Craig Claibornes Sushi Rice Recipes

COOKED RICE

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until wilted.
• Add the rice and stir to blend. Add the broth, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cover. Let simmer exactly 17 minutes.

PERFECT SUSHI RICE

Steps:

• Rinse the rice in a strainer or colander until the water runs clear. Combine with water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Rice should be tender and water should be absorbed. Cool until cool enough to handle.
• In a small saucepan, combine the rice vinegar, oil, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Cool, then stir into the cooked rice. When you pour this in to the rice it will seem very wet. Keep stirring and the rice will dry as it cools.

CRAIG CLAIBORNE'S SMOTHERED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Craig Claiborne believed a cast-iron skillet to be essential for the authentic preparation of this dish. Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Select a skillet large enough to hold the chicken comfortably when it is opened up, as for broiling. Fold wings under to secure them.
• Melt the butter in the pan and add the chicken, skin side down. Cover chicken with a plate that will fit comfortably inside the skillet. Place a heavy can, stone or brick on top of the plate to weigh it down. Cook over low heat, checking the chicken skin, until it is nicely browned, about 25 minutes.
• Remove weight and plate. Turn chicken so skin side is up. Replace plate and weight and continue cooking for about 15 minutes more.
• Remove chicken and pour off fat from the skillet, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pan. Add the flour to the fat, stirring with a wire whisk over medium heat. Gradually add the chicken broth and, when thickened, return chicken to the skillet, skin side up. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover with the plate and weight and continue cooking over low heat about 20 to 30 minutes longer or until the meat is exceptionally tender. Spoon the sauce over it.
• Cut chicken into serving pieces, and serve with the sauce and fluffy rice on the side.

CRAIG CLAIBORNE'S SUSHI RICE

Steps:

• Put rice into kettle and add cold water to cover, stirring rice. Continue letting water run over rice until water runs clear. Drain well.
• Put rice into clean kettle and add 3 cups cold water. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Cover kettle with lid and bring to rolling boil. Reduce heat to low and let rice simmer 20 minutes. Do not uncover rice as it cooks.
• Remove rice from heat and let stand 15 minutes.
• Empty rice into bowl, preferably wide and made of wood. Gradually add vinegar, turning rice with wooden spoon so vinegar is evenly distributed. Traditionally rice should also be fanned as vinegar is added so it cools quickly. Smooth rice into thin layer and let it stand until thoroughly cooled.

BEEF BOURGUIGNON

Steps:

• Season beef with 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Set aside for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or chill in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
• In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot with a tightfitting lid, cook lardons over medium-low heat until fat is rendered and lardons are browned and crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve fat in pot.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Raise heat under pot to medium-high and cook until fat is starting to smoke. Lay half the beef cubes in a single layer in the pot, leaving space between pieces. Cook until well browned on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes; transfer pieces to a plate as they brown. Repeat with remaining beef.
• Reduce heat, if necessary, to prevent burning. Stir in onion, carrot and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in garlic and tomato paste, and cook for 1 minute. Stir in flour, cook for 1 minute, then add wine, bay leaf and thyme, scraping up brown bits at bottom of pot. Add browned beef and half the cooked lardons back to pot, cover, and transfer to oven. Let cook until beef is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours, turning meat halfway through.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet set over high heat, combine pearl onions, mushrooms, 1/4 cup water, the olive oil and a pinch each of salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to medium, cooking for 15 minutes. Uncover, raise heat to high, and cook, tossing frequently, until vegetables are well browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
• To serve, scatter onions and mushrooms and remaining cooked lardons over stew, then top with parsley.

COOKED RICE

Steps:

• This rice may be cooked on top of the stove or baked in the oven. If it is to be baked, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Melt two tablespoons of the butter in a heavy saucepan and cook the onion and garlic, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the onion is wilted. Add the rice and stir briefly over low heat until all the grains are coated with butter.
• Stir in the broth, making sure there are no lumps in the rice. Add the parsley, thyme, bay leaf and cayenne. Cover with a closefitting lid. Place in the oven or cook on top of the stove.
• Cook the rice exactly 17 minutes. Remove the cover and discard the parsley and thyme sprigs and the bay leaf. Using a two-pronged fork, stir in the remaining butter. If the rice is not to be served immediately, keep covered in a warm place.

NAKAGAWA'S CALIFORNIA SUSHI

Steps:

• Cut seaweed into smaller rectangle measuring 6 by 7 inches. Place rectangle on bamboo rolling mat.
• Dampen fingers in cold water to prevent their becoming sticky. Place about 2/3 of rice on top of seaweed and flatten with fingers to cover seaweed edge to edge and corner to corner. Use only enough rice to make thin, even layer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Turn rice and seaweed over onto mat. With dampened fingers, spoon more rice onto upper third of seaweed rectangle. Do not use excessive amount. Arrange avocado strips end to end to border bottom of rice. Arrange strips of fish end to end to parallel and border avocado. Spoon roe in a thin layer to parallel fish cakes. Roll seaweed inside rolling mat to make a neat, round, compact package with rice as outside coating.
• Transfer package to smooth, flat surface. Cut in half crosswise. Place two halves side by side. Cut pair crosswise into thirds to make 6 neat rounds. Serve on platter with small mounds of wasabi and pickled ginger.

BASIC STOVETOP RICE

Steps:

• Pour rice into a bowl, and fill it with cold water. Swirl the grains, using your fingers. Tip out any starchy water, and repeat until water runs almost clear.
• Combine rice and water in a pot: For most long-grain and medium-grain rice, pair 1 cup rice and 1 1/3 cups water. For short-grain rice, use 1 cup rice and 1 cup water. For most brown rice, combine 1 cup rice and 1 3/4 cups water. The rice and water should not come more than halfway up the sides of your pot; the mixture will double in volume as it cooks.
• Bring water to a hard boil over medium-high heat. The water's entire surface should break with big, constant bubbles. As soon as water is boiling, give it a vigorous stir with a spatula or wooden spoon, making sure to scrape at any grains at the bottom of the pot. Cover it with a lid and turn the heat to low.
• Cook long-grain and medium-grain rice for 15 minutes; short-grain varieties for 20 minutes; and brown rice for 30 minutes.
• When allotted time has passed, or when you hear a change in sound - if you listen closely, you'll notice the sounds will slowly change from a bubbly simmer to a steamy sort of flutter - turn off heat and let rice rest for about 10 to 15 minutes before serving.