Sizzling Rice Soup Recipe
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When the weather gets chilly, there are a few things that come to mind — one of those being a big bowl of soup. It's warm, it's delicious, and honestly, it's a no-brainer. Who doesn't want to enjoy something cozy on a cold day? While there are plenty of other cozy foods out there, we love sizzling rice soup in particular because it's filling and genuinely warms the soul.
This recipe is served with plenty of healthy veggies and protein like shrimp and chicken, but perhaps the real star is the delightfully crisp rice. Recipe developer Stephanie Rapone of Pantry to Plate Meals came up with this tasty dish, and we love it for so many reasons. "This soup is a simple and healthy weeknight meal, and the sizzling rice gets my kids interested in eating it — even all the veggies," Rapone raves. "It's light and satisfying at the same time."
Gather the ingredients for sizzling rice soup
Are you ready to get things started? If so, you'll need some frozen cooked rice. (You can use leftover rice if you'd prefer.) In addition, purchase kosher salt and an oil that's good for frying.
For protein, we're going to use shrimp and boneless skinless chicken breasts. Dried shiitake mushrooms add an aromatic umami to the soup. In terms of veggies, you'll want carrot, baby bok choy, snow peas, sugar snap peas, and garlic. Rounding out the ingredients list are oyster sauce, cornstarch, and some vegetable broth.
Preheat the oven and bake the rice
Right off the bat, you'll want to stroll over to the oven and preheat it to 325 F. Then, take out a rimmed baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Grab the rice you plan on using and spread it over the parchment paper. Season it with a bit of salt. Wait for the oven to finish preheating, then pop the rice in. Set the timer for 25 minutes.
Prep the ingredients
Grab a pot and throw in 2 cups of water. Place it on the stove and bring the water to a boil before you remove it from the heat. Add the shiitake mushrooms, then cover the pot with a lid. Let the mushrooms soak for at least 10 minutes.
While the mushrooms soak, you can prep the other ingredients. Grab a cutting board and mince the garlic. Then, wash the carrots and thinly slice them on a bias. Go ahead and slice the snow peas thin as well.
Next, rinse the baby bok choy and cut the leafy greens from the white parts. Chop the leafy greens into 2-inch pieces and set them aside. Then, cut the white parts into 2-inch pieces and set them aside separately from the green parts.
Slice the chicken and then the shrimp
Next, grab the chicken and a sharp knife and slice it thinly into ¼-inch slices. Then, combine the chicken with 2 teaspoons of water, the oyster sauce, and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. Set it aside and then tend to the shrimp. Using the same knife and cutting board, cut the shrimp into ¼-inch pieces and set aside.
Now, take out another large pot and add 4 cups of water to it. Once the water starts to boil, add the chicken and stir, cooking it for 45 seconds or until the chicken turns opaque. Remove it from the water and set aside.
Cook the shrimp
Don't put the pot away just yet. Add the shrimp to the boiling water and stir it again. Cook the shrimp for 30 seconds until they also turn opaque. Remove the shrimp from the water and set them aside. Now you can dump out the water, but rinse and wipe the inside of the pot to clean it.
Remove the mushrooms from the water they're soaking in, but save the liquid. Cut off the woody stems and, if needed, thinly slice the mushroom caps.
Cook the veggies
Grab the pot you just rinsed out and place it on the stoveagain. Turn the heat up to medium and add 2 teaspoons of oil. While the oil starts to heat up, throw in the sliced carrots and your shiitake mushrooms. Sauté them for a minute, then add the garlic and give it a good stir. Continue to sauté everything for another minute, then add the baby bok choy stems (the white part) followed by the peas. Cook the mix for another minute.
Add the chicken stock
Now, add in the chicken stock and the liquid you reserved from the mushrooms. Leave any solid bits behind since you just want the broth in the soup. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer.
Once the soup comes to a simmer, add the chicken and shrimp. Cook for a minute, then add the leafy green parts of the baby bok choy. If the temperature drops, bring the soup to a simmer again before you add ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and sesame oil, then stir. Taste the soup and add any additional seasoning, if needed.
Heat the pot and fry the rice
Okay, now add enough oil to a medium cooking pot so it's 1 to 1 ½ inch deep. Be sure you still have 2 inches of space from the top of the oil to the top of the pot since the oil will bubble up. Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches 350 F. Use a cooking thermometer to make sure it hits the right temperature. In the meantime, ladle the soup into serving bowls.
