Weird Rice Pudding Question

[ChrisLehrer]

Some years ago, my wife and I ate at the Ritz in Montreal, and we had "fruit sushi" for dessert. Basically they served beautiful slices of fruit on nigiri-cakes of firm rice pudding, including one "maki" that was a cylinder of rice pudding, topped with a sort of jam custard, and wrapped in a thin nori-like jacket of chocolate. Lovely!

Now I've tried to recreate that, with some success here and there. But the rice pudding defeats me. I just can't seem to get it to have the right kind of sushi-rice-like semi-firm density. Either it falls to bits or it's dense as lead, or occasionally both. I am convinced that they found some way to steam the stuff in an automatic steamer, but I could be wrong.

Any suggestions?

[DrNaka]

I don't know what a rice pudding is.
But I know that in most cases when you make sweets you use not the normal rice.
You use the rice for mochi (mochigome).
wiki is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutinous_rice

[ChrisBelgium]

....Now I've tried to recreate that, with some success here and there. But the rice pudding defeats me. I just can't seem to get it to have the right kind of sushi-rice-like semi-firm density. Either it falls to bits or it's dense as lead, or occasionally both. ..
Any suggestions?

I would cook the rice in milk with added sugar; any ricepudding recipe will do.
Then, cook a small amount of cream, flavor as you wish (lemon or orange zeste, kaffirleaves etc) and while boiling add the tiniest amount of agar-agar. You will have to experiment some to get the amount right.
Mix with ricepudding, let set untill "moldable" in fridge. Roll in plasticfoil using sushimat into sausageform and go from there?

[Fred]

Dr Naka is right. Be sure to use short grain rice. Arborio works just fine. So does Thai sticky rice. My favorite is a Latin American dish called arroz con leche (rice with milk.) Cook up some short grain rice, add milk, sugar and cinnamon sticks and cook until creamy. Very simple and very good.

[ChrisLehrer]

Okay, thanks guys! When I eventually get my act together and do this, I'll let you know. With luck, some photos too.

[ChrisBelgium]

So far for the easy part. The chocolate is something else to get it nice and glossy around it. Not tempering or just a few degrees off and the chocolate will look mat and unappetizing.

Maybe shoot an email to Dominique Persoone, Belgian chocolate wizzard pur sang. He's always in for a challenge. He's also the one that produced a cocoa sniff device for Ron Woods (Rolling Stones) birthday party...
Take a look, also in english; http://www.dominiquepersoone.be/