Prawn and Bok Choy Risotto
I like it when you can take a cooking method from one culture and apply it to the ingredients from another. Adding Asian flavours to risotto sounds unlikely but it’s a twist that works – it’s wonderfully limey and light.
- Prep time:
- 15 mins
- Cook time:
- 25-30 mins
- Serves:
- 5 as a starter or 3 as a main
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 medium onions, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
- 1½ cups risotto rice
- 4½ cups hot chicken stock
- finely grated zest of 2 limes
- salt and ground black pepper
- 350g shelled prawns, halved lengthwise
- ¾ cup fresh or frozen peas
- 4-5 small or 2-3 medium bok choy, cut into 1cm pieces
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 3 tbsp coarsely chopped coriander leaves
Heat butter in a deep, heavy based pot and gently fry onion and ginger until softened but not browned (about 5 minutes).
Add rice and stir over heat for 2 minutes to lightly toast. Add hot stock and lime zest (reserving a little zest for the garnish) and season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine, cover and cook over a very low heat until almost cooked (about 15 minutes).
At this point, test the rice – it should have a tiny white core in the centre of each grain. If the core is bigger, continue cooking another few minutes. It needs to be almost cooked before you add the final ingredients. If the rice begins to dry out, add another half cup of hot stock or water – it should be quite soupy.
Stir in the prawns and peas, cook for 1 minute then add the bok choy and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and coriander (reserving a little coriander for the garnish) and adjust seasonings to taste. To serve, sprinkle with the reserved lime
zest and coriander.
Cook's Note
It’s important to use special risotto rice, such as carnaroli or arborio, as these have a higher starch content than other rices, which is what gives the risotto its creaminess.
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