Pumpkin Rice

I remember cooking this one pot savory rice way back in 2014 after I was discharged from the hospital. It's one of my favorite dishes as it is not only easy to cook but really so delicious it makes for a very satisfying meal.

The meat can be marinated a day ahead together with all the sauces that you need to flavor the rice. That way you don't need to measure out the sauces when you are cooking. 

Want a tip on how to peel the pumpkin? I used to sweat it out trying to peel using a knife and pumpkin is so hard. Now what I do is cut the pumpkin onto wedges and then use a vegetable peeler to peel off the skin. So easy.

Besides pumpkin and rice, I added Chinese sausages (lap cheong), sliced shitake mushrooms and pork loin (chicken would be great too). 

This pumpkin rice can be cooked in a big batch and then frozen in individual portions. That way, I can enjoy this rice anytime I want. Just thaw overnight in the fridge or steam straight from the freezer.

Pumpkin Rice

Recipe source : Phong Hong

Ingredients :

- 3 cups basmati rice, rinsed and soaked for 20 minutes and then drained

- 5 cups water

- 300g pork loin cut into small cubes

- 4 tbsp light soya sauce

- 2 tbsp dark soya sauce

- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced

- 1 tsp pepper

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 8 shitake mushrooms, soaked to soften and then thinly slice

- 2 wedges on a small pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes

- 2 lap cheong, casing removed and thinly sliced

Method :

1. Marinate the pork with light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, garlic and pepper for an hour or overnight. The amount of sauce may seem too much but it is also meant to flavor the rice, so relax.

2. Heat oil in wok and fry the sliced lap cheong till lightly browned. Remove from wok.
3. In the same oil, saute the 2 cloves of minced garlic until fragrant.
4. Add marinated meat together with the sauces.

5. Stir fry till meat in partially cooked. Add the sliced mushroom and stir fry some more.

6. Add rice and stir to mix everything together.
7. Add pumpkin cubes and the fried lap cheong, mix and then turn off the flame.
8. Transfer everything to rice cooker and add water.
9. Cook as how you would normally cook rice. So easy!