Passport & Plate - Kiampung
China | Thursday, March 13, 2014 | 5 photos
Recipe is good for 30*
12 cups (rice measuring cup) of rice; ratio of 60:40 Japanese Rice : Sticky Rice
¼ kg pork belly with a lot of fat (for lard and chicharon)
¼ kg pork belly, slice into 1” thick strips
¼ kg chicken wings
¼ kg dried shitake mushrooms
100 g dried scallops
¼ kg dried shrimp
¼ kg dried squid
3 petals of star anise
2 kg raddish
¼ kg small onions
100 g stir fried peanuts with skin
A few slices of ginger
16 tbsp soy sauce
Water
Salt, sugar, MSG to taste
Coriander or chopped spring onions for garnish
Preparations:
• Slice the ¼ kg of pork belly into 3/4” cubes, put water enough to cover the pork and boil with ginger. DO NOT COVER WITH LID. This is to render the fat out and make chicharon.
• Boil the other ¼ kg of 1” pork belly strips until almost cooked, set aside to cool. Boil the dried squid with the liquid to impart flavor, save broth.
• Put the ¼ kg of rinsed dried shitake mushrooms into a big bowl and soak until soft. Save remaining liquid.
• Rinse the 100 grams of dried scallops, soak in hot water. Do the same with the ¼ kg dried shrimp and squid. Save remaining liquid.
Slicing:
• Thinly slice the cooked pork belly into 1mm strips
• Chop the wings into 3 segments
• Use fingers to separate scallop fibers
• Thinly slice reconstituted shitake mushrooms and squid into 1mm strips
• Cut the radishes into batonnet sizes, short French fries size
• Thinly slice evenly small onions into paper thin slices; this is important because you need them to brown all the same time
Cooking:
• When the pork belly has finally rendered fat, you will notice the 3/4” cubed pork has now shrunk into crispy ¼” pieces. Strain and set aside. Then on the same wok, slightly heat it, and then put in the perfectly sliced small onions into the oil while continuously stirring. When the onion turns slightly light brown, remove from the heat and place wok on the floor (cold surface like cement or marble) and continuously stir until it turns golden brown, then strain. Keep the lard for future use.
• On a very big wok, Sautee in the pork, chicken, scallops, mushrooms, raddish, dried shrimp and squid, and rice with the pork fat; Add 16 tablespoons of soy sauce, pinch of sugar, salt and MSG to taste. Set this aside to cool by the fan.
• Put this mixture into the rice cooker then put in 14 cups of liquid (broth from boiled pork, dried scallops, mushrooms, shrimp and squid). Throw in the 3 petals of star anise. Finally, press start and wait for the rice to cook.
• Scoop the rice onto a bowl, sprinkle some chicharon and peanuts then garnish with coriander or chopped spring onions.
My earliest memories of Chinatown in Manila, the oldest Chinatown in the world, were days spent walking the streets with my father and buying dried shrimps, scallops, mushrooms and squids for his Kiampung. The day usually ends with a visit to the Buddhist temple where the smell of incense and jasmine mask the smell of the market, and the solemn chants seemingly blend in chorus with the hypnotic click-clacking of horse-drawn carriages.
Kiampung, or literally salty rice, is a traditional Chinese rice dish that can be found in most Chinatowns. The recipe was passed on to me and my sisters by my father, which is a chronicle of his struggles and successes from revolutionary China, to industrial Hong Kong, and finally to the promise of new life in the Philippines. I was told that the ingredients of our family’s Kiampung have evolved several times, reflecting our trials and triumphs. From simple salty rice with either chicken OR pork, our Kiampung is now mixed with both chicken and pork, with scallops to boot!
After years of watching him cook, my sisters and I decided to take on the challenge and asked our father to teach us how to cook Kiampung. On that day, after being absent in the kitchen for several years, I saw the excitement in his eyes as he dictated to us the recipe; he proudly supervised us in the kitchen telling us how big the fire should be, how often we should stir, and how much of the ingredients we have to put in. He was happy to impart the tradition to us.
My Kiampung is usually good for at least 30 bowls which we share with our families and friends. It has become both a reminder of my family's heritage and a force that brings people together. The effort and time to make this sumptuous salty rice is always worth it whenever someone asks for second's.
