It turned out surprisingly well, with a balanced hotness and juicy tang beneath the soft sweetness of coconut, cashews, and sticky rice.

And now my apartment is ripe with the aroma of kaffir lime. I love it!

Thai Herb and Spice Risotto with Shrimp, Cashews, and Purple Rice

3/4 cup Japanese or Arborio rice
about 6 cups chicken or seafood stock
1 slice dried galangal (about 5 inches long)
peel of 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/4 cup cashews, whole or roughly chopped
about 1 inch ginger, sliced
about 3/4 tablespoon minced ginger
3 dried Chinese chilies, minced
2 dried Chinese chilies, halved
2 dried kaffir lime leaves
about 1/2 cup Thai basil, torn
juice of 2 limes
about 1 1/2 cups cooked purple rice
about 1/2 cup coconut milk
8 medium prawns, shelled and deveined
vegetable oil, for sautéeing
sesame oil, for sautéing
chili oil, to taste
Chinese five spice powder, to taste (optional)
salt, to taste

1. Prepare stock and bring to a boil. Add galangal, fish sauce, and lime peel and simmer for at least 20 minutes before using. Reduce heat and keep warm throughout cooking.
2. Heat vegetable oil, sesame oil, and chili oil in a large, deep pan. Add minced ginger, minced chilies, and cashews and sauté over medium heat for about 7-8 minutes, or until ginger and cashews begin to brown.
3. Add short-grain rice, increase heat, and stir to coat with oil. Stir often to ensure even toasting.
4. When rice is evenly toasted to opacity, add juice of 1 lime and stir.
5. Add sliced ginger, halved chilies, and kaffir leaves.
6. Reduce heat to medium and add a ladleful of stock, sliced ginger, halved chilies, Thai basil, and kaffir leaves and cook, stirring often. When most of the liquid has evaporated or been absorbed, add more stock and continue stirring. Repeat this step several times until rice has nearly finished cooking.
7. When rice is nearly al dente, remove ginger, chilies, and kaffir.
8. Add coconut milk, five spice, and a final ladleful of stock along with prawns and cook until prawns just turn white on the outside, about 1-2 minutes.
9. Add purple rice and remaining lime juice. Stir well to incorporate. If the risotto is too thin, add more purple rice; if it is too thick, add more coconut milk and stir.
10. Salt to taste and serve garnished with a kaffir lime and an extra drizzle of chili oil. Pairs well with buckwheat tea.

Note: if you made your yuzu-koshō risotto extra creamy, this recipe won’t work. The risotto needs to be fairly solid and sticky in order to hold its shape.

Please enjoy this flavorful and filling snack when you are too lazy to make a new risotto.

Yuzu-koshō Risotto Onigiri with Lox

1 1/2 cups leftover yuzu-koshō risotto, refrigerated
about 50 grams lox, torn or sliced into bite-size pieces
toasted sesame seeds, to taste
nori, to taste
mayonnaise, to taste (optional)

1. Lightly wet your fingers and shape risotto into three rounded wedges with lox, sesame seeds, and mayonnaise in the center. If using an onigiri mold, lightly grease the inside of the mold prior to use with a very small amount of sesame oil.
2. Sprinkle additional sesame seeds on top of each onigiri. Wrap in nori and eat with your hands.

Japanese cuisine: bland, unadorned, monotonous. All it takes to dispel this common misconception is a survey of Japanese condiments. Often adopted from Chinese or European culinary traditions, Japanese condiments are a diverse and flavorful lot. There is shōyu, ginger, and wasabi, of course, but also sōsu, teriyaki sauce, kabayaki sauce, ika sauce vinegar, egg, mentaiko, mentaiko mayonnaise, ponzu, tsuyu, umeboshi, shiso, umeshiso, katsuobushi, katsuoume, yakitori tare, hot mustard, miso, aonori, hijiki, shichimi, ichimi, sansho, ajishio, furikake, tekka, tsukemono, takana, sesame seeds, garlic, etc., etc., etc.

One of my favorites is a substance called yuzu-koshō 柚子胡椒, made from the fragrant peel of the yuzu ground with salt, sugar, spicy green chilies and often MSG into a fine, evil wasabi-looking forest-green paste. Its aroma is warm, peppery, and citric with a top note of pine needles; its flavor is thorny and permeating with heat, acidity, and salt. It is delicious, and an absolute must for Japanese hotpot (nabe 鍋) dishes. To me, it is the flavor of Japanese winter.

It isn’t winter yet, but it’s getting there. Please enjoy this warm and aromatic risotto on a cool autumn evening.

Yuzu-koshō Risotto with Japanese Mushrooms

3/4 cup short-grain rice
4 cups katsuo dashi or seafood stock
3/4 cup dry sake
1 package nattō, minced
1 leek, thinly sliced
2 large eringi mushrooms, sliced into small pieces
1 bunch maitake mushrooms, torn into small pieces
4 small shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced into small pieces
3/4 tablespoon yuzu-koshō
2 tablespoons mirin
white sesame seeds, to taste
sesame oil
vegetable oil

Notes: Since yuzu-koshō is typically very salty, prepare a weak concentration of dashi to minimize the risotto’s overall saltiness. The nattō acts as substitute the texture and aroma of cheese; it can be replaced with a small amount of cheese and butter.

1. In a deep frying pan, heat equal parts sesame oil and vegetable oil over medium heat.
2. When hot, add leek and rice to pan and stir well to coat with oil. Increase heat and keep stirring to toast rice.
3. When rice starts to turn opaque, add sake to deglaze. Cook until liquid is almost gone.
4. Add dashi, ladleful by ladleful, and cook, stirring often, until rice is almost al dente.
5. Add mushrooms and more dashi and cook until mushrooms are tender and rice is finished.
6. Add nattō, yuzu-koshō, and mirin and cook until risotto is thick and creamy.