Pistach-Miso Browned Butter Rice-Cream
Few things can make a pistachio ice cream better.
“What about homemade pistachio paste?”
Mmmmmaybe.
But after peeling blanched pistachios by hand, you start to understand why a jar of pistachio paste costs almost your ENTIRE month’s rent (But if you’re loan approved, just buying that jar of pistachio paste is the easier option— I might be a “make it from scratch” person by nature, but it’s not always necessary)!
But, what you CAN do to level up that pistachio flavour —without breaking the bank— is adding browned butter.
You’ve heard of Miss. BB, (browned butter) you know her well, but this time we are elevating her with an addition of skim milk powder. This adds to the total milk solid count—that we can brown and gain more toasty flavour from— without over-doing it on the fat content. Health is wealth.
Of course, this recipe one is another “rice-cream”. YES I’m still on this kick! Adding short grain glutinous rice to the mix (which acts as a thickening agent and partial stabilizer) for an Elanne take.
Check out my other Rice-Cream recipes:
Thai Mango Sticky Rice-Cream
Filipino Biko Rice-Cream
Double Jasmine & Burnt Honey Rice-Cream
And just because I thought,
How can I make this recipe even more convoluted?
I snuck in some Sweet White Miso paste for a salty, umami layer.
Trust me though, it pairs extremely well.
Let’s make it!
Notes before you start:
I used Short Grain glutinous rice for this recipe (washed and soaked for 20 minutes prior to using) Glutinous rice does not contain gluten.
Yes, this can be made in a Ninja Creami. I used a Cuisinart ICE 21 1.5 Quart Ice Cream Maker
I don’t recommend this as a no-churn recipe! Not enough air is incorporated in the process of making this, and it will freeze solid if un-churned.
This recipe is eggless, but it involves xanthan gum. This is the thickening agent and stabilizer which prevents it from getting too hard once stored in the freezer. Use a precise scale as a little goes a long way! I don’t recommend omitting.
Recipe:
Special Equipment:
Ice Cream Maker
Blender or Immersion blender
Sieve
0.1g Kitchen Scale
Pistach-Miso Browned Butter
Rice-Cream:
20g short grain glutinous rice, washed & soaked
70g unsalted pistachios, deshelled (sub 70g pistachio paste)
50g skim milk powder
40g unsalted butter
250g Heavy Cream
400g 2% Milk
15g white miso paste
60g granulated sugar
60g light brown sugar
0.8g xanthan gum
1g salt
Prepare your ice cream maker by freezing the double insulated freezer bowl for 24 hours. If using a Ninja Creami, skip ahead.
Measure out 20g of short grain glutinous rice and place in a small bowl. Rinse the rice with water until it runs clear. About 5-6 rinses. Add a cup of fresh water to the bowl with the rice. Set it aside and allow the grains to soak for 20 minutes.
Prepare your pistachios by removing from the shells. For a brighter, more vibrant pistachio paste the pistachios should be blanched. See below.
In order to remove the purple/brown skins, we blanche the pistachios:
Place a pot with a few inches of water over medium heat and bring it to a simmer. Add your deshelled pistachios to the water. Blanche for about 90 seconds.
Pour the contents of the pot out into a strainer (placed in the sink!) to catch the pistachios. Run cold water over the pistachios to stop them from “cooking”.
The skins of the pistachios should easily come off now! Remove the skins by hand from each nut. Pat them dry with a paper towel and place them on a baking tray to toast!
Toast the blanched pistachios in the oven or toaster oven at 325 degrees for 5 minutes. Check on them to make sure they don’t get too dark! They should be fragrant.
Allow the pistachios to cool.
Make the browned butter by adding 40g of butter to a small saucepan. Melt the butter over medium low heat.
Sprinkle 50g of skim milk powder over the melted butter mixture. And stir to combine.
Toast/ brown the butter and skim milk powder mixture. Stirring it constantly to make sure it doesn’t burn. It will clump together, but you can break it apart with the back of a spoon or with a rubber spatula.
Add the cooled pistachios to a food processor. Blitz the nuts until they start to form a paste, scrape down the sides of the food processor every so often. This might take a bit of time but don’t give up! After about 8-10 minutes it should have formed a smooth paste.
Add your browned butter mixture to the pistachio paste and pulse to combine. Just enough to get rid of any lumps. Set this paste aside.
Once your glutinous rice has been soaking for at least 20 minutes, we can start making the rice-cream base.
In a bowl add the granulated sugar and xanthan gum. Stir to disperse the xanthan gum— this is to prevent clumping when we add it to the milk.
To a saucepot, add the heavy cream, milk, rice, pistachio paste mixture, miso paste, brown sugar and the granulated sugar/xanthan gum mixture. Whisk to combine.
Bring the mixture to a simmer and then reduce the heat to low. Cook the rice in the milk for about 15 minutes. Stirring frequently, and making sure the milk doesn’t get too hot. Scalding the milk can effect the taste.
After 15 or so minutes, take the pot off the heat and add the salt. Stir to combine.
Let it sit for an additional 10 minutes to make sure the grains of rice are fully cooked/soft before blending. This can be done in a blender or using an immersion blender.
Pour the rice-cream base through a fine sieve and into a bowl. Discard any lumps that remain in the sieve. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap so that it is touching the surface of the custard— this is to prevent a skin from forming when placed in the fridge.
Transfer the bowl to the fridge and let it cool for 4-6 hours before churning.
Once the custard is cold you can churn it with your prepared ice cream basin. I spun mine for 18 minutes, it should be super thick!
Transfer to a container to store in the freezer. Or eat right away.
Once stored in the freezer for a long time—to enjoy again with the same soft texture—leave it out at room temperature for 15 minutes before eating.
Enjoy!!
