The Spicy Spatula

I don’t know about you guys but sometimes I get tired of the same old recipes. I mean, really tired. To the point that if I have something other than ramen noodles, mashed potatoes or French fries too often, it will be a LONG, long time before I’ll even want it again. Yeah, I can be picky like that.

But with this new crop of fusion recipes that seem to pop up every single day, that’s become less and less of a problem for me. Take the other day, for instance. I had no idea what I wanted and it was my night to choose what we had for dinner. Then I thought about rice, but we’d just had rice the other day so I thought, “Risotto”. I love risotto (try my vegan risotto Bolognese recipe!) but there’s only so many times you can have mushroom risotto or vegan risotto Milanese. Right?

I thought so, anyway, so I wondered if there was a way to mix risotto with my favorite type of cuisine. Asian.

Guess what? There was!

And so this broccoli and king oyster mushroom risotto with Asian flavors was born. Or rather, it was born to me because the internet was chock full of recipes of this style.

If you know how to make risotto, then this recipe will be super easy for you. If you don’t, grab a box and read the instructions. I learned and perfected my risotto recipe thanks to Rachel Ray and Tyler Florence years ago on Food Network.

The first thing you’ll want to do is gather your ingredients and get your waste free broth warming on the oven. The broth question is always up for debate. Some people will tell you that you don’t need to have your broth warmed up to make a good risotto and that’s true-ish. I find that warming it allows you to add a bit more flavor such as minced garlic, saffron or as in this case, some scored ginger to infuse the broth and therefore, the risotto.

It’s your food and you have to eat it, so do whatever you want.

I recommend that you cook the garlic and ginger first, before adding the arborio rice to the pan so they can start to cook before you add your first ladle of broth.

For the king oyster mushrooms, you can cook them in the same pan, and remove them before adding the risotto ingredients so they don’t get incredibly soggy, which they will because…mushrooms. Let them warm in the oven or make them in a separate pan.

The broccoli, as you can probably see, was baked in the oven until firm but still tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

During the last 5 to 7 minutes of cooking, add soy sauce, white miso paste and chopped vegan meatballs (totally optional but they are so delicious that my hubs could not resist!) and give it a good stir and another ladle of broth.

Garnish with thinly sliced scallions and sesame oil and there ya go, Asian style vegan risotto that any lover of risotto will nosh like it’s their last meal. Okay, maybe that’s what I did but that’s only because it was good.

Very good.

How do you like your risotto? Drop links or photos in the comments below or hit me up on Instagram @indyjaxn.

Happy eating!