Now that I think about it, I come from a family of cooks. Each one from my family has a specialty - that one delicious dish that makes you go back for more and think fondly of a certain aunt or uncle. When my cousin invited me to stay at his place, the first question almost always is - what do you want to eat? I always struggle to find an answer to this because there are so many dishes that I'd want my cousin (or his wife) to cook for me while I'm staying over. I'm kind of a spoiled brat whenever I stay over at their place - no cooking, no cleaning, no chores - I just have to put my feet up and watch movies on their awesome 55 inch flat screen TV. This time around, I asked my cousin to make his famous risotto. I never ever made risotto because I know its labour-intensive and I'm cursed - I.CANNOT.COOK.RICE. I ruin it 80% of the time. Trust me on this. I managed to ruin it in a RICE COOKER. Don't ever let me near any of it unless of course, you're doing it on purpose or you're on a diet.
So let's do this. My cousin prepped the first part of the risotto. He used arborio rice. Unfortunately, he doesn't measure when he's cooking and he hardly follows a recipe. He cooks just by "feeling and sensing". In a saucepan, he heated up some oil and minced garlic then chopped brown onions (perhaps just 1 brown onion). Then he added chicken powder and about 2 cups of washed arborio rice. Fry this for a few minutes to make sure that the oil is coated on every grain. Then heat up about 1-2 liters of water and add this by bit, STIRRING CONSTANTLY, until all the water is almost absorbed and the rice is cooked. The constant stirring part is the toughest part, also it will be a good idea to taste to make sure that the rice is cooked through. Then he added fresh king mushrooms and enoki mushrooms. The whole pot emitted this lovely, earthy, rich, mouth-watering scent that made wanted to tuck in and start eating the whole thing! At this point, he took the pot away from the heat and stirred until all the mushrooms are wilted. He would add hot water bit by bit (I would say around 1/4 - 1/2 cup) just to make sure that the mushrooms are cooked through. The fresh spinach is next, stir it through until wilted. Add about 20g of butter and fold onto the risotto. Season with salt and pepper.What I didn't mention before the start of the entire process is - he used DUCK FAT instead of olive oil to fry the garlic and onions. This is why this risotto tastes so good.
For the grilled chicken, he halved 2 chicken breasts and pounded them thinly with the back of a knife. The seasoning is very simple - salt, pepper, chili flakes and dried oregano. Grill these on a pan with some olive oil for 2-3 minutes on each side - just be careful not to overcook them.
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