Simply Good Thai

About a year ago, I rented a Camry in Los Angeles to take my family around. I don't remember exactly why I chose that car, but I'm sure it must have had something to do with comfort, reliability and price (for the budget-conscious student that I was). Sure enough, the car delivered exactly what I expected it to, safely and assuredly. That, and nothing more. But that's not all bad. In fact, that is precisely the selling point of the Toyota, its success evident from the 6451 Camrys that you've passed by on the way to work this morning. Obviously the countless number of drivers who own Camrys have gotten their priorities in order and there's absolutely nothing wrong with purchasing an automobile that tries to be an all-rounder and has gotten quite good at it.


The only problem is that the crowd pleaser is a tad too safe. It lacks punch, that chilling sense of excitement and seductive mystery. And as I drove, I made a mental note: do not buy this car. If Yhingthai Palace was a car, it would be a Camry. This restaurant delivers the goods in a safe and pleasant fashion without wiping out your bank account.


My family went for the dinner set menu which had 8 dishes including desserts. This place is known for pretty standard Thai cuisine and by the end of dinner, we all concurred that the dishes were all done quite well. My personal favourites were the mango salad and olive rice, both of which weighed more on the sweeter end. There really isn't much else to say, other than that I'll be back for more comfort food. And that is where the similarities between Yhingthai and Camrys end.

Shang Palace

I'm Cantonese and I love my soups and dim sum. I can't say I'm an expert on either, but there's this unmistakable sense of familiarity that I naturally associate with the two, especially the latter. Dim sum as I had known since I was little has kind of evolved it seems. As far as my memory serves me, when I was very much younger having dim sum was a boisterous and literally steamy affair. The picture in my mind is full of old and hungry people seated quite patiently at their tables, glasses filled with hot Chinese tea, with the occasional middle-aged and slightly grumpy waitress trotting by with a dim sum dolly stacked with steaming treasures. And then people started to yell at her. For food. First-yell-first-serve, sort of.


And then as I grew older, dim sum became quieter, more refined, more comfy, even though the food remained largely the same, except for some newfangled dishes that in my opinion will never take the place of the good old stuff. The changes came about not because the customers grew too old to scream for siew mai, but rather they grew young and the establishments became posh. That's right, good food became expensive like everything else. Not that I'm complaining, because this gives diners more options - we can still go affordable if we want to because traditional Singaporean dim sum houses still exist, but we now have the choice to take off the ear plugs and still enjoy great food.


Shang Palace is currently my favorite go-to for dim sum. Everything there is... well, nice. The food is good and won't cost you a house, the service is appropriately attentive, and they serve tea in very pretty tea cups. However, what stood out most to me was the decor - this place isn't called a Palace for nothing. They do offer a full Chinese menu which is not for the faint-hearted, and the private banquet rooms look extremely inviting. I haven't seen anybody using the rooms because I've only been there for lunch, but Dad claims he ordered a $300 steamed fish whose name I'd never heard of in my life. To be sure I checked the menu and there it was. Count that fish lucky it's not ending up in my stomach anytime soon. Whatever it is, you'll be very comfortable while dining here.


To make sure Palace is modern and sophisticated, the chefs also offer several of their own creations. But because of my utter lack of epicurean finesse, I cannot recall what they were. Thankfully I had the mind to take pictures. From them I can safely say one resembles a California roll coated with sesame seeds while the other looks like a fried birthday present. I do remember, however, that they were tasty little morsels but to put it honestly nothing beats steamed char siew baos. Those I'm definitely going back for more.

The Best Tofu

Chocolate Souffle Cupcake

I have a weakness for desserts. I don't think a meal is complete without one, and when Top Chef season five then-finalist and eventual winner Hosea planned a three course menu that concluded with venison, I thought it was ridiculous. He won the competition with that menu, but really, who orders food like that in a proper restaurant?

In New York, I would like to think that I've had a decent exposure to the dessert scene. I've found the best pecan pie at Balthazar, the richest ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, the most sinful whipped cream at Peter Luger, my favorite cupcake at Magnolia Bakery and recently the most delicious tofu I've ever had.