When the oil is ready, fry the dry, toasted rice in the oil until it's crispy (about 30 seconds). You may want to do this in batches to avoid overcooking the rice. Put the crispy rice into the soup straight from the oil and watch it sizzle.
Serve and enjoy this tasty soup
Now, it's time to enjoy the soup. This soup makes a fair amount, so be sure to keep the leftovers. "The soup leftovers are great in the fridge for up to five days and can definitely be frozen," Rapone shares. "However, the rice should be fried and enjoyed right away, as it loses its texture pretty quickly." We hope you enjoyed this as much as we did!
What to serve with sizzling rice soup
Sizzling Rice Soup Recipe
This sizzling rice soup recipe is a simple and healthy weeknight meal.
Ingredients
- 1 (10-ounce) bag frozen cooked rice (or 1 1/2 cups cooked rice)
- ⅛ teaspoon + ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
- ½ cup snow peas or sugar snap peas, thinly sliced
- 3 heads baby bok choy
- ¼ pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- ½ pound small shrimp, chopped into ¼-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons oil + more for frying
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Spread the rice over the parchment paper, and season with ⅛ teaspoon of salt.
- When the oven gets to temperature, bake the rice for 25 minutes, until thawed and dry.
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the shiitake mushrooms, and cover with a lid. Soak for at least 10 minutes.
- While the mushrooms are soaking, prep the other ingredients. Start by mincing the garlic.
- Then, wash the carrot, and thinly slice on a bias.
- Thinly slice the snow peas.
- Next, rinse the baby bok choy. Cut the leafy green parts from the white parts. Chop the leafy greens into 2-inch pieces, and set them aside. Cut the white parts into 2-inch pieces, and set aside (separate from the green parts).
- Thinly slice the chicken into ¼-inch slices. Then, combine the chicken with 2 teaspoons of water, the oyster sauce, and cornstarch. Set aside.
- Chop the shrimp into ¼-inch pieces.
- Boil 4 cups of water in a large pot. Add the chicken, and gently stir the chicken in the water, cooking it for about 45 seconds, until opaque. Remove from the water, and set aside.
- Add the shrimp to the boiling water, stir, and cook for 30 seconds, until opaque. Remove, and set aside. Discard the water, and wipe out the pot.
- Take the mushrooms out of the water, saving the liquid. Cut off the woody stems and, if needed, thinly slice the caps.
- Set the pot over medium heat. Add the oil, then add the carrots and shiitake mushrooms, and sauté for 1 minute. Add the garlic, and stir, sautéing for 1 more minute. Then, add the bok choy stems (the white parts) and the peas, and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken stock and the reserved liquid from soaking the mushrooms (but leave any solid bits behind — you just want the broth in the soup).
- Allow the soup to come to a simmer.
- Add the cooked chicken and shrimp. Cook for 1 minute, then add the leafy green parts from the bok choy.
- Bring the soup to a simmer, and add ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and the sesame oil, and stir. Taste, and add any additional seasoning, if needed.
- Add oil to a medium-sized cooking pot, up to about 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep. (Make sure you still have at least 2 inches of space from the top of the oil to the top of the pot, as the oil will bubble up). Heat over medium heat to 350 F. Use a thermometer to ensure the right temperature for the oil.
- Ladle the soup into serving bowls.
- When ready to serve, fry the dry toasted rice in the 350 F oil until crispy, about 30 seconds. (You will likely need to do this in 3 batches.)
- Put the crispy rice in the soup immediately, straight from oil, and watch it sizzle.
Nutrition
| Calories per Serving | 324 |
| Total Fat | 7.5 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1.4 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.0 g |
| Cholesterol | 99.3 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 39.6 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2.6 g |
| Total Sugars | 6.0 g |
| Sodium | 1,050.3 mg |
| Protein | 24.0 g |
Where did sizzling rice soup originate?
As ingredients like bok choy and oyster sauce may suggest, sizzling rice soup is a Chinese-American dish dish. Its exact origins aren't entirely clear, but it appears to have come from Taiwan as part of the guoba genre. Guoba is that crisp fried rice known as scorched rice. Traditionally, it would have been the bottom layer of rice in the pot or wok which got overcooked from being so close to the fire. Given that it was too hard to eat directly, people found ways to soften it up again. Sizzling rice soup is just one such way this was accomplished.
By soaking the sizzling rice in a watery broth, the texture resoftens a bit while maintaining that golden crisp. The dish has become popular in Chinese American restaurants, but it remains a humble dish all the same.