Tuesday, December 31, 2013

cabbage rice

One-pot meals are life savers for homecooks like myself. So many days I would wake up and wonder what to cook for dinner. On days like these, I would always turn to meals that I can cook in one pot and the bonus would be if I could make it in advance and leave it to keep warm in the rice cooker.
Cabbage rice is one of the dishes that everyone at home simply loves. Yep, even the LAM likes it.

My cabbage rice recipe is pretty standard. It really is my Mom's recipe. I use the ingredients that my mom uses, and I have not made any changes to it. Why fix something that doesn't need fixing right?

I sliced Chinese sausages (buy the good ones), rehydrated Shitake mushrooms (reserve the soaking liquid) and lean pork (which I seasoned with light soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper and corn starch). These were set aside. I also soaked some dried prawns in hot water to soften them.
I cut one Beijing cabbage into wedges. These were then washed, drained and set aside.
In a heated wok, I added some vegetable oil. I sauteed the minced garlic for about 30 seconds, then added the drained dried prawns. I stir-fried this for another minute or so, and added the pork.
When the pork had turned white, I added the Chinese sausage, mushrooms and rice. I stirred to mix.
I added light and dark soy sauce, as well as white pepper.
The rice was then transferred into the bowl of a rice cooker.
 I added the mushroom water, and topped up the difference with plain water.
Then I placed the cabbage on the rice and cooked.
When the rice was about 3/4 cooked, I used a wooden spoon to stir and mix the rice and the cabbage (which would have wilted by now).
The cabbage would release some water as it cooked, so at the end of the cooking process, check the doneness of the rice. If you prefer softer rice, add a tiny little bit of water and cook some more. Do not add too much water at once unless you like mushy rice.
This is definitely one of my go-tos from my list of "Fabulous Home-cooked Food".

RECIPE
Cabbage Rice (Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:
3 cups rice, long-grained, washed and drained
300g lean pork, seasoned with 1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, a dash of white pepper and 1/2 teaspoon corn starch)
1 Beijing cabbage, cut into wedges
2 Chinese sausages, thinly sliced
6 pieces dried Shitake mushroom, rehydrated and reserve liquid, and thinly sliced
50g dried prawns, soaked in hot water and drained
3 cups water (or water + liquid from soaking mushroom)
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoon minced garlic

Method:
1. Heat oil in wok, saute garlic for 30 seconds. Add dried cook, stir-fry for 1 minute.
2. Add pork and cook until the meat turns white. Add Chinese sausage, mushrooms and rice.
3. Add light and dark soy as well as pepper. Stir to mix. Transfer to bowl of rice cooker.
4. Add mushroom water (and water if insufficient). Place cabbage on rice. Cook.
5. When rice has been cooked for 3/4 of the cooking time, stir the cabbage into the rice mixture.
6. Garnish with chopped chives or spring onion and serve hot.



1 comment:

  1. Diana....this looks scrumptious! And a meal that can happen in one pot or pan is perfect for me! Happy New Year and I hope you have a wonderful year to come! : )

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