I don’t know what it is about rice pudding, it’s not something I grew up eating, but I think it is the ultimate comfort food. Â I like it thick and creamy, studded with plumped raisins, and hot off the stove. Â And with the cool dampness settling in for the winter, combined with an enduring lack of sleep, I have been deeply craving comfort food. (That, and steaming hot bubble baths.)
My mother-in-law recently arrived with a suitcase full of all my favourite spices from India – the freshest cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns, and cloves – so I’ve been using them in everything I can.
I tossed a cinnamon stick into my go-to rice pudding recipe along with a vanilla bean and a handful of raisins.
I stood at the stove stirring and tasting the warm pudding and deeply inhaling the sweet steam. Â It was like a much-needed warm hug. Â Now if only there was a pudding that feels like a nap.Â
The rice I used was Thai sticky (glutinous) rice – I had it on hand and wanted to find out if it would be a good substitute or arborio. Â It was great on the first day, but got too sticky overnight. Â Stick with arborio.
Feel free to substitute the vanilla bean for extract (just stir in a teaspoon at the very end) and/or the cinnamon stick for ground cinnamon (just swap in a teaspoonful at the same point in the recipe).
And I would totally support your decision to add an ounce of rum with the cream.
Cinnamon Raisin Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 4 cups 2% or whole milk
- ½ cup arborio rice
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 cinnamon stick broken
- 1 vanilla bean scraped
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring milk to a boil with rice, raisins, sugar, butter, vanilla bean seeds, cinnamon stick and salt. Reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 1 hour, until rice is very tender.
- Whisk egg yolks in a small bowl. Slowly add 1/2 cup of hot pudding to yolks, whisking constantly, to temper the eggs. Slowly whisk egg mixture into remaining pudding in saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, 3-5 minutes, until pudding thickens. Remove from heat; stir in cream. Transfer to a shallow dish and chill 4 hours, up to overnight, pressing plastic wrap directly onto the surface to avoid a pudding "skin".
This recipe is fantastic. Now to atone to the chicken gods for all the rubbery abominations I’ve microwaved in the past…
Pro tip: if you prick the yolk with a toothpick you reduce the chance of explosion by 63%.
I typically eat breakfast in my office (gym schedule precludes eating earlier). So here I sit at work, Day 1 of sugar detox, with my avocado & simple cabbage slaw on my plate, and one raw egg, thinking I’ll find a way (online) to scramble my egg in the microwave. Thank goodness I came across your recipe instead! I had no vinegar, no ramekin, no plastic wrap. But I had water, an egg, a glass bowl & a paper plate to cover it with. I overcooked my egg a tiny bit, but it was still great, and so fast! Thank you thank you thank you! You’ve changed my breakfasting life forever!
Hi Erin! Glad you enjoyed!!! Good luck with your sugar detox – sounds… um… fun… 😉
What a brilliant idea! I really like eggs, but rarely make them that much because I’m terrified of undercooking them…I’ll definitely have to include this microwave poached egg in my quest to improve my egg-cooking skills. Seriously amazing 🙂
Delicious. This was my first time making poached eggs at home. Loved it. Also, I didn’t have plastic wrap so I left it uncovered, and it still worked beautifully!
I found it didn’t cook as evenly and needed more time when it was uncovered… but I’m glad it worked out for you!!
I just tried this and it worked out great! I used a a cereal bowl and my microwave is 900volts so it took 45 second then a turn and then another 30. Your times were a great starting point, I didn’t even have one lost egg!
Glad to hear it, Tiffany!! Enjoy 🙂
YOU ARE AMAZING! i absolutely adore poached eggs but i don’t even know how to make them the “old fashioned” way so i can only get them when i go out to restaurants! for breakfast this morning i had poached eggs and toast and a cup of tea and it was the perfect way to start my day! you are a genius, i never would’ve thought to add the vinegar…oh by the way, did i mention that i was able to have this fabulous breakfast out of my on-campus college apartment?? yum. 🙂
Haha love that I could help! Gee with words like “amazing” and “genius” floating around, I might start to get a big head… 😉
can’t believe how excited I am to try this. when’s breakfast?
It is right now!! Run for the kitchen! ;-)
OMG… I am obsessed with poached eggs!!! Seriously!!! If I am able to successfully do this, you will have changed my life.
hahah I LOVE your enthusiasm! :-) My life has been changed. I believe yours will be too.
What wattage is your microwave? I have a ridiculously weak microwave and the instructions resulted in an overdone egg. Will try again with shorter cooking time.
I love love love poached eggs. How would I do 3 at a time? Blush!