Arancini a.k.a Fried Rice Ball

The name is not familiar to our tongue, am I rite? It is not an english name. It's italian!

It is not just us, Indonesian, who feels guilty when it comes to throwing food. You know how much your moms doesn't like it when your plate is still half empty, rite? A mom can show an evil face if there are so many leftover food on the table. But, the good thing is, it makes us moms even more creative. We have to think hard to reuse the food, to make something new out of it. 

We Indonesian, love to make nasi goreng or fried rice from leftover rice. 

How about Italian? They love risotto, and when there are risotto's leftover, they make arancini! The name which is translated as "little orange" derives from their shapes and colour, which is reminiscent of an orange after cooking. Arancini produced in eastern sicily.

Today I am making arancini the Indonesian way. By the way, have you eat the real risotto? Not the one you tried at this famous pizza restaurant in our country, of course. Because the taste is just too.... local, if you know what I mean. I have tried risotto from the real italian and european chef with michelin starred restaurant that he holds. And the taste is....yummmy! It is kinda gooey, not like the rice we used to consume everyday. The traditional risotto use saffron as one of the ingredients. An uber expensive spice with a very specific aroma. It makes the risotto looks yellow-ish. Like we use turmeric in Indonesia dishes, but the aroma and the taste if way different. It is hard to describe, you gotta taste it by yourself! Not all risotto use saffron, some also a bit creamy than the other, a bit spicy, depends on the chef's liking. As for the filling, you can use ragout, mozzarella, or sauteed mushroom.

How about the Indonesian way? Well, here is my interpretation of arancini ala Indonesia.

It is basically a rice ball, and we can add any ingredients that we like. Smoked beef, carrot, peas, parsley, chicken chunks or whatever you desire. Fun isn't it? It will make a perfect one-bite snack with a healthy ingredients inside. So, if you look for a healthy snack for your children's snack box, picnic treat, or just a good companion for afternoon tea, this will be a perfect choice. By the way, mozzarella is my favorite filling, you know that moment when you bite 

the warm arancini and the melted moz just burst and oozing in your mouth....heaven!

Ingredients:

250gr rice

250ml homemade chicken stock

1 regular size bawang bombay, chopped

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1-2 tsp of ground parmesan

salt, pepper, and nutmeg

chopped parsley

mozzarella, cut into appx 1x1cm 

bread crumbs

oil for deep frying

for coating, mix :

1 egg

50 gr all purpose flour

water, appx 50 ml, add the water little by little until the batter looks thick 

salt and pepper to taste

How to :

1. Sautee the chopped onion with butter until golden brown

2. add in the rice, mix well. Add in the chicken stock. Mixing continuously until all liquid absorbed. 

3. add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, parmesan and parsley. Season to taste. 

4. Leave to cool completely

5. Get some of the cooked rice between two wet palms, form a ball of your chosen size. Poke a hole in the middle, and insert your filling. Plug the hole with extra rice.

6. Repeat until all the rice is used up.

7. Dip the rice ball into the batter coat, then roll into the breadcrumbs. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

8. Deep fry until golden brown.