Black Sesame Sweet Tofu

I went to Kyotofu at the recommendation of a few friends who, like me, find desserts to be a guilty but necessary indulgence. Even though the mid-town dessert bar got its name from a Kyoto tofu manufacturer, I had no intention for tofu at all. I made the trip only because its chocolate souffle cupcake was touted by nymag as the best cupcake in the Big Apple. Being a cupcake fiend, how could I resist the temptation? Luckily for me, I brought a friend along.

HY ordered the tofu and cheesecake for lunch (yes, there are people out there who treat desserts as a proper meal) while I got the unagi and cupcake. Heck, when the food came it didn't matter who ordered what; it was a free for all. The barbecued unagi arrived first.

Barbecued Unagi

The sea eel was wrapped in phyllo dough together with a thin slice of sancho pepper. There was some kind of a sweet sauce that was drizzled onto the pastry which was light and flaky, exactly like that of a baklava which I adore. This dish was good but the portions definitely fell under the appetizer category even though it was a main course.

Sweet Potato Tofu Cheesecake

The three desserts came all at one time, spurring a particular gentleman next to our table to comment rather indiscreetly that we ordered a huge amount of sweets. The ladies with him were almost gawking at the dishes we had on our table while trying to figure out what was what. I don't blame them though; food deserves attention. The cheesecake was ok - I didn't really taste the tofu part, but it was palatable. The cupcake was light, not as airy as a souffle but much fluffier than the ones at Magnolia. Cake to cake, Kyotofu outdid my favorite cupcake joint, but cupcakes without icing are... muffins? As you might have guessed, this one didn't blow me away.

The one that left a mark was the tofu. Man, I never knew tofu could taste like that. Taste-wise, it was very close to the Chinese black sesame paste that I'm used to back home in Singapore, except this is lighter and less cloying. In the texture department, this one wins hands down because I'm not a big fan of drinking my dessert. Don't expect silky soft tofu though, because this dish isn't like that. It feels more dense, likely because of the ground black sesame, and as a result richer. The tofu came with roasted green tea syrup, but really I think it's just an accessory to make the dish look more sophisticated. I don't need all that fluff and prettying. This tofu is as good as it gets.

Le Bernardin

No, we did not see French executive chef Eric Ripert or pastry chef Michael Laiskonis. With that out of the way, let's get to the real reasons why 4 foodie friends and I dined at the highly-reputed establishment.

Smoked salmon spread served with thinly sliced toast

Le Bernardin is deliberately subtle, but at the same time that subtlety is all about mastery. I must have walked by the restaurant more times than I can count with both hands, but I had never noticed that it was right there. Walking into the main dining room, we were greeted by lofty ceilings, 19th and 20th century oil paintings tastefully hung on blue walls, and wooden finishings. The sunlight pouring through the French windows lining one side of the room made it all the more welcoming.

Once seated, we were brought water (in Riedel glasses I noticed) and the wine list but none of us were quite in the mood for a tipple that day so we gave alcohol a pass. Bread was served shortly after, and I must say that the salmon spread was a great way to start off the meal. It was smokey and rich - delicious.

Ultra Rare Scallop - Sake Nage; Lily Bulb and Shiso

We all ordered from the lunch prix fixe menu which came with three courses. The first course from either the "simply raw" or "barely touched" sections, the second course from the "lightly cooked" section, and desserts from a separate menu. I ordered the scallop, wild striped bass and langoustine, as well as a hazelnut-themed dessert.

The scallop was unlike any scallop that I've tasted - I don't think I've ever had scallop cooked this rare. There was no bite to the precisely-cut slivers. Every piece was so delicate and smooth. The broth and vegetables were very light as well, presumably so that the diner could enjoy the full flavours of the mollusk.

Baked Langoustine and Striped Bass

My main course was again light but done beautifully. The seafood was served with confit tomato agnolotti, and a consomme with curry emulsion. There was nothing on the plate that got in the way between my palate and the sweet freshness of the bass and langoustine. Every bite was a delight and the tomato-filled pasta was really quite refreshing. Quite truthfully, this was a dish that made me understand the philosophy at three Michelin-starred Le Bernardin. It's all about building flavours around the fish, and the most challenging part is how not to overwhelm the star on the plate. Kudos to chef Ripert.

