Forbidden Rice

And an unforgettable evening.

The Branning family loves to gather at Isle of Palms every summer. This slender barrier island is known for gorgeous expanses of white sandy beaches less than 20 minutes from Charleston. It’s the perfect getaway.

This year the group invited Chef Adrian Martin from the show “Below Deck” to help celebrate a very special birthday.

Of course, I had no idea what he was cooking to go under the tilefish that evening.

He told me it was “forbidden rice” that is named for the fact that only the ancient Chinese royalty were allowed to eat it. I was a little skeptical at first but when he said it was an antioxidant powerhouse, offering up to six times the amount of antioxidants found in brown rice, he got my attention.

“Black rice has been slow to cross over to places outside of Asia, but we are finally starting to understand its benefits as a healthy, appetizing, and beautiful food,” said Adrian.

It’s been part of the Asian diet for thousands of years. You can boil, fry, steam or even pressure cook black rice, though it generally takes longer to cook than other types of rice and has a nutty flavor. Once I learned a little about it, I started thinking it looked very glamorous on the plate.

Forbidden rice has four times as much protein as a similar serving a brown rice.

Below is thinly sliced swordfish which he served as a first course.

And the grand finale for dessert was served with a waffle of white chocolate.

Delicious!