Trip to Chinatown 1

Look at what I found at Yuen’s Market in Brisbane --- Gulong brand Pork Leg with Mushrooms! This nifty, nitrate-laden little package has yummy chunks of real pork hock (with bits of bone, too), along with chewy skin, mushrooms, and stewed chestnuts!

What I failed to appreciate about it when I was little was the fact that I’d have to cook for myself one day. And this day comes. Gulong Pork Leg makes an incredibly easy and fast Kiam Peng. ( I think it translates to ‘Salty Rice’ in my fookien dialect.) This dish brings to mind images of suffering women toiling slavishly over steaming pots and never fails to impress kids who grew up in their mothers’ Chinese kitchens.

If you do not have access to canned pork leg, you can use the real thing for this dish… just that the entire process would take longer.



Kiam Peng

Aromatics:
½ pc. Onion, roughly chopped
1 Tablespoon Garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Ginger, grated finely
1 T Oil

Condiments:
2 T Soy Sauce
1 t Chinese Five Spice Powder
2 T Cooking Wine

Components:
¼ cup Dried Shrimp
1 ½ pcs. Chinese Sausage (Lup Chung), cut into 1/8 inch diagonal slices
1/3 cup Dried Sliced Black Mushrooms
1 can Gulong Pork Leg with Mushrooms
1 ½ cups Sticky / Glutinous / Sweet Rice, soaked overnight in cool water and drained

Accompaniments:
Coriander, roughly chopped
Fried shallots
Hot sauce (I prefer the Sriracha brand; the original version of which has a green cap)

In a pot, saute the aromatics in the hot oil. Add the drained rice and the condiments. Stir fry over medium heat until all the rice grains have been coated in oil. Add all the other ingredients and 2 more cups of water. Stir well. Cover and simmer over a very low fire until rice is cooked through. This would take about 20 minutes. Stir the rice once in a while, just so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. After all the water has been absorbed, take the pot off the heat and let it sit, covered, for 10 minutes. Garnish with coriander and fried shallots and serve with hot sauce on the side.