Hazelnut - Gianduja Cream, Hazelnuts, Banana and Brown Butter Ice Cream

The last course was regrettably the most disappointing. HY and I had caught an episode of Iron Chef where Laiskonis squared off against Batali. In that episode, Laiskonis prepared an exquisite dessert that was served in an egg shell. Gimmicky maybe, but I would have loved to sample that. We saw the exact same dish being served to diners at the adjacent table, and upon asking our waiter informed us that it was part of the lunch tasting menu. Well, too bad for us. What disappointed, however, was that our desserts did not blow us away like we expected. Perhaps Laiskonis' accolades raised our bar too high. Nevertheless, the dish was still done well, just not amazing.

Mini Financiers

The meal ended with complimentary warm mini financiers (the cake, not the people at Wall Street) wrapped in a napkin. I highly recommend this establishment to anyone who enjoys the natural flavours of seafood. Visit not for ostentation but for the lack of it, because simplicity at its best is what really counts here.

Pork Chops with a Piquant Sauce

This is the third recipe from Gordon Ramsay that I've tried, and I must say I really like his flavours. The dishes always turn out light but still very satisfying. This recipe combines the refreshing taste of herbs with the natural flavors of pork, and turns up the heat with a playful hint of spiciness in the sauce.

Chef Ramsay's video recipe calls for 10 min of baking time in the oven, but I take about 15 min at home. When done medium, chops should be thoroughly cooked on the outside while being a little pink on the inside. Interestingly, the USDA recommends pork to be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius for us non-Americans), so do give your meat a thermometer poke if it concerns you at all!

Recipe (from Times Online) :

4 pork chops, about 250g each

a little olive oil plus extra to drizzle

few thyme sprigs

few rosemary sprigs (leaves only)

1/2 head of garlic, separated into cloves (unpeeled)

sea salt and black pepper

Sauce:

3 tsp olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

200g chestnut mushrooms, trimmed and finely sliced

400g can chopped tomatoes

sea salt and black pepper

1tsp caster sugar

1 Heat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Place the pork chops in a large, lightly oiled baking dish and scatter over the thyme sprigs, rosemary leaves, garlic cloves and salt. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 20 minutes or until the pork chops are cooked through.

2 Make the sauce in the meantime. Heat the olive oil in a wide pan and add the onion, red pepper, chilli and mushrooms. Stir over a high heat for 3–4 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.

3 Tip in the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and add the sugar and a splash of water. Simmer for 10–12 minutes until the onions are tender and the tomato sauce has thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

4 Take the chops out of the oven and leave to rest in a warm place for 5 minutes. Then, pour any pan juices into the sauce and reheat. Ladle a generous amount of sauce over the chops to serve

Gramercy Tavern

I rarely have the inclination to write about my dining experiences when there are no nice pictures to accompany the text with. I feel that my descriptions alone cannot poignantly present to the reader what I saw, felt, and tasted, and that dilutes the overall experience one gets when visiting any dining establishment. Anticipating the meal, arriving at the establishment, being greeted by the maitre d', perusing the menu and then ordering, being served and finally tasting the food are all integral components of the whole dining process. Yes, dining is not just eating to me; it is a pastime, a budding passion, and - if all things fall in place - a heck of an enjoyment. That is why even though the photographs I took for this post were nowhere near decent, I have to write because the experience was really quite something.

Last Friday, a bunch of pals and I finally visited Gramercy Tavern for lunch. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the aroma of freshly baked pastries which tremendously whetted my appetite. We were seated at a round table in the middle of the main dining room not long after, and I fell in love with Danny Meyer's concept of casual fine-dining. The decor was tavern-themed and then jazzed up slightly to exude a classy but not snobbish ambiance. I liked how the warm lighting made me feel very invited and comfortable, as compared to other very well-lit restaurants. Of course, dim lighting is the bane of well-exposed photographs, but this is one trade off I'll gladly make. Because of the poor lighting conditions, I don't have any pictures of the Michelin-starred restaurant to show, but you can always visit Gramercy Tavern's homepage to see what I mean.

