Shrimp & Spinach Curry flavored Creamy Rice Gratin

Rice gratin is something quite popular in Japan. You can find all different kind of rice gratin. You just need to layer rice, sauce and cheese and heat them in the oven. My favorite kind is eggplant and tomato rice gratin but this time I made shrimp and spinach curry flavored rice gratin with creamy béchamel sauce.

Here is the recipe

Shrimp & Spinach Curry Flavored Rice Gratin with Creamy Sauce (2~3 people)
Ingredients
Cooked Shrimp     about 15
Spinach                 about 3 cups
Onion                    medium 2
Garlic                    2 cloves
Cooked Rice         about 1 1/2 cup
Vegetable Oil       2 table spoons
Butter                   3 table spoons
Flour                    2 table spoons
Milk                     about 2 cups
Curry Powder      2 table spoons
salt & pepper       for taste
Japanese bread crumbs  3 table spoons
Shredded cheddar cheese 1 cup

1, First, slice onions and chop garlic. If spinach leaves are too big, chop them into bite size pieces.

2, Add vegetable oil into a frying pan and saute onion and garlic.

3, Add spinach and saute.

4, Add cooked shrimp and sprinkle salt and pepper.

5, Add cooked rice and saute.

6, Add curry powder and mix well until everything is well combined. Then turn the heat off.

7, Meanwhile, make béchamel sauce. In a small sauce pan, melt butter.

8, Add flour and mix well.

9,  Add milk gradually and continue to mix with whisk. Keep whisking and adding milk until your desired consistency. Turn the heat off.

10, Transfer rice from the pan into oven dish.

11, Pour béchamel sauce on top.

12, Sprinkle cheese and bread crumbs on top.

13, In 400F (about 200C) oven, bake it for 20mins. I tried to brown the top with broiler at the end and burnt mine....

14, Serve while it is hot!

The curry flavored rice and creamy béchamel sauce was a perfect combination. If you don't like shrimp, you can also use chicken for this. I love rice gratin.

It is also great with meat sauce. Maybe I will make it with meat sauce next time. But first, I need to make my special bolognese sauce in order to make rice gratin with meat sauce!