Thai Arancini (Vegetarian)
Serve: 2
Ingredients :
130 gram Risotto rice
100 gram Breadcrumbs
80 gram Flour
60 gram Onion – finely chopped
30 gram Parmesan cheese – grated
4 Mozzarella pearl
1 clove Garlic – finely chopped
1 Vegetable stock cube
1 tbs Olive oil
3/4 tbs Thai red curry paste
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Light soy sauce
1/2 tsp Lemon juice
1 knob Butter
1 Small egg
500ml Water
200ml Vegetable oil
1 dash White wine
-Mix the vegetable stock cube and water in a measuring jug.
-Gently fry the onion, garlic and oil in a saucepan, until the onion turns translucent (approx 5-10 minutes). Add Thai red curry paste and fry for a further 2 minutes. Put in the Risotto rice then stir until the oil covers all of the rice.
-Slowly add the vegetable stock… a little at a time, stir all the ingredients together and leave until the rice absorbs all the liquid. Then repeat the same process until you use up all the stock and the rice is cooked (approx 30 minutes). Stir frequently.
-Season the risotto with sugar, light soy sauce, lemon, salt and white wine. Put in the basil leaves then fold.
-Cream the risotto by adding butter and parmesan cheese. Fold all the ingredients together. Remove from the heat and leave it until completely cool.
– Prepare 3 bowls, one is for the flour, the other is for the beaten egg and the third bowl is for the breadcrumbs.
-Lay a plastic sheet on a flat surface, shape the Risotto rice in a circle with approx 10cm diameter. Place a mozzarella pearl in the middle. After that pull the edges of the sheet together and twist the top tightly. This should make a risotto shaped like a ball.
-Carefully remove the plastic sheet. Place the risotto ball in the flour then dip in the beaten egg then the breadcrumbs. Repeat the same process with the rest of the risotto rice. If possible, leave it in the fridge for 2 hours before the next stage.
-Preheat the oven to 200 Celsius.
-Heat the oil to medium heat. Fry the risotto ball until the breadcrumbs turn a golden brown (approx 1 minute on each side). Remove the Arancini ball from the frying pan and transfer it on a baking tray
-Bake Thai Arancini for a further 15-18 minutes.
-Serve immediately with a crunchy salad as a snack or starter.
Tips:
-Make sure the cooked risotto rice is completely cooled before attempting to shape into a ball. I actually went shopping in between!
-Make sure you get an authentic Thai red curry paste. To deliver an intense flavour. Also, check if the paste is truly vegetarian. If not why don’t you make your own? Check out Homemade Thai Red Curry Paste(Vegan) here.
-Thai Arancini (vegetarian) goes well with Tomato Chutney and Mayonnaise.