Three (Reasonably Easy) Ways to Flavor Rice | Chinese Cooking Demystified

Flavored Rice! While there's obviously plenty of different ways people flavored rice throughout China, today we wanted to zoom in on the flavored rices from the western coastal stretch of Guangdong.

0:00 - The flavored rices of coastal Guangdong
1:25 - Flavor rice with a stir fry: Toishanese Youfan
4:47 - Flavor rice with oil: Schmaltz & Taro Rice
6:24 - Flavor rice with herbs: Betel Leaf Rice
8:05 - How 'flavorful' are these rices?

TOISHANESE YOUFAN:

* Dried ingredients: 1 dried shiitake mushroom (冬菇) and 15 small dried shrimp (虾米) soaked in 1 cup hot, boiled water

* Pork loin (瘦肉), 120g. Cut into a thick dice.

* Marinade for the pork: 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp cornstarch (生粉), 1/4 tsp soy sauce (生抽), 1/2 tsp liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1/8 tsp white pepper powder, 1 tsp oil

* 1/2 jicama (沙葛), ~250g, cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Or ideally kohlrabi (芥菜头)

* 1.5 sausages Lap Cheong (粤式腊肠), minced

* 3 cloves garlic, minced.

* Jasmine Rice, 230g/270mL (or 1.5 little plastic cup's worth if you have a Zojirushi)

* To season the stir fry: 1 tbsp soy sauce (生抽), 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce (老抽), 1 tbsp oyster sauce (蚝油), 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, ~1/16 tsp MSG (味精)

* Season the final rice to taste, we used another 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp sugar

* Scallions, 50g. Sliced.

NOTE ON TRADITIONAL TOISHAN YOUFAN: Traditionally, this uses a mix of long grain sticky rice and jasmine (er... actually 粘米, or 'Champa rice', which is quite similar to Jasmine). If you own a Zojirushi rice cooker you can actually use this mix straight up - two parts Jasmine, one part long grain sticky rice. The longer cooking time of the Zoji will cook the sticky rice just fine. If you don't have a fancy rice cooker, soak the sticky rice with hot, boiled water 30 minutes before cooking, strain, then add to the rice cooker with the Jasmine.

Process:

First soak your dried mushrooms and shrimp - at least 30 minutes, but 60 would be great if you can swing it. Dice and marinate your pork. Cut the jicama/kohlrabi into cubes. Mince the lap cheong and the garlic. Once the dried stuff is reconstituted, remove from the water (squeeze the water from the mushroom) and dice the mushroom. Strain the liquid.

Rinse your rice. Add to your rice cooker along with the strained soaking liquid and water to get to the requisite line.

Stir fry: as always, first longyau: wok piping hot, shut off the heat, add in the oil - here 2 tbsp lard - and give it a swirl. Medium-low flame, add the lap cheong and fry for ~2 minutes, or until the lap cheong begin to lightly brown. Heat off, remove. Up the flame to high, heat the oil til it's bubbling around a pair of chopsticks (~30 seconds), then add the pork. Fry until cooked, ~1 minute, add the mushroom/shrimp. Quick mix. Add the jicama. Fry for ~1 minute. Swirl in the soy sauce, quick mix. Swap flame to low. Add back the sausage, add in the seasoning. Remove.

Once the rice is steaming in your rice cooker (~15 minutes from the end of cooking), top the rice with the stir fry.

Once the rice is finished, remove and add back to your wok. Add the scallion, mix thoroughly. Season to taste.

SCHMALTZ & TARO RICE


* Taro (芋头), 250g. Cut into half inch cubes.

* 230g/270mL Jasmine rice

* 3 tbsp schmaltz (鸡油)

* Seasoning for the rice: ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp chicken bouillon powder (鸡粉)

* Scallion and cilantro, one small spring each. Minced.

* White pepper powder, 1/8 tsp.

Process:

Note that you will need to render this yourself unless you happen to live somewhere that sells schmaltz (e.g. a Jewish grocer). In China I can go to the chicken vendor and purchase excess fat to render. Many people in the west render theirs with leftover skin and fat; you can also skim stock to get some.

Cut the taro into half inch cubes. Rinse your rice.

Add the rice to the rice cooker along with the schmaltz, salt, and chicken powder. Mix well. Add water to get to the requisite line. Cook.

Shallow fry the taro. ~1/4 cup of oil (may need more or less depending on your vessel), fry the taro over a medium flame for ~10 minutes, or until it begins to harden & turn ever so lightly golden brown. Strain, transfer to paper towel lined plate.

Once the rice is starting to steam (or ~15 minutes from the end of cooking), top it with the taro and continue to cook. Mince your scallion and cilantro.

Once finished, mix in the herbs and the white pepper.

BETEL LEAF RICE

* Wild Betel leaf (假蒟), 80g. NOTE: NOT BETEL! SEE PINNED NOTES. Stem removed, rinsed, finely chopped.

* Garlic, 3 cloves. Minced.

* Jasmine rice, 230g/270mL

* Salt, ½ tsp

* White pepper powder, ¼ tsp

Process: Medium-high flame. Fry the garlic in ~1 tbsp oil (preferably lard). Once fragrant, add the leaves and cook for ~3 minutes until wilted. Add the rice and fry for 1 minute. Add to rice cooker with salt & water. Season with pepper at the end.

Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ
Found via My Analog Journal (great channel): https://youtu.be/GHaL5H-VYRg