Black Sesame & Nori Rice Pilaf
Hi Everyone!
Since the last time I posted, a new human has joined the world! She will be four weeks old tomorrow, and we’re finally getting into the groove of not sleeping, doing laundry every day, constantly cleaning up poop, and realizing that people are mammals. (Breastfeeding has been unexpectedly challenging and mind-melting. There have been lots of nightmares that feel like A24 movies.) It’s also been wild watching this little chunk change every day. I feel so lucky to work primarily from home and watch all the magic happen.
I’ve got another baby due in only five weeks—one that took much longer than nine months to gestate and caused even more nightmares—the book baby! It is strange to have something that’s lived in my head for so long be finally seen/held/cooked out of by others. I’ve got all kinds of feelings about it. Will people think it’s boring or pointless or, worst of all, not think about it at all? When it’s 3 a.m. and I feel nervous about it (while a newborn screams at me), I try to remember that at least I gave it my all.
PS: Have you preordered yet? Plus, dates and tickets for the East Coast leg of the book tour are available here!
The book-making process has been amazing in one vital way: my publisher and editor allowed me to make this book exactly everything I wanted (which rarely happens). There’s so much about it that’s weird and has never been done. It’s half savory and half pastry (because I love both equally), it’s designed with my fellow bad readers in mind (the font is big and clear, there’s lots of negative space and bold underlines), and it’s freaking huge (it weighs more than my human baby did at delivery). My one regret: The book comes out on Halloween and is 656 pages long, just 10 pages shy of 666 pages. So close to bringing all those nightmares full circle.
I want to thank all the folks who subscribe by giving you a sneak peek at the book. You’ve all been so patient with my inconsistent posting over the past few months as I’ve been cooking up a babe.
The goal of this cookbook isn’t just to give you recipes (although there are tons of tasty ones) but to really, truly teach you how to cook. I hope to hone your intuition so you can walk into a grocery store, pick up a bag of fonio, and know exactly what to do—no recipe required. Here’s an excerpt all about The Pilaf Method to help you learn how to do just that, followed by a recipe for Black Sesame & Nori Rice Pilaf exclusive for paid subscribers. It’s from the Just Add Water chapter, which has everything you need to know to cook grains, beans, and pasta.
Whatever you want to call it, pilaf/pulao/poloa/plov/polow is a dish and a method typically used for cooking rice that works well with other grains, too. In France it’s called pilaf and is often scented with thyme and bay leaves and finished with snipped chives. Then there’s the palaw in Afghanistan, fully loaded with mutton or beef, raisins, carrots, and nuts. In the Caribbean, pelau is studded with pigeon peas, corn, carrots, and sometimes simmered with coconut milk. And I would never forget “the San Francisco treat,” Rice-A-Roni, with flavors like jalapeño cheddar and simply, beef. Pilaf can be as straightforward as toasting grains in butter before adding water, or a meal in itself with vegetables, meat, spices, and nuts. Most recipes follow the same template; once you learn one you can cook then all.
Pilaf starts the same as the absorption method: To ensure fluffy and distinct grains, place them in a large bowl and rinse with cool water. Take your time to agitate the grains with your hands, washing off any loose starch. As the grains get jostled around during production and transport, they rub up against each other and end up coated in a fine dust of starch. If this starch isn’t rinsed off, the grains will clump up after cooking. Repeatedly rinse and drain until the water runs clear enough to see your hand through it.
Next, cover the grains in cool water and soak (15 minutes for cracked, polished, semi-pearled, pearled, parboiled large grains, and dal, and up to overnight for whole grains, pseudograins, and lentils) before cooking. This is an optional step that helps rice and lentils cook more evenly and can speed up the cook time for other grains; you can skip it if you’re tight on time. Soaking makes an especially big difference when cooking extra long-grain basmati rice, which will expand more and is less likely to break than when cooked without a soak. No need to rinse or soak pasta.
You will be toasting the grains in fat, so now is the time to make that fat extra flavorful through the addition of aromatic vegetables, spices, and woody herbs. It’s a totally optional place to bump up the flavor, but I think it’s worth it. I recommend keeping additions minimal at this stage, opting for those that highlight the grain and don’t overpower it: chopped onion or fennel; finely grated ginger or garlic; thyme, bay leaf, or rosemary; and spices like turmeric, cumin, fennel, and black pepper. When you’re chopping up the vegetables, try to keep everything small so it easily distributes throughout the pilaf, while keeping sprigs and leaves whole so you can pluck them out after cooking. Sweat any vegetables first until tender and translucent (or dark brown and jammy if that’s your thing), then add whole or ground spices or woody herbs to quickly bloom in the fat.