When the food arrived, my gut feeling told me to snap a few shots for remembrance's sake. The photos suck, but the food was fantastic. My starter, main course, and dessert were all executed flawlessly. The dishes were, in Gordon Ramsay's words, spot on. The fish and lamb were cooked to perfection, and seasoned just right. The pickled onion vinaigrette's acidity cut through the trout's smokiness to give the dish more dimension, and the slightly sweet cippollini puree brought everything together.


I especially enjoyed my main course. The braised shoulder of lamb was not only super moist and tender, but was also bursting with flavour. The vegetables at the side helped in resting my taste buds, but I could have gone on and on with the meat. This dish was deeply satisfying for the meat-lover that I am.


Dessert of a warm chocolate pecan tart and vanilla bean bourbon ice cream was simple but excellent nevertheless. As with all tarts, the pastry can either make or break the dish. This one was buttery and slightly crunchy, exactly the way I like it.


We finished with petit fours consisting of macarons and chocolates. Needless to say, I left my table impressed, happy, and wishing I had visited this fine establishment earlier.

Misseline Stars

There is this curious thing called the Michelin Guide. You might have correctly guessed from the very recognizable picture above that this guide was started by the very same company that makes car tyres. I can't recall the first time I heard about Michelin stars, but it was some years back, probably on the tv, magazine, or newspapers. Anyway, I never really thought much about them until I started attending school at Columbia. Then it suddenly struck me that New York city was a food paradise by many's standards, and while surfing the net one day I stumbled upon the Michelin Guide for the Big Apple.

If you haven't heard yet, this little guide of French origin is big. Restaurants and chefs have risen to international fame because they were awarded the coveted star(s). Rumour has it that a chef committed suicide because he heard that Michelin had intended to remove one of his restaurant's three stars. As you can see, being awarded stars is a huge deal in the culinary scene.

Interior of The Greenhouse

Now, since these awards are so widely sought-after and so prestigious, how does the guide go about reviewing restaurants? According to the official website, the guide takes into account only what goes onto the plate - the food is the only thing that matters in a review. Food is rated by a team of trained professionals who have "culinary or hospitality industry background", and i quote the five measures they use: quality of product, mastery of flavour and cooking, personality of cuisine, value for money, and consistency between visits. Obviously, one's palate might differ from the other, and people can have different perceptions on abstract qualities like "mastery" and "personality", but such is the nature of taste and this method is really the best practically available one.

The next logical question is how many stars can a restaurant possibly get, and what does the star quantity mean? Again, i quote: one star (a very good restaurant in its category), two stars (excellent cooking and worth a detour), and a maximum of three stars (exceptional cuisine and worth the journey). This year there are only six restaurants in the US that can claim ownership to three stars, and four of them are in Manhattan. Because this guide had been European-centric until recent years, there are many great food nations out there that have not been reviewed, but I suspect things will change quite soon.

Now, would you not expect to be wowed when dining at a Michelin-starred establishment? I don't know about you but I sure do each and every time I visit one. Regrettably only one out of the four restaurants were up to standards, at least from what I tasted. To be clear, I am far from being a qualified candidate to be hired by Michelin, and I have my own prejudices when it comes to food (but so does everyone else), so what I say could be blasphemy to you but hey, the food went into my mouth and not anyone else's. And to be doubly clear, I visited each of the four restaurants only once and sampled only a couple of dishes each time, so that tells you how much statistical power my opinion bears.

I don't like going on and on about food that didn't impress me, but I think it's only fair to list the three restaurants in New York that I thought were overrated: Jean Georges (French, lunch), Oceana (seafood, restaurant week dinner), and Peter Luger (steak). Don't get me wrong, these are establishments that serve excellent cuisine, but I feel they're not at the level where Michelin claims they are. The only restaurant that I thought deserves its star is The Greenhouse in Mayfair, London. All pictures shown in this post (minus the Michelin man) were taken there.

Clockwise from top left: champagne, pumpkin bread, foie gras partridge terrine with chocolate sauce reduction, black olive madeleine with basil sorbet, petit fours, shellfish risotto with seaweed butter, amuse bouche.

