchard Road, and the other in Suntec City.

Kelly- I thought I was! ;p

Steamy kitchen- really? that would be me with chocolates! Lol

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