Served on top of the tangy avocado cream, these crispy Chipotle rice balls make an impressive starter when you've got friends coming over. We won’t lie, they’re slightly fiddly at first, but once you get the hang of moulding them into shape, you’ll race through a batch in no time. Trust us, they’re deceptively easy once you know how.
Ingredients (makes 6 large (or 8 small) rice balls):
- 1 Nice Rice Chipotle rice pouch
- 100g finely grated cheddar cheese
- 1 egg (beaten)
- 100g plain flour
- 100g breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil (for deep frying)
- 1 avocado
- 4 tbsp sour cream
- Zest and juice of half a lime
- 1 garlic clove
- Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
- Sprinkle of flaked sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tbsp cold water
- Half a small green chilli (thinly sliced)
- Small handful of coriander
Instructions:
1. Squeeze your Chipotle rice pouch to separate the grains and tip straight into a large bowl. Add the finely grated cheddar and a tablespoon of flour, then mix well to combine. Cover and place in the fridge to firm up for 15 minutes (ideally up to an hour, if you have time to prep ahead).
2. While the rice mixture is chilling, add the avocado, sour cream, lime zest and juice, garlic clove, drizzle of olive oil, cold water, salt and pepper to a blender and blitz until smooth. You may need to add a little extra water if the mixture is too thick.
3. Place the flour, lightly beaten egg and breadcrumbs into three separate shallow bowls. Once the rice mix is chilled, take a heaped spoonful of mixture and roll in your hands, squeezing lightly in order to form a small ball.
4. Use one hand to drop the rice ball into the flour to coat, then with your other hand place the floured ball into the egg. Coat fully with the beaten egg, then use your ‘dry’ hand to roll it around in the breadcrumbs, coating entirely. Repeat this process until you’ve used the entire rice mixture - you should end up with between 6-8 rice balls.
5. In a deep wok or frying pan, heat oil to 350°F (180˚C).
6. Add well-coated rice balls to the hot oil and fry for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown all over.
7. Place fried rice balls on a plate lined with a paper towel to drain.
8. Serve warm with avocado dipping sauce. Top with coriander, chopped green chilli and feta cheese, if you like!