Excellent presentation for every single dish and the flavors within each dish went very well together. Most interesting item was definitely the basil sorbet and the amuse bouche was most impressive. The terrine was rich but not overpowering and while the perfectly-cooked risotto was slightly salty, the shellfish's freshness really came through.

what goes moo...

cows. i like them animals because they give us beef and cheese. needless to say, when it comes to food that is a combination of the two, i am a hopeless fan. for them, i am willing to travel. in fact, i did.
some months ago, a few like-minded friends and i took a short day trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home to the renowned Wharton business school. it was convenient to use visiting upenn as a pretense for our true purpose. but i must admit that the school's architecture was really quite pretty and the business school stood out for being lavish, with wood being the most obvious styling point of the modern interior design. names of very recognizable alumni donors tiled one of the main corridors in Wharton. school visit - checked.

Pat's Philly Cheesesteaks

what we really came for was the Philly Cheesesteaks. legend has it that in the 1930's, two hotdog sellers had a brainwave and decided to serve up something different for lunch. one of them bought some thinly sliced steak from the market, and proceeded to chop up the beef and some onions for grilling. the sizzling product was served on hotdog buns. it was not until 20 something years later did they drizzle the steak sandwiches with cheese wiz. the Philly Cheesesteak was thus born.

due to time constraints, we could only try the two most famous names in town- Pat's (inventor of the sandwich), and Jim's. Pat's beef came in slices that was a tad overcooked, but it was well seasoned and the generous drenching of wiz provided the cheese-lover in me the extra oomph. Jim's beef was minced, moist and very tender, though lacking in salt. i suspect i should have ordered it with extra wiz. Jim's hoagie was also very much more flavorful and had a more robust bite than Pat's. in my opinion, Jim's cheesesteak much surpassed the founder's.

Pre-sliced beef and onions at Jim's

Very juicy cheesesteak at Jim's

although the sandwiches were good, they didn't give me the satisfaction i was looking for. well, i guess only burgers can satiate a burger fan's bovine desires. for the past semester, i'd been on the lookout for The Burger. that meant trawling food blogs, food forums and professional food critiques. i've sampled some of the more popular ones, like Burger Joint, Island Burger, and 5 Guys. in all honesty, they were good, but never great. however, i did have a near-great experience at Shake Shack, Madison Square Park during late fall.

Alfresco dining at Shake Shack, when New York was much warmer

the Shack Burger was simple - a thin patty cooked medium and accompanied by a slice of American cheese, fresh lettuce and two tomato slices, drizzled with the Shack sauce, all sandwiched between two lightly buttered and fried potato buns. it was moist, fresh, beefy, and bursting with flavor. oh yes, it was awesome. the chocolate milkshake was so rich it was like drinking ice cream - just the way i enjoy my shake.

in the hope to relive that experience, i went down to the recently-opened joint at upper west. this time, i ordered the Double Stack instead, which is the Shack Burger stuffed with a 'Shroom patty. the 'Shroom is essentially an inch-think portobello and melted cheese patty that's lightly breaded and fried.

Narrowed vision of a hungry man

From top to bottom: bun, lettuce, tomato, 'Shroom, cheese, beef, bun

the Double Stack had a lot of potential, but it crashed like the Dow because people got greedy. i thought the burger was trying to achieve too much. this was an enormous burger that will have many people finding trouble taking a full bite off it - which i think totally defeats the purpose. to me, a good burger should be sized for a mouthful just big enough to get a little of everything; this one was just a little too tall. because the 'Shroom was twice as thick as the beef - which to me should be the star of the show - it completely overwhelmed the poor dead animal. all i tasted was mushroom and cheese. not that it didn't taste good, but for me it took the meat out of the burger which lowers it to the rank of a sandwich, really. just like how some highly-acclaimed movies can leave you with a twang of disappointment because you expected much more, i suffered the same fate because Shake Shack did the unthinkable - my beef patty came well done.

5 guys and 2 girls

i like having friends over for dinner. not just the type of affair where the hosts cook and the guests are waited on, but also potlucks whereby each guest brings along a dish of his or her choice. the part i enjoy most, aside from the eating and chatting, is the anticipation about what each friend would prepare. each dish reveals a little about how adventurous and experienced the chef is, and the philosophy he or she has regarding food. it's not about judging each other - it's learning a little more about a friend, and having fun while doing it.

what more, it's a great time to experiment with new recipes and get suggestions on how to improve on them, although i suspect everyone was very polite tonight. personally, i thought my muffins were a little overdone (either the folding or baking) because it turned out slightly firmer than i wanted them to be. i was looking for a moist, fluffy texture with substantial density, somewhat resembling that of a pound cake. also, it lacked that buttery fragrance and sugar punch that make muffins taste as sinful as they really are and should be. not too bad for a first, but plenty of room for improvement!

