Stovetop quick & easy and chocolate rice pudding

By martin cross, 23rd Feb 2012 | Follow this author | RSS Feed | Short URL http://nut.bz/lb7s2_lc/
Posted in Wikinut>Guides>Recipes>British

Stove top rice pudding, a quick, anytime dessert made from simple ingredients and more cheaply andwith more versatility than the tinned version.

Classic rice pudding
Stovetop rice pudding with left-over rice
Ingredients for stovetop rice pudding with left-over rice
How to make stovetop rice pudding with left-over rice
How to make stovetop rice pudding with uncooked rice
Chocolate rice pudding

Classic rice pudding

Classic rice puddings have traditionally been made to Victorian recipes involving baking in the oven for a couple of hours at a low temperature so that the milk did not scald. Special short-grain (pudding) rice was used, which did not require a high temperature to break the coating so that the rice could start to absorb fluid and swell. It was a favourite dessert for school dinners but unfortunately the results were far from memorable. Frequently left too long in the oven or kept warm too long, the trays of pudding had a leathery skin on the top and were dry and cake-like rather than soft and gooey. While meeting the requirement of filling hungry children, they could have served a similar purpose in filling cracks in walls.

The food industry came to the rescue, producing a ready-made tinned version that could be reheated in a pan on the stovetop… a comfort food made with cheap and simple ingredients had been made into a convenience food, preserved in a can, at much higher cost.

Fortunately, rice pudding need not be made solely in the oven and does not require special pudding rice. It can be made, cheaply and simply, on the stovetop, allowing you much greater freedom that suits you family’s tastes, and without all the preservatives in the tinned version. In fact, rice pudding is an ideal way to use up leftover boiled rice. Stovetop rice pudding is not as quick to make as the tinned version but it largely cooks itself in around 20 minutes, depending on the quantity, just enough time for the flavourings you have added to infuse the dish in a way that you will not get with the tinned version.

Stovetop rice pudding with left-over rice

Stove top rice pudding sprinkled with cinnamon

One cup of cooked rice plus one cup of milk is roughly equivalent to one can of rice pudding. This recipe is for 4 servings, approximately two cans of rice pudding. If you have leftover boiled rice, you can turn it into a delicious rice pudding in around 20 minutes.

No particular weighing is required in the recipe. Equal volumes of cooked rice and milk are used and the mixture is sweetened to taste. The dried fruit is optional but adds an extra dimension (especially if the fruit Is marinated in rum or diluted rum essence for a few hours before use).

Advice on how to make this dish with uncooked rice is given after this recipe.

Ingredients for stovetop rice pudding with left-over rice

For 4 servings

2 cups of cooked rice
2 cups of milk
6-8 tbsp of sugar
2 tablespoons (1 oz / 30 g) of butter
1/2 cup (3 oz / 90 g) of sultanas or raisins (optional)
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tsp of lemon juice
1 tsp of cinnamon

How to make stovetop rice pudding with left-over rice

Combine the rice, milk, sugar, butter and raisins in a saucepan, filling the pan no more than half full.
Cook the mixture over Medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Stir in the vanilla extract, lemon juice and half the cinnamon.
Spoon into serving dishes and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon.

How to make stovetop rice pudding with uncooked rice

The simplest method to make stovetop rice pudding using uncooked rice is to boil the rice first. This need not be a particularly lengthy process and means that you can use any rice that you have to hand (e.g. long-grain rice) rather than to have to invest in pudding rice, which is really only suitable for making rice pudding.

No huge volumes of water are required as the packet prescribes because you do not want to keep the grains separate. Rice pudding should be creamy with the rice grains well swollen and clinging together (see picture above). The rice is therefore cooked initially pilaf-style, with only 2 cups of fluid for every cup of uncooked rice.

For 4 servings, use approx. ¾ of a cup of uncooked rice and 1½ cups of water.

Bring the water to a boil, add the rice and bring the water back to the boil.
Stir the rice and boil for 2-3 minutes.
Turn the heat down to very Low and leave the rice to cook for 15-20 minutes.
When cooked, it should be tender and not gritty.
If preferred, you can turn the heat off completely and leave the rice to cook by itself for 20-30 minutes, or until you are ready to use it. This will give you approximately two cups of cooked rice to use as described in the recipe above.

Chocolate rice pudding

To make chocolate rice pudding, take either of these recipes and blend 3 tbsp of cocoa into the milk. Add a little extra butter for a little more richness if desired.

Rum essence can be added (or substituted for the vanilla extract), especially if you are using sultanas or raisins. Stirring in some chocolate morsels just before serving adds a nice touch.

Meet the author

martin cross
I am a technical translator and writer, a former chef and marketeer, currently disabled. I write articles on food,, travel, politics, religion and technology among other topics.