After my previous trial on Gimbap Noodles, I've decided to try something really interesting!

Since Singapore are well known for their famous Singapore dishes, one of the greatest fave is Bak Kuet Teh! The usual Bak Kuet Teh we know is a herbal soup boiled with garlic and pork ribs served with rice or noodles! As for risotto, it is a rice based dish cooked up by using stock and top off with cheese to retain that silky and soft texture.

I figured, that's nothing tough about combining the 2, simply make Bak Kuet Teh soup and use it as base and then add in cheese to smooth it out! To add to the convenience, I've opt for Seah's Spices Singapore Bak Kuet Teh herbal packet. (you can always choose some other brands base on your taste palette) Here's my steps!

1. Boil Bak Kuet Teh sachet with 6 bowls of water (as mentioned on the packet)
2. Pan fry rice (dry without water or butter)
3. Add in some mince meat to oil up the rice
4. Add in Bak Kuet Teh stock 1 ladle at a time only when the pan contains start to simmer on high heat
5. Continue stirring to make sure it's all starchy
6. Grind in some cheese

Remember if your cheese is salted, do add bout 1-2 more bowls of water to reduce that saltiness in the stock! 

Well, sound simple? Like many blogs, website recipes will remind you, the key to a perfect risotto is to ensure that your rice is short grain and continuous stirring is the key!

That's because you want to have the maximum amount of starch to be extracted out of the grain, hence stir and stir away!

Now you may ask when to add in a ladle of stock? Answer is simple, when the contains start to simmer really low on stock. Imagine you're frying an omelette, when the liquid starts to evaporate off, the pan will start crackling and then the omelette harden; this is the time to add stock!

Oh, I almost forgot! Frying the rice as long as possible is very very very important! That's to crisp the outer layer of the rice creating something called "glass" which they will soak up all the flavour when stock is added! Just like how the bread dipped in curry taste so much better after it's been fried or toasted! 

Here's the picture! Try it out and tell me how u love it! 

Labels: Bak Kut Teh, Home-cooked, Risotto, Seah's, Singapore, Yummy