Zhu Tong Fan Taiwanese Bamboo Rice Recipes

TSAO MI FUN (TAIWANESE FRIED RICE NOODLES)

Steps:

• Place the pork into a mixing bowl and pour in the soy sauce and rice wine. Sprinkle with the white pepper, five-spice powder, and cornstarch. Mix well, then set aside to marinate. Soak the mushrooms in a bowl of cold water for 20 minutes, then pour off the water, cut off and discard the stems of the mushrooms. Slice the mushrooms thinly and reserve. Soak the rice vermicelli in a separate bowl of cold water for 10 minutes, then pour off the water and set the noodles aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Pour in the eggs, and cook until firm, flipping once, to make a pancake. Remove the egg pancake, and allow to cool, then thinly slice and place into a large bowl. Heat 2 more tablespoons of the vegetable oil in the wok over high heat. Stir in the garlic and dried shrimp, and cook until the shrimp become aromatic, about 20 seconds. Next, add the pork along with the marinade, and cook until the pork is no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Stir in the carrots and onion, and cook until the carrots begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Finally, add the bean sprouts, napa cabbage, and sliced mushrooms; cook and stir until the vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes more. Scrape the pork mixture into the bowl along with the eggs, then wipe out the wok and return it to the stove over medium-high heat.
• Heat the remaining vegetable oil in the wok, then stir in the drained rice vermicelli noodles. Cook and stir for a few minutes until the noodles soften, then stir in the reserved pork mixture. Scrape the mixture in to a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro to serve.

ZHU TONG FAN (TAIWANESE BAMBOO RICE)

Steps:

• Wash the rice thoroughly and drain. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, place the dried mushrooms and shrimp. Pour boiling hot water over the items until covered. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, drain and then chop into fine pieces.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
• In a hot wok or hot frying pan, stir-fry the pork in the vegetable oil until brown and fully cooked (5-10 minutes). Drain excess oil then add the chopped mushrooms, shrimp, soy sauce and shallots.
• Mix well and then divide the mixture between 8 large greased ramekins or pudding bowls. Press down on mixture in each bowl with a spoon.
• Add rice to greased ramekins until each one is 2/3 full. Use the spoon to press mixture down firmly. Keep adding rice until mixture is at the 2/3 full level.
• Add enough boiling water to each ramekin until level of water is 1/2 inch above level of the rice.
• Place the ramekins in a baking pan with sides and fill baking pan with boiling water to about 2 inches. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and place into preheated oven.
• Cook for 30-40 minutes. Turn off oven and allow baking pan to sit in oven for an additional 10 minutes.
• Remove foil and carefully plate each ramekin by turning the rice out onto a plate or you could just serve the ramekin on a plate. Top with a little sweet chili sauce and some cilantro leaves.

STICKY RICE WRAPPED IN BAMBOO LEAVES (JOONG OR ZHONGZI)

Steps:

• Start the day before you want to make the dumplings!
• Soak rice, mung beans and bamboo leaves in separate containers overnight. Place a bowl or plate over the bamboo leaves to keep them submerged.
• Combine 2 tsp salt, black pepper, 1 clove garlic, rice wine, water, rock sugar, cinnamon, white pepper, cloves, coriander, fennel, fenugreek and 2 tbsp canola oil in bowl. Stir in cubed pork, cover and refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, drain rice and set aside.
• In a wok, heat remaining canola oil and stirfry remaining garlic, carrot, onion and ginger until slightly softened. Add chicken broth, 1 tsp salt, and fish sauce and stir well. Strain any excess marinade from pork and add to wok, (return Pork to fridge) and heat until bubbling. Add drained rice and stir frequently until liquid is absorbed. Let sit until cool enough to handle.
• Meanwhile, transfer bamboo leaves to large pot of boiling water and simmer 30 minutes to soften and sterilize. (Vinegar can be added here to soften them further.) Wipe each leaf with a sponge or scrubbing pad under cool running water to remove any remaining soil. You can trim off the stems with scissors.
• Drain mung beans and add white sugar and remaining 1/4 tsp salt.
• Prepare 25 or so 4' lengths of string. I tied groups of 5 together at one end, with a loop to hang from a hook on my cabinet. Then as I tie up my dumplings, they are hanging from the string and I can put them in and take them out of pots in groups of 5.
• Lay out your wrapping materials: softened bamboo leaves, rice mixture, mung beans and pork. You may want to keep the bowl of marinated pork in a larger bowl full of ice to keep it cold while you wrap.
• Take 2 bamboo leaves, overlapping along their long sides about half-way, and form a cone (see videos). Pat in about 2 tbsp rice mixture, then 1/2 tbsp mung beans, then 2 or 3 pieces of pork, another 1/2 - 1 tbsp mung beans, then cover with another 2 or 3 tbsp of rice mixture. You may need to add a third bamboo leaf to extend the cone.
• Use the ends of the leaves to firmly compress the cone of ingredients, and roughly shape the open end into a square or rectangle. Closing the bamboo leaf is tricky. I held the cone with the leaf ends pointing away from me. I folded the near edge towards the middle, folded the ends towards me over that, and carefully folded each side towards the middle, ensuring that the corners were covered. I always oriented my leaves the same way, so one side was leaf ends and the other was stem ends. I aimed to get the leaf ends under the stem ends. Then wind string around it until it seems secure. Keep wrapping dumplings until the filling is all gone. As I said, the first one took about 20 minutes, and several tries before it looked like it would hold together. The first 5 or so were quite ugly! But then I got the hang of it.
• Heat a large pot or wok of salted water to boil. Place a few extra or ripped bamboo leaves in first, then some dumplings, then some more leaves. The water should just about cover the dumplings. I did 10 at a time in my wok and large pot. Bring back to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a good bubbling simmer for 2 hours, adding water about half-way through. They should be puffed slightly and feel firm but squishy when you squeeze them. Drain and rinse off with cool water.
• Allow to cool or eat some hot right away. Remainder will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days, and they freeze well (up to 6 months in a good freezer, well-wrapped).