Cinnamon almond rice milk

This is what would result if horchata, the popular Mexican beverage, and Chinese almond milk had a baby.

Cinnamon almond rice milk. Credit: Murdoch Books / Sam Folan

• serves

  4-6

• prep

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Chinese almonds are not the same as regular almonds - they are in fact apricot kernels, with a completely different smell and taste to regular almonds. They taste and smell like amaretti or almond extract, which are in fact made with – you guessed it – Chinese almonds! I love horchata, so I have combined the flavours of the two, with rice as the base.

Ingredients

• 200 g (7 oz) jasmine, basmati or long-grain rice
• 7.5 cm (3 inch) cinnamon stick
• 600 ml (21 fl oz) boiling water
• 250 ml (9fl oz) condensed milk
• 250 ml (9fl oz) evaporated milk
• 200 ml (7fl oz) coconut milk
• 1½ tsp almond extract
• 3 tsp honey, or more to taste

Soaking time: overnight.

Instructions

1. Cover the rice and the cinnamon stick with the boiling water and leave to soak overnight.
2. The next day, pour everything, including the cinnamon, into a blender and blend on high speed for 3 minutes. (This recipe needs a blender, which will blend better and finer, not a food processor.)
3. Add the condensed, evaporated and coconut milks and blend again for a couple of minutes. Blend it as smooth as you can.
4. Add the almond extract and honey, and blend again to mix.
5. Place a fine sieve over a mixing bowl and line it with muslin (cheesecloth). Strain the mixture into the bowl and let it stand for 5 minutes. Any residue will sink to the bottom.
6. Wash the muslin and sieve, then repeat the process one more time over another mixing bowl, but avoid pouring in any residue at the bottom of the first bowl. (If you have a nut bag, you can use that to strain out the bits instead.)
7. Keep the milk in the refrigerator. You can enjoy it hot or cold.

Note

When I was young, my parents would take us to a late-night joint that sold hot almond milk made with Chinese almonds. Into this hot, creamy milk we would dunk crispy, fried dough. I wasn't a fan then, but how I miss it now. Try this with these doughnuts.

This is an edited extract from Rice by Ping Coombes, photography by Sam Folan. (Murdoch Books RRP $49.99.)

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.