Zaw is what a Bhutanese house offers you before anything else. A bowl of it goes to guests, to travellers coming off the road, and to anyone who turns up, and families keep a store of it for exactly that reason. It is made from Bhutan’s heirloom red rice, grown in terraced fields high in the Paro, Punakha and Wangdue valleys and semi-milled so it keeps its ruddy colour and its nutty edge. The rice is soaked overnight, dried, then dry-roasted in a hot pan until the grains puff and go crisp, which began as a way of making rice keep and carry on long journeys. The usual way to eat it is to tip a scoop into a cup of butter tea, where it floats on the surface like the foam on a cappuccino and stays crunchy while you drink underneath it. A little butter and sugar stirred through turns it into something closer to a sweet.
INGREDIENTS
- 300 g Bhutanese red rice (or short grain brown rice)
- cold water (for soaking)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- butter and sugar (to serve (optional))
METHOD
- Put the rice in a large bowl, cover generously with cold water and leave to soak overnight or for at least 8 hours.
- Drain through a sieve, then spread the rice out on a clean cloth or tea towel and leave for an hour, until the surface of the grains is dry to the touch.
- Toss the dried rice with the oil and the salt so every grain is lightly coated.
- Heat a heavy dry pan over a medium to high heat until it is properly hot.
- Add a single layer of rice, no more than a handful or two, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon.
- After 4 to 6 minutes the grains will start to crack, puff and turn a shade darker. Keep them moving until they are crisp and golden, then tip them out onto a tray.
- Repeat with the rest of the rice in batches, letting the pan come back to heat between each.
- Cool completely and store airtight. Serve in a bowl with tea, or tipped by the scoop onto butter tea, or stirred with a little butter and sugar.