PLASTIC RICE CHINA RECIPES

Steps:

• Put the dried shrimp in a bowl, add 200ml (¾ cup plus 1tbsp) warm water and leave to soak until pliable, about 20 minutes.
• While the shrimp are soaking, prepare the other ingredients. Put the glutinous rice flour in a bowl and add the hot water. Stir with a pair of chopsticks to form a thick mass. If the mixture is dry, drizzle in a little more hot water. As soon as the dough is cool enough to handle, knead it until it's smooth and holds together when you squeeze it. It should be a little sticky (but not wet), pliable, but firm enough to hold its shape. If it's crumbly, knead in more hot water.
• Take about half of the dough (cover the rest with cling film) and shape it into a log. Cut the log into smaller pieces then roll each one into a ball about 1cm (7/16 in) in diameter. Place the balls on a tray or plate lined with plastic wrap. Don't let them touch each other or they'll stick together. Shape the remaining dough the same way then cover lightly with cling film.
• Make the meatballs. Finely chop the chung choi and mince the spring onions.
• Put the minced pork into a bowl. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, salt, white pepper, sesame oil and cornstarch and mix thoroughly. Mix in the chung choi and spring onions.
• Shape into meat mixture into balls about 1.5cm (?in) in diameter and place them on a plate or tray.
• Heat a large pot of lightly salted water and when it's boiling, add the glutinous rice balls (tang yuan/tong yuen), cooking them in batches. They are ready when they float to the surface. Scoop them out of the water with a sieve or slotted spoon and place them in a bowl of cool water.
• Cut the Chinese radish into thick matchstick strips, about 3cm (1¼ in) long. Julienne the ginger. Drain the shrimp but reserve the soaking liquid.
• Heat the oil in a large pot and add the dried shrimp, shredded ginger and salt. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds then add the chicken broth, the shrimp soaking liquid and 15ml soy sauce and about 500ml (2 cups) of cold water. Bring to the boil and add the pork balls. Reduce the heat and simmer for about two minutes. Add the radish and simmer until tender and translucent. Drain the cooked glutinous rice balls, add them to the pot and simmer to heat through, about two minutes. Taste the broth for seasonings and add more salt, if necessary. Ladle the ingredients into bowls, drizzle with sesame oil and top with fresh coriander and spring onions.

Steps:

• (The 2 cups in an arbitrary measurement so that I can get the servings/yield number---this is really more of a method, so you can make as much rice as you need -- just use about half as much rice as you want for a finished product.).
• Pour desired amount of rice into a pot with a good fitting lid (rice must cover bottom of pan and should be an inch or more deep, so use the proper sized pot for amount of rice you are cooking).
• Cover rice several inches with water.
• Stir rice and water with your hand. Water will turn milky (this is the extra starch coming off the rice).
• Pour water off the rice using your hand or the lid to keep rice in the pot.
• Repeat rinsing and draining two more times. Water should be clear on last rinse.
• Cover rice with clean cold water to the depth of your first knuckle with the tip of your pointer finger touching the top of the rice (this will be a bit less than an inch).
• Put pot on stove and turn burner to high.
• Bring to a boil, uncovered, and continue boiling until tunnels form from the steam coming through the rice - most of the water will no longer be visible. (Looks like someone poked it several times with a drinking straw).
• Cover pot with lid and turn stove down to low.
• Keep covered and cook for 30 minutes more.
• Uncover and fluff up a few grains to test to see if it's done.
• If necessary, cover and cook for a few more minutes.
• When done, fluff rice with fork and serve.
• If you're making fried rice, it's best to use day old rice so put this in the fridge after it has cooled a bit and enjoy it tomorrow!