Fried Rice Pudding

Posted in recipes

As desserts go, the only rival to my love for chocolate is sweet cream with warming spices. Rice pudding is a humble favorite of mine, breathtakingly easy and almost always within reach. To make it a little more festive for the holidays, I used coconut milk and fresh spices, then took the liberty of frying it into sultry graham cracker-crusted nuggets. Finicky nature of frying aside, the whole ordeal takes half a workday or less, depending on how impatient you are to get the mix in the freezer to set. Once you’re on the couch with a bowl of vanilla ice cream (my husband’s recommendation) and melting around one of these beauties, you’ll know that any extra work was worth it.

Prep Time: 4 hours-1 day Cook Time: 30 minutes

For the rice pudding:

1 can coconut milk

1 cup water

1 tsp salt

1 stick cinnamon

1 vanilla bean, split

4 whole cloves

1 tsp cardamom

1 cup white rice, preferably short grain

1/2 cup honey

1 cup golden raisins

For frying:

1 cup flour

2 raw eggs, scrambled

1 package graham crackers, finely crushed

Powdered sugar for coating

  1. In a heavy saucepan, combine coconut milk, water, salt, and spices. Bring to slow boil, stirring often.
  2. Add the rice to the coconut milk mixture and bring back to a boil, then cover and decrease heat to medium-low to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring periodically.
  3. When the rice is soft and has absorbed most of the liquid, remove the vanilla pod, cinnamon stick, and cloves.
  4. Mix in the honey and raisins, then transfer the mixture to the fridge or freezer to cool. (I left my mix in the fridge overnight, but that’s not necessary.)
  5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. When the rice pudding is cool to the touch, shape it into 2 tbsp balls, or whatever size you’d like them. Place the balls on the baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes.
  6. While the rice pudding is freezing, ready your pot or deep fryer with oil, bringing it to 350 degrees.
  7. In four separate bowls prepare the flour, egg, graham cracker crumbs, and powdered sugar (in the largest bowl). For ease of movement, set the powdered sugar and a paper towel-covered plate on the side of the fryer opposite from your other ingredients.
  8. When the rice pudding is finished freezing and the oil is heated, dip the balls in the flour, then the egg, then the graham cracker crust, coating each layer thoroughly.
  9. Carefully drop the rice pudding balls into the oil in batches small enough for them to move around. (I cooked 4 at a time.) Fry for 5 minutes, or until deep golden brown.
  10. Coat the rice pudding balls in powdered sugar, using tongs, then set aside to cool. Enjoy immediately or reheat later in a toaster oven. (Or a microwave. It’s difficult to make these unpleasant.)

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