This step is what separates pilaf from any old pot of steamed rice. After the grain is drained, add it to the pot with the fat (and aromatics and spices if you choose) and toast the grains, tossing and stirring constantly, until it smells toasty, looks dry, and just begins to grow translucent around the edges. This step is called parching and it achieves two things: It develops aromatic flavors, similar to when you toast spices or nuts, while also deactivating the surface starches to further prevent clumping. This happens because with direct heat, starches rapidly break down and lose their thickening power; exactly what you need to get to fluff-city.
You can simmer the pilaf with water or opt for a more flavorful choice, like bone broth (page 000), dashi, or even brewed tea. For liquids with more body, like tomato puree and coconut milk, it’s best to combine them with water to prevent scorching. Once you’ve added the cooking liquid of your choice, add salt and bring the mixture to a rapid boil. Then reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover and simmer. The cooking time varies with each grain, but white rice typically cooks in 15 minutes. Check the package for specific timings. No peeking! If you lift the lid you’ll release the steam and prevent the grains from cooking fully. After the initial cook time, get in there with a fork and fluff up the grains to preventing them from clumping together, before covering again and allowing them to rest for 10 minutes. While resting, the grains will absorb any remaining moisture and firm up, so they stay distinct. If the grains are not tender after absorbing all the liquid, add a splash of hot water and continue cooking. Just before serving, pull out any inedibles, like thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks.
Mix-ins that are fully cooked or good to go with just a hit of that residual heat—like toasted nuts and seeds, frozen peas or corn, and tender herbs—can be tossed in when you fluff, to steam as the pilaf rests. Additions that need time to cook—like vegetables, fish, and meat—should be added at the same time as the liquid so they can simmer together with the seeds or pasta. If you’re adding a mix-in that needs more time to cook than the seeds or pasta, like chicken thighs or potatoes, you can increase the total cook time but you may also need to add more liquid. The toasting step gives you a buffer, allowing the grains to cook for longer without becoming mushy. You’ll have to play around with ratios and cook times here, but after a couple tries you’ll be inventing your own pilafs like a pro.
serves 4 to 6 / active time: 10 minutes / total time: 50 minutes
This is hands down my favorite pilaf. It’s super savory and briny, with rice that’s simmered in dashi before fluffing with ground toasted nori. You can make your own dashi, use instant dashi powder, or stick with bone broth. All I need to make this the most satisfying dinner is a pile of steamed greens, but the rice is laid back enough to play background to broiled fish, steamed clams, or even a whole roasted chicken. Take your time toasting the grains in butter—this is the essential step to a pilaf. The grains will develop a nuttier flavor, be less prone to sticking, and become less likely to overcook and break. Once you get in the pilaf groove, make up your own. Any rice, pseudograin, or pearled or polished grain can pilaf! Liquid ratios and cook times will vary, but it’s always the same as if you’re just going for a simple steam. Use the ratios on the back of the package to guide you.
2 cups jasmine rice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups dashi or high-quality bone broth
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
2 sheets nori
1 tablespoon toasted black sesame seeds
Rinse and soak the rice: Place the rice in a medium bowl. Cover with cool tap water, use your hand to gently agitate the grains, and drain. Repeat at least two more times or until the water runs clear enough to see your hand through it. Cover the rice with 1 inch of water and let soak for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours.
Drain the rice in a fine-mesh sieve.
Toast the rice: In a medium Dutch oven or saucepot, heat the butter over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the drained rice and cook, stirring constantly, until the rice is coated in the butter, starting to look translucent, and smell toasty, and you can hear it sizzle and pop, 2 to 3 minutes.
Simmer: Add the dashi (or broth) and salt, increase the heat to high, and bring to a rapid boil. Cover, reduce the heat to the lowest setting, and simmer for 15 minutes (no peeking! lifting the lid will release steam and throw off the hydration).
Meanwhile, lightly toast the nori sheets over a gas burner or under a broiler until they look slightly darkened and smell aromatic, about 30 seconds. Tear into small pieces and blitz in a spice grinder until fine.
Fluff and rest: Remove the lid of the pot, add the sesame seeds and ground nori, fluff the rice with a fork, put the lid back on, and rest for 10 minutes. Serve while hot. Sauté leftovers in oil for fried or crispy rice.
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