Come for the crunchy rice, stay for the curry.
Want a quick, easy way to spruce up your weeknight skillet meal? Serve it in a crispy rice crust. Taking inspiration from soccarat, the crunchy rice bits on the bottom of a Spanish paella, this simple trick will amp up any commonplace dinner by elevating the presentation and adding an addictive crispy finish.
I chose to fill it with a ground beef and potato coconut curry—a riff off a dish my parents used to make when I was a kid. The crunchy rice is a great contrast against the soft, luscious beef and potato, while the relatively mild flavor of the rice helps to tone down the curry’s spice. Taste, texture, presentation: it all comes together to create a dinner that is truly show-stopping.
A few quick tips on the rice crust:
Use freshly cooked rice. This isn’t the time to pull out the take-out leftovers. This crust needs the moisture from hot freshly cooked rice to help it stick together and form a cohesive shell in the pan. Leftover rice has already dried out and will not hold together enough.
A measuring cup is your best friend. The pan will be hot, so pressing the rice into place with your fingers is not the best option. A metal measuring cup is the way to go—and if you use one with straight sides, it will help get into the corners of the pan.
Crank the heat. Once you have your crust pressed in, increase the heat to medium high. The rice should crisp fairly quickly—you’ll even hear it start popping. If you cook it over too low of heat, it will just dry out and get hard before it crisps up.
Go thick. Whatever you pour into your rice shell should be pourable, but definitely on the thicker side of saucy. Think chicken pot pie gravy consistency. We’re not pouring minestrone into this thing.
Whether you make this curry or use this rice crust to dress up your own favorite weeknight meal, I hope you get your hands on some crispy rice soon. Once you do, you may never go back to just dolloping it in the bottom of a bowl again.
Enjoy!
Beef and Potato Curry with Crispy Rice
(Serves 4-6)
4 tablespoons coconut oil, divided
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp. Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided
2 birdseye chilis, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 tsp. finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 pound ground beef
1 pound russet potatoes, washed and cut into ½-inch cubes
1 large or 2 small tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
½ cup water
4 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
3 cups hot freshly cooked rice
Special equipment: cast-iron skillet
Method
Heat 2 tablespoons coconut oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onions, chilis, garlic, ginger and ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and cook until onions have softened, 3-4 minutes. Stir in ground coriander, cumin, curry powder, cardamom, and turmeric, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more.
Add ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally until mostly browned, 4-5 minutes. Stir in potatoes, tomatoes, coconut milk, water, cloves, cinnamon, and remaining salt. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat, cover, and simmer until potatoes are just tender, 10-15 minutes. Uncover and continue to simmer until liquid has reduced slightly, 5 minutes more. Transfer curry to a heat-proof bowl; keep warm.
Wipe out skillet and add remaining 2 tablespoons oil and return to medium heat. Working quickly and carefully, coat the bottom and sides of the skillet with hot cooked rice, pressing along the bottom and up the sides to create a crust. Increase to medium-high and cook 6-8 minutes, until rice starts to pop and crisp.
Ladle curry back into rice shell and continue to cook until steaming. Serve warm, topped with cilantro.
Originally posted November 13, 2022.
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