There are a lot of recipes where crispy rice is intentionally made and “dressed up” with broths, spices and other special techniques or ingredients, but this is the basic “accidental” fon-ju that I fell in love with as a kid—and still love as an adult.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups California white jasmine or basmati rice
- Filtered water
- Pour uncooked white rice into a 2.-quart saucepan.
- Add water until the level of water is about 1 inch above the level of the rice.
Preparation
My mom used to measure by dipping her finger into the pot. When the tip of her finger touched the top of the submerged rice, if the water level was up to the first knuckle of her finger, that was right. Though saucepans and fingers vary in dimensions, this seems to be a universal trick. But just in case, steaming rice is a fairly forgiving task.
Set the saucepan on high heat and wait for the water to mostly boil away. Mom taught me to listen for the subtle change in the sounds made while the rice was cooking. As the water boils away, the visible bubbles will disappear, but you will still hear water bubbling at the bottom of the pot. When the cooking sound changes to a more dry crackling sound, stir the rice, cover it and set over a low flame for 30–40 minutes—until the rice is steamed and ready to serve.
An alternate rice cooking method is to set the saucepan on high, but when the water starts to bubble, cover the pot and set the heat to low. Let the rice steam for 30–40 minutes, until it’s ready to serve.
I find that this method means that I can start the steaming process earlier, and that I don’t have to monitor the cooking sounds as closely. I prefer this method (sorry, Mom) because I burn fewer pots of rice this way, and burnt rice is VERY difficult to remove.
When the rice is properly steamed, scoop it out of the pot, but don’t scrape all the way to the bottom. Instead, let that bottom layer of rice sit uncovered in the pot over the low flame. By the time you’re done eating the rest of the meal, check on the crispy rice.
Ideally, it should be a bit browner, and it should have formed a crust that comes away easily from the sides of the pot with a teaspoon. The bottom may take a bit more heat and/or a bit more time or scraping, but the crunch is so worth it that in some places, it’s offered to the guests first.
For variety and flavor, you might consider:
• Adding a bit of sesame oil and fish sauce (or tamari) just before scraping the fon-ju out of the pot.
• Adding 2 Chinese red sausage (lop xioung) cooked with the rice to add a bit of extra flavor and to lightly fry the fon-ju. A bit of butter can accomplish a similar result.
• If you’ve had food with sauces or gravy, it’s likely that they’ll be a great complement to fon-ju. Think of it as a hybridization of two joys: “mixing gravy into rice” and “having chips and dip.”
