Baked Rice

I was initially planning to cook my usual rice-cooker chicken rice for dinner last night. Upon several requests by the rest of the family members, in the end, I came up with this Chicken & Mushroom Baked Rice in creamy sauce.


I have tried making baked rice dishes several times. When it comes to cooking dishes, I have a tendency not to follow the recipes closely. Somehow, I do not have the habit of measuring the ingredients, I simply estimate the amount needed. As a result, sometimes the rice will be too dry, sometimes the combination just didn't seems to be right...most of the time it turned out to be too bland or not creamy enough.


This time round, I still didn't follow the recipe exactly, but at least, I took the effort to measure the amount of cream, and the amount of chicken stock required. This actually paid off. The rice was not dry at all and it was creamy enough, though I should have added more black pepper.

My kids love the golden cheesy crust and both saved it till the last to finish off. In fact, they had a bigger rice portion than what they usually take if it they were given plain rice. I reserved a portion for my better half, and when he called to say he would be home soon, I added the cheese toppings and popped the dish into the oven. When he returned, he was pleased to have a piping hot baked rice fresh from the oven...the only thing he complained was, his portion was too small ;)

Ingredients:
(serves 4)

1.5 cups uncooked rice
2 chicken thigh
100g fresh mushrooms of your choice , sliced thickly
some minced garlic
1 cup cream (dairy)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt (adjust according to taste)
some black pepper
some grated mozzarella cheese
dried parsley

Method:

1. Wash and cook rice with rice cooker.


2. Bring a pot of water to the boil, put in the chicken thigh and boil till the chicken is almost cooked. Let cool and shred the chicken into bite sizes. Reserve half cup of the chicken stock.


3. Heat up a deep pan, with some cooking oil (or butter) stir fry minced garlic and mushrooms. Add in the shredded chicken meat. Add pepper and salt to taste. Continute to stir fry till the mushrooms become soft.


4. Add in the cream, stir well. Add in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. (Note, always add cream BEFORE the chicken stock, otherwise the mixture may not be smooth.)


5. Add in the cooked rice. Stir and let it cook for a few mins or until the sauce is almost fully absorbed by the rice.


6. Place rice into a heatproof baking dish. Cover top with grated cheese.


7. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 degC, till the cheese turns golden brown. Sprinkle with some dried parsley. Serve immediately.