Ricki's - Ajijic

[jkgourmet]

We've visited twice now, and I did not post after our first visit because I had such mixed feelings about this restaurant. After two visits, I feel that I can be more fair.

It's small, it's noisy, it's unattractive. The ser.vice is decent, but not particularly friendly. The prices are fine, and I appreciate having a number of small dishes at small prices. (I like tapas for this reason.)

Our first visit included the tempura shrimp appetizer (50 pesos), and a chicken teriyaki dinner, and a chicken and shrimp Thai noodle dish. The tempura was very good - light, not greasy, decent size serving for the price. The dipping sauce for the tempura (tentsuyu?) was a bit watered down, but a dash of soy sauce fixed that. Husband enjoyed his chicken tempura, while I thought the sauce was cloyingly sweet. My noodle dish was, well, not what I was expecting. The "Thai Noodles" were udon noodles - thick Japanese noodles of no resemblance to any noodle I've ever had with Thai food. It wasn't a bad dish - in fact, the chicken was quite moist and the serving was very generous. The rice was perfect (somebody has a Chinese rice cooker in that kitchen). The miso soup was not very flavorful (but neither of us are big miso soup fans).

the stand out was the salad that was included with those dinners. What a surprise! Great fresh greens, terrific salad dressing that seemed like a thinner version of Ranch with a bit of garlic. I'd eat that salad over and over.

So, we decided to go back and try it again. This time we ordered the shumai (potstickers), which were offered fried or steamed. Ordered steamed, and might have been better off if we had ordered them fried. Husband enjoyed them a lot more than I did, as I felt the wrapping was thick and doughy. However, the sauce they came with was very unusual and went well with the potstickers - a vinegar and scallion based sauce. A little soy on the pot sticker, a dip in the sauce, and this was a pretty good dish for 50 pesos (a generous serving of 6 potstickers).

We also split an entree of the shrimp and vegetable tempura. Again, this place knows how to do tempura. Nice selection of vegies (but we did miss the sweet potato), and again really enjoyed that salad and the rice. A good size serving, too.

I'm hoping we get back to try the Udon Noodle soup before we go. Interestingly, that dish is hard to find in Phoenix - but here it is at Lakeside.

[Guest RevImmigrant]

Now about that rice cooker, Jeannette, I don't have a rice cooker now. I had one once and found that you just have to make too much for one person so I gave it to a friend. I make rice on the stove in a pot with a good-fitting lid using the finger method. I learned this from my first Chinese cookbook, "Jim Lee's Chinese Cookbook." You put the rice in the pot, then add water up to the level of the first joint on your finger. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, "no peeking." Then turn the fire off and let it sit for a few minutes before you take the lid off and serve. This makes excellent rice every time. It works for all types of rice, including Basmati and Japanese rice (although with the Japanese rice, you have to wash it several times, then soak it in the water for a half hour before changing the water and cooking it).

It is a little difficult when makiing Mexican fried rice since you have to fry the raw rice before adding the tomatoes and water, so it's hot and you have to be careful not to burn your finger - with this rice, eyeballing the water level works best for me.

[jkgourmet]

Now about that rice cooker, Jeannette, I don't have a rice cooker now. I had one once and found that you just have to make too much for one person so I gave it to a friend. I make rice on the stove in a pot with a good-fitting lid using the finger method. I learned this from my first Chinese cookbook, "Jim Lee's Chinese Cookbook." You put the rice in the pot, then add water up to the level of the first joint on your finger. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, "no peeking." Then turn the fire off and let it sit for a few minutes before you take the lid off and serve. This makes excellent rice every time. It works for all types of rice, including Basmati and Japanese rice (although with the Japanese rice, you have to wash it several times, then soak it in the water for a half hour before changing the water and cooking it).

It is a little difficult when makiing Mexican fried rice since you have to fry the raw rice before adding the tomatoes and water, so it's hot and you have to be careful not to burn your finger - with this rice, eyeballing the water level works best for me.

sounds very much like the way I do it - but I do have the rice cooker which I sometimes use. I just put the extra rice into single serve baggies and freeze it, which works surprisingly well.