Recipe and Images by Emma Galloway
Black rice pudding has long been a favourite of mine, and while it’s usually served with mango or other tropical fruit as it’s eaten throughout South East Asia, it also pairs beautifully with rosy hibiscus-poached pears. The salted coconut cream brings it all together. You can find black rice at Asian grocers and dried hibiscus flowers/tea at health food stores, but see my note below for an easy everyday alternative. Start this recipe the day before, to soak rice and poach pears.
Serves 4–6
280g (1½ cups) black rice
3–4 tbsp raw caster sugar
Hibiscus-poached Pears
4 firm pears (I use Beurre Bosc pears)
4 tsp dried hibiscus flowers or use 6 tea bags*
100g (½ cup) raw caster sugar
1 star anise
1 tsp vanilla extract
few strips of orange peel, optional
Salted Coconut Cream
400g tin coconut milk**
1 tbsp raw caster sugar
good pinch fine sea salt
splash vanilla extract
Place rice into a saucepan, cover with plenty of cold water, pop on a lid and soak overnight.
To poach the pears, combine hibiscus with 3 cups cold water in a medium saucepan. Add sugar, star anise, vanilla and orange peel and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat, cover and allow to infuse for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, peel, halve and core pears. Return poaching liquid to the boil, gently drop pear halves in, reduce to a gentle simmer, cover the top of the pears with a sheet of baking paper to keep them submerged, and poach 10–12 minutes or until tender but not falling apart. Remove from heat and cool pears in the liquid. Transfer to a lidded container and refrigerate overnight. Pears can be cooked 3 days ahead of time and stored in the fridge.
The following day, drain and rinse the rice. Return to the saucepan, add 2¼ cups water, bring to the boil, cover with a lid and reduce to the lowest setting. Cook, without removing the lid, for 35 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside with the lid on for 10 minutes before stirring through sugar. Cover with a lid to keep warm.
While rice is cooking, combine coconut milk, sugar, salt and vanilla in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn down and simmer 5–8 minutes to thicken slightly. Remove from the heat.
Reheat pears gently in their syrup. To serve, divide black rice between bowls, top with a pear half or two and drizzle over salted coconut cream.
*If you don’t have dried hibiscus flowers or plain hibiscus teabags, you can use any ‘red’ or berry herbal tea, as the main ingredient is usually hibiscus.
**Look for coconut milk which only contains coconut and water. I use AROY-D, found at Asian grocers.
