Thai Style Risotto Ball

It's been a great weekend for me. A fun-filled weekend with great company and lots of cooking, just the way I like it. I really enjoy having friends over for dinner actually. We had dinner party at home on Saturday with some of my husband's uni friends and my friends as well. We had such a great time. Was really good to meet up with all of my husband's friends. Such a lovely and friendly group. Also got to meet up with some of my friends which we have not had a chance to meet up for a while. Really nice to catch up with all of you. And on Sunday I invited another group of friends over for dinner. A smaller group this time and I made these risotto balls to serve as started. I was inspired to make this after having dinner at one of the restaurants at Ballarat with my collegues last Tuesday. I loved it so much I had to make this for my friends too. So I made my own variation of it. It tasted wonderful, all of them loved it.

It's basically making risotto and rolling them into balls and covered in panko breadcrumbs. See, I love my panko breadcrumbs, it has never failed me yet. For those authentic Italian food lovers please forgive me for making a twisted version of risotto. =)...it still tastes nice though. A bit of fusion Thai-Western food.

Great as starters or finger food in your party next time round.

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Thai Style Risotto Balls

Makes around 18-20 medium-sized risotto balls

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked arborio rice
  
• 4-5 cups beef or chicken stock


• 1/2 chopped brown onion
  
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped


• 2 tablespoons tomyam paste


• 150 grams mince pork


• 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables


• 1/4 cup canned tomato


• 1 egg
  

Seasonings:

• 1.5 tablespoons sugar ( you can use shaved palm sugar if you want)


• 1 tablespoon salt
  

Coating:

• 1-2 eggs, beaten


• Plain flour


• Panko breadcrumbs
  

Methods:
To make the risotto

1. Heat up oil in frying pan. At the same time warm up the stock in another saucepan, keep warm on low fire.
   
2. Once the frying pan is hot enough, add in onion and garlic.
   
3. Fry for a few minutes until soft. Then add in tomyam paste.


4. Stir for 10-20 seconds, then add in minced pork


5. Once the pork is cooked through, add in arborio rice and mix well

6. Next step requires a bit of patience. Add in stock to the rice one ladle at a time, wait until the stock is absorbed before adding in the next ladle. Stir well after each addition and make sure you check the bottom of the pan so that the rice is not burnt. Make sure you keep the stock warm in the saucepan over low fire as well. Cook until the rice is al dente.

7. When the rice is almost cooked to al dente, add in the canned tomato, all the seasoning and mixed vegetable. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Set aside and let cool. It should be a little bit sticky at this stage.

8. Once the rice is cooled, mix in 1 egg and stir thoroughly. This is to bind the mixture together so it's easier to form.

9. Form the rice into 18-20 pieces of 4-5cm diameter risotto balls.

10. First coat the rice balls in flour, then dip them into beaten egg and then the breadcrumbs. Line them on baking tray and spray with a little bit of olive oil.

Risotto balls ready to go into oven

11. Bake in preheated 200 degrees celcius oven for around 20-25 minutes until the breadcrumbs become crunchy and golden.

12. Serve with Thai sweet chilli sauce.