Pudding on the Rice

   Growing up I wasn't necessarily a picky eater because of tastes I was picky when it came to textures, as a lot of people can be. But I swear this recipe cured me. 

   There used to be a small restaurant called "Pudding on the Rice" in Portland, Oregon that my dad's cousin owned. Actually the recipe below is his wife's, Jessica, creation. Their place sold rice pudding like ice cream. There were dozens of flavors to choose from and you could actually choose to have tart frozen yogurt mixed in with the pudding. Not being the adventurous type when it came to "chunky" food I did NOT want any. I had previously had bad experiences with rice pudding that were not easy to forget. The only references to rice pudding I had were of grainy, soupy, disappointing  messes. At the time, only having those memories to look back on, I was everything but thrilled about being there. My mom eventually shoved a bite of raspberry cheesecake rice pudding down my throat, and I swear time stopped for a second. I had never in my LIFE tasted anything so amazing. Creamy, sweet, fluffy yet it had structure and texture. The rice wasn't grainy at all. It has the consistency of a thick pudding instead of soupy cream. Still to this day this is mine and my families favorite dessert to have for any occasion. The recipe can be found here.

   The first thing to realize when using this recipe is that it makes a very large batch. My family of six will usually only make half a batch and this still gives everyone a very generous portion. However, if you decide to cut the recipe in any way it is important to remember that you will NOT have to stir the mixture as long. They aren't kidding when they say use a large pot. 

   1. To start out combine the first four ingredients. I usually use 2% milk because that is what I drink and have around, but the type of milk won't really affect it. If you use a thicker milk [whole] the end product will be slightly thicker, but not much. Also, dry milk works fine. It calls for a lot of milk so if you wanted to do half dry milk the results will still turn out. 

   --- The recipe calls for medium grain rice, but to be honest a lot of people don't know what the difference is. So here is the definition if it helps: Medium grain rice has a shorter, wider kernel (two to three times longer than its width) than long grain rice. Cooked grains are more moist and tender, and have a greater tendency to cling together than long grain. Short grain rice has a short, plump, almost round kernel.--- 

   2. When it comes down to it, the type of rice doesn't affect it that much. I usually have Jasmine Rice, more of a longer grain rice, at my house. So that is what I use and it still has a delicious end product. Unless I just happen to have a more medium grain rice I will use that. [Medium grain rice just has a less grainy end product, but not by much]. The only thing I suggest when using Jasmine Rice is let the rice cool to at least room temperature, if not put it in the fridge for a while, before cooking with it. This will help the rice not break apart and the end product will be less grainy. This isn't a problem with medium grain rice, it sticks together more, which is why this recipe calls for it. 

   3. This recipe call for a lot of sugar, and because of this the end product is very sweet. I usually can cut the sugar in HALF and it will still be plenty sweet. Especially if you decide to change the flavor up. Fresh or frozen fruit help sweeten it up, which is my family's and I favorite topping. You can experiment with different amounts of sugar to see what you like best. 

   4. It can take a long time for the mixture to thicken, but don't turn the heat up. It is a slow process because it take a long time for the rice to soak up the liquid. If you turn the heat up you will just burn it and will have chunks of burnt rice in the end. 

   5. Tempering the eggs is a very important stage. It is best to have room temperature eggs, but I have done it will cold eggs as well. You just need to start out with a smaller amount of pudding that you are adding to the eggs. If you try and combine too much pudding too fast you are going to cook the eggs, and you will have chunks of scrambled eggs in the end. It doesn't taste too good... unfortunately I've had to try it because I wasn't patient. So just take a breathe and take an extra minute or two to do it right. 

 ---It is always easier to have two people to do this part. One person adds small amounts of pudding to the bowl with the whisked eggs, while another whisks it all together.---

   6. After the eggs are incorporated back in, the mixture should start to thicken more fairly quickly. Be careful if it starts boiling because the bubbles will shoot hot pudding onto your hands and it hurts!! It should get to the consistency of box pudding, or at least pretty close. 

--Just remember to keep stirring. Stir so you are scraping the bottom of the pot. Milk burns very easily so it's important to remember to stir from the very beginning.--

   7. Whip the whipped cream to stiff peaks and add your desired flavoring. I have found that it doesn't take as much [liquid] whipped cream as it calls for because it grows when you whip it. So I will do half the amount of [liquid] whipped cream because after it is whipped it is about as much as it called for to start out with. 

   My favorite combination of flavors is cheesecake with raspberries. Fresh or frozen berries really compliment the creamy flavor. 

   This truly is a rice pudding like no other. 

Pudding on the Rice

By: Jessica Grimmer

Basic Recipe

Ingredients: 

8 cups  of Milk

4 cups of Cooked Medium Grain Rice 

4 cups of Sugar

2 tsp. of Salt

2 Eggs

4 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream 

2 Tsp Pure vanilla Extract 

Method:

In Large Sauce Pan add: Milk, Rice, Sugar, and Salt.

In separate bowl crack 2 eggs and eat sit at room temperature. Set aside. 

Stir slowly with flat wooden spoon at medium heat for 45-60 minutes until the mixture has evenly thickened. 

Take pan off heat. Take the room temperature eggs and whisk them thoroughly adding a tablespoon of the hot pudding to temper the eggs. When you have added the equal amounts of pudding to the eggs, slowly incorporate the eggs back into the pudding. Return the pudding to medium heat and slowly stir as you bring the pudding back to a boil. 

Then take off heat, put pudding in a glass bowl, cover with saran wrap and cool for 6-24 hours. 

Whip 4 cups of heavy whipping cream and 2 tsp. of pure vanilla extract. 

Add the whipped cream to the cooled mixture until it is fully enveloped. 

Keep pudding refrigerated, it lasts about 1 week. 

Different Flavors:

Amaretto Rice Pudding: 

Omit the Vanilla Extract and instead add 2 tsp. of Almond Flavoring 

Chocolate Rice Pudding 

In microwave melt 1 cup of milk chocolate chips with 12 cup of heavy whipping cream for 2 minutes. Whisk until shiny and add to the cooled pudding BEFORE adding the vanilla whipped cream. 

Raspberry Rice Pudding 

Add a bag of frozen raspberries and mix into the pudding fully incorporate and then fold in the vanilla whipped cream. 

Cheesecake Rice Pudding
Add roughly 6 ounces [for a full batch] of cream cheese, cut into small room temperature cubes, and 2 tablespoons powdered sugar to the hot rice pudding before refrigerating. Fold in whipped cream after cooled.  

Enjoy!