Awesome Sizzling Rice Soup
Submitted by brendasym
Sizzling rice soup, the Chinese restaurant showpiece: savory broth with ham, tofu and mushrooms, finished with crisp fried rice crust that crackles the moment it hits the bowl.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
35 minCOOK
25 minREADY
1 hrsThe whole point of sizzling rice soup is right there in the name. Crisp, deep-fried rice crust gets dropped into the hot broth at the table, where it crackles, pops, and hisses as the steam rises, a genuine bit of dinner theater straight from the Chinese restaurant playbook.
Underneath the drama is a clean, savory rice-and-broth soup: chicken stock simmered with shredded ham, tofu, and earthy Chinese mushrooms. The showpiece is the rice crust, or guoba, which you make by cooking rice in a wide pot well past tender so a golden crust forms on the bottom, then lifting it out in one sheet.
Timing is everything for the big sizzle. Fry the rice crust in very hot oil until it puffs like popcorn, then rush it, screaming hot, to a bowl of piping-hot soup.
The bigger the temperature clash, the louder and more dramatic the sizzle. Scallions and a drizzle of sesame oil finish it off.
Chef Tips
- Cook the rice well past soft in a heavy pot so a solid crust forms. Letting it stand overnight makes the crust easier to lift out whole.
- Fry the rice crust in genuinely hot oil. Test with a small piece, which should float and puff right away.
- Both the soup and the fried rice must be piping hot when combined. That temperature clash is what makes it sizzle.
- Bring the fried rice to the table separately and add it to the bowls in front of your guests for the full effect.
Variations
- Add shrimp, chicken, or snow peas to the broth.
- Use vegetable broth and skip the ham for a vegetarian version.
- Save the loose top-layer rice for fried rice, as the recipe suggests.
Ingredients
Directions
Bring the broth to a simmer in a pot and add the ham, bean curd and mushrooms. Let it simmer 5 minutes. Heat the oil in a wok to very hot.
Test the oil by dropping a small piece of Rice Crust into it. It should float immediately. Slip the whole Rice Crust into the oil.
As it begins to puff up like popcorn, break it up into large chunks with long chopsticks. Turn it to brown on all sides (about 1 minute). Remove the rice and drain it.
At the table, add the rice to the serving bowl of soup. It will sizzle as the steam rises and provide quite a show. Add the scallions and sesame oil just before serving.
Prepare rice as you normally would, but cook it in a wide, heavy pot at least 15 minutes after the rice is soft so that a crust forms on the bottom of the pot.
Spoon off the top layer of loose rice and set aside for Fried Rice or freeze it for future use. If left to stand overnight at room temperature, the crust will be easier to remove from the pot.
To use the rice right away, keep the pot on low heat and dribble peanut oil around the edge.
Heat for a few minutes, then loosen the crust with a spatula. It should come out in one whole piece. Invert the crust onto a plate. It can now be frozen for future use or used while still hot.
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