Sizzling Rice Soup

I finally got a chance to check out the Asian market, called Seafood City, where the Rotten Apple folks buy live crawfish for their Sunday boils. It was...ahem...an experience, to say the least. After walking to the corner of the store, past the tank of live frogs (huge frogs!), you get to the tanks of live fish and bins of live crabs & crawfish. There are also two long tables with a variety of whole fish (and shrimp and eel) on ice.

I was a bit freaked out.

So, I slinked past the frogs (I am terribly afraid of frogs!) and browsed the aisles while Jerad loaded up 15 pounds of crawling crawfish. The package of "Instant Sizzling Rice" caught my eye, so I bought one to try.


The directions read: "Prepare soup stock with your favorite ingredients. Boil and set aside. Bring 3-4 cups of cooking oil to a boil. Deep fry the 'sizzling rice' pellets to a golden brown withdrawn & quickly add to soup stock. You will hear the sizzle & enjoy the flavor."

I put a quick supper soup together with some ingredients I had on hand.

Sizzling Rice Soup
with Asparagus

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup asparagus tips *
6 squares of sizzling rice
vegetable oil for frying

* You could, of course, add any veggies (or cooked meats) in the soup. It would be particularly good with mushrooms, carrots, cauliflower, and cabbage.

• Combine the broth, soy, vinegar, & garlic in a small stockpot. Boil over medium heat, then remove from heat and add the asparagus (plus any other veggies or meats you are using). Ladle soup into deep bowls.
  
• Meanwhile, heat 3-4 cups of oil in a shallow skillet. Fry the sizzle rice "pellets", turning once, until brown. This only take a couple minutes.

• Immediately transfer 2 or 3 browned rice squares to each bowl. The rice will sizzle and steam upon contact with the broth.
  

The rice had a very nutty taste that goes well with the saltiness of the soup. I'm anxious to try it again with a more substantial soup.