Taro Yam Rice Chinese Style (Rice Cooker Version) | BIG Bites MY

Taro Yam Rice Chinese Style (Rice Cooker Version)
This is a tasty but easy meal to make. Preparing the ingredients may take some time but when that is done, just chuck everything into the rice cooker and hit the cook button. Prep time takes about 30 minutes and cooking time is about 20 minutes, so that's really SO EASY LAH! The recipe shown here feeds two to three, just double up accordingly if you are cooking for more. This goes very well with some quick stir-fried vegetables or a bowl of soup.

Watch video for step-by-step method of preparation
CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serving: 2 - 3 (increase portions accordingly if you are cooking for more)

Ingredients:

• Chicken
• 1 boneless chicken thigh
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper powder
• 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon corn flour
  
  
• 1 small yam / taro
• 1 Lup Cheong (Chinese sausage)
• 2 tablespoons dried shrimps (rinsed and drained)
• 3 dried Shiitake mushrooms
• 1 cup rice (rinsed and drained)
• 1 + 1/3 cups (330ml) water
• 1/2 cup (125ml) groundnut oil
• 3 shallots
• 1 tablespoon Shao Xing wine
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce

Method:

1. Shiitake Mushrooms:
• Rinse the Shiitake mushrooms a few times to remove dirt and impurities
• Drain and rehydrate mushrooms with 2 and 1/4 cups (560ml) water
• Set aside for an hour or so for mushrooms to rehydrate
• After mushrooms are rehydrated, remove the stems and dice mushrooms
• Strain the liquid from soaking the mushrooms and set aside for later
2. Chicken:
• Cut chicken thigh into bite-sized pieces (about 1.5 cm cubes)
• Add soy sauce, oyster sauce and white pepper to diced chicken. Stir to combine. 
• Add corn flour and stir to coat. Set aside to marinate
3. Lup Cheong (Chinese sausage)
• Remove the skin if you can
• Dice the Lup Cheong. I cut it into half lengthwise and then slice it into half moon discs.
4. Taro / Yam:
• Peel and cut into bite-sized pieces (about 1.5 cm cubes)
5. Dried Shrimps:
• Rinse and drain the dried shrimps. Rough chop and set aside.
6. Crispy Golden Deep Fried Shallots:
• Peel and slice shallots thinly
• Pour cold oil (room temperature oil) into a pan. Add sliced shallots and deep fry over MEDIUM LOW heat, stir occasionally. 
• When the shallots turn golden brown, remove from heat. Strain and set aside.
7. Heat up 1 tablespoon (15ml) of shallot infused oil (from frying the shallots earlier)
8. Add garlic and stir-fry until aromatic over MEDIUM LOW heat
9. Add the chopped dried shrimps and stir-fry until fragrant
10. Add Lup Cheong (Chinese sausage) and stir-fry until aromatic
11. Add diced Shiitake mushrooms and stir-fry until fragrant
12. Add chicken. Toss to combine.
13. Add Shao Xing wine, oyster sauce, soy sauce, white pepper powder and dark soy sauce
14. Add taro / yam cubes
15. Add rice (rinsed and drained). Stir to combine.
16. When all the ingredients are all well-mixed together, transfer the rice mixture into a rice cooker
17. Pour in 1 and 1/4 cups (310ml) of the Shiitake mushroom soaking liquid
18. Sprinkle some crispy deep fried shallots over the rice mixture
19. Cover and turn on the rice cooker
20. Fluff the rice when it's cooked
21. Garnish with some crispy golden deep fried shallots and a sprig of coriander before serving

Notes:

1. Crispy Golden Deep Fried Shallots:
• This adds another dimension of flavor to the rice dish. You may omit this if you don't have the time or you can just use the store bought version. I prefer to make my own because the freshly made ones always taste better.
2. Taro / yam can be replaced with pumpkin or long beans for more versions of this easy to make recipe
3. Generally the rice to water ratio is 1:1 but I have used an additional 1/4 cup (60ml) of liquid since the taro / yam may absorb quite a lot of liquid during cooking
4. Video Time Stamp: 0:52 Correction: I rehydrated the Shiitake mushrooms with 2 and 1/4 cups (560ml) of water. 560ml instead of 310ml as mentioned in the caption. However I used 1 and 1/4 (310ml) cups of the mushroom liquid to cook the rice in the rice cooker.