Cooking With Thalia

i once made a crack at the notion of gender role reversals by throwing out the possibility that men would give birth some day not too far in the future. more seriously, i have noticed that men today are spending time on activities that used to be reserved for women, and vice versa. specifically, i am referring to baby-tending (because i overdosed on John and Kate plus 8 over the summer), and cooking at home.

so i returned home from school on sunday night to be greeted by JC who said he decided to "busy himself with domestic chores" since he had a leisure few hours to spare. also, the words "leave some room for dessert" left his lips.

believe it or not, that was my first time eating creme caramel. or at least i don't have any prior memory of such eggy, sugary goodness. personally, i am no fan of custard because its texture didn't quite appeal to me right from when i was a kid; sure i'd eat it but i won't order it for myself. this one changed my dated impression.

you can find the recipe by cooking with thalia.

新年快乐！

this is the 4th consecutive year that i've been away from home during the chinese new year, which happens to be my favourite festival. i miss the festivities and buzz on the streets of singapore, shopping for those buttery, sugar-loaded morsels of sin so delicately packed by hand into transparent plastic jars, and especially enjoy the infectious, joyous air which usually quietly dissipates after the new year is ushered in.

over here, us singaporean undergrads like to gather for a somewhat boisterous dinner affair which, although fun, is no substitute for a reunion dinner. although i admit to be quite ignorant about the chinese culture and traditions, i really want to at least preserve the little chinese new year customs that are so idiosyncratically singaporean. it's not like i believe in being auspicious, but 捞鱼生 at 团圆饭，going to 拜年 with mandarin oranges, and the 红包-trained 恭喜发财 greetings have long been what i associate the occasion with. little unimportant things that are hugely significant to me.

because it is the chinese new year, and class starts at 7pm tonight, i thought there was no better time than this afternoon to put in a little more effort into making lunch. as closet, aspiring private chef, i've been trying out recipes here and there but i've never been truly satisfied. that's why over winter break which i spent in singapore, i asked for recommendations for a singaporean cuisine cookbook from a friend's mum. my friend, SQ, got back to me with Singapore Cooking by Mrs Leong Yee Soo. unfortunately, i couldn't find the book at a convenient bookstore, so i got Hearty Meals by the same author. in this book are many sumptious-looking dishes that pop with lovely singaporean flavours. i picked the banally named "noodles with chicken and prawns" today.


i was wowed on my first mouthful. now, don't get me wrong - it wasn't a spectacular dish. but i was literally amazed at how close the flavours were to the same dish served at chinese restaurants back home. the photo doesn't do the recipe any justice at all - i couldn't find the right kind of noodles, lighting was bad, there was no proper crockery to serve the noodles in, the photographer was cold and hungry - but trust me, i have found the first recipe that made my quest worthwhile. given the occasion, i would like to rename it as "happy chinese noodles 2009".

the essence of this dish lies in the sauce, because noodles without sauce is like fish outside water - lifeless and uninspiring. the sauce is surprisingly simple to concoct, and all the ingredients are easily available. i would have liked to share the recipe here, but copyrights have to be respected so this will have to be done privately. i look forward to trying out the next recipe!

Accidental Rice Pudding

i had cooked some jasmine rice in the cooker for frying later, but alas, i ended up with too much fluffy white rice due to poor judgment. without wanting to eat fried rice for 4 meals, i decided to make rice pudding with half of the cooked rice.

this is the first time i've made rice pudding, and i picked a quick and easy recipe from allrecipes for reference. i followed the recipe but left the raisins out since i had none at home. i topped the pudding with granola, chopped almonds and sliced coconut (all of which was purchased pre-packed and -mixed together) to give it a little crunch.

i found the texture to be a little too thick, so i'll be adding more milk the next time.

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup uncooked white rice
• 2 cups milk, divided
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2/3 cup golden raisins
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. In another saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm