Baked seafood rice dish - 焗海鮮飯

焗海鮮飯. It basically consisted of a baked dish that was layered with rice on the bottom, mixed seafood on top of the rice, some creamy white sauce, cheese on top, and baked until bubbly. 

I’ll break the recipe down into three parts, so it’s easier to follow – the rice, the seafood mix, and the white cream sauce. Measurements are approximations, as I eyeballed everything for this.  Please adjust each to taste.

For the rice, you’ll need:

• 2 cups of cooked rice

• 2 tablespoons butter

• ½ of a chopped onion

• 1 egg, beaten (optional)

You can really use anything here. You can go as simple as what I’ve got here, or make a fried rice to your liking. I actually omitted the egg as one of my kids doesn’t like it, but what you’re going for is a simple (or not so simple) fried rice.

Melt the butter over medium-high heat, and sauté the onions. Add in the cooked rice, and season with white pepper, dashi powder, and a bit of chicken Better Than Bouillon. I wanted a very simple, but fragrant, rice base, where the flavors didn’t compete with the layers that would go on top.

For the seafood mix, you’ll need:

• Seafood mix, thawed

• 1 tablespoon rice wine

• 1 teaspoon salt

• Dash of white pepper

Lightly marinate thawed seafood with rice wine, salt, and white pepper. Heat a few tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté for a minute, until fragrant. Add in seafood and cook until almost cooked through (about 4-5 minutes). It can be underdone at this point, as we’ll be baking later on anyway.

For the cream sauce, you’ll need:

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 2 tablespoons flour

• 1 cup milk

• Black pepper

• Garlic salt

• Salt

Melt butter over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle flour over butter and cook until bubbly (about 1-2 minutes). Add in milk, a little bit at a time, mixing well and allowing to thicken with each addition.  Season with salt and/or garlic salt and black pepper.

Assemble your dish in a baking pan.  On the bottom, layer the rice, followed by the seafood mixture, then top with the cream sauce.  Lastly, sprinkle some shredded cheese on the top, and bake for about 15-20 minutes at 350, until bubbly and hot. You may need to broil for the last minute or two to let the cheese brown.

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