PilafChineseEasy

Chinese Sausage and Mushroom Rice Cooker Pilaf

Name: Chinese Sausage and Mushroom Rice Cooker Pilaf
Prep time: 21 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 56 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 cups (400 g) jasmine rice, rinsed in cold water until the water runs mostly clear, then drained well; 8 medium mushrooms (30 g) dried shiitake mushrooms, rinsed quickly under cold water; 1 cup (240 ml) hot water for soaking the mushrooms, very hot, from the kettle or tap; 6 oz (about 3 links) (170 g) lap cheong (Chinese sausage), sliced on a diagonal into ¼-inch (6 mm) thick coins; 1 tbsp (15 ml) neutral oil such as avocado or canola; 1 tbsp (8 g) fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced; 2 cloves (8 g) garlic, finely minced; 4 scallions (60 g) scallions, white and light-green parts finely sliced and kept separate from the dark-green tops, which are thinly sliced; 2 tbsp (30 ml) light (regular) soy sauce; 1 tsp (5 ml) dark soy sauce; 1 tbsp (15 ml) Shaoxing wine; ¼ tsp (½ g) ground white pepper; 1¼ cups (300 ml) cold water for cooking the rice, cold; 1 tsp (5 ml) toasted sesame oil

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Fragrant jasmine rice cooked in mushroom broth with caramelized lap cheong, earthy shiitake, ginger, and scallions. The rice cooker does the long work, and the sausage fat seasons every grain.

Prep: 21 min
Cook: 35 min
Wait: 40 min
Total: 1 hr 36 min
Makes: About 6 cups cooked rice (4 main-course servings)

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Ingredients

4 servings

2 cups (400 g) jasmine rice, rinsed in cold water until the water runs mostly clear, then drained well
8 medium mushrooms (30 g) dried shiitake mushrooms, rinsed quickly under cold water
1 cup (240 ml) hot water for soaking the mushrooms, very hot, from the kettle or tap
6 oz (about 3 links) (170 g) lap cheong (Chinese sausage), sliced on a diagonal into ¼-inch (6 mm) thick coins
1 tbsp (15 ml) neutral oil such as avocado or canola
1 tbsp (8 g) fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
2 cloves (8 g) garlic, finely minced
4 scallions (60 g) scallions, white and light-green parts finely sliced and kept separate from the dark-green tops, which are thinly sliced
2 tbsp (30 ml) light (regular) soy sauce
1 tsp (5 ml) dark soy sauce
1 tbsp (15 ml) Shaoxing wine
¼ tsp (0.5 g) ground white pepper
1¼ cups (300 ml) cold water for cooking the rice, cold
1 tsp (5 ml) toasted sesame oil

Equipment (7)

Rice cooker, 5½-cup (1 L) capacity or larger
10-inch (25 cm) skillet or nonstick sauté pan
Fine-mesh strainer
Small bowl for soaking mushrooms
Cutting board and sharp knife
Rice paddle or large spoon
Instant-read thermometer

Steps

Before you start

Start the mushrooms soaking first. They need 30 minutes, and you can rinse the rice and slice the sausage while you wait.
Use a standard 5½- to 6-cup (about 1 L) rice cooker or larger. This recipe fills a 5½-cup cooker about two-thirds full.
Lap cheong is sold cured and is fully ready to eat, but this recipe still heats it until it reaches a safe 160°F (71°C) inside. Look for it in the refrigerated or dried-goods aisle of Asian markets.
Skip added salt. The sausage and soy sauce season the rice fully.

1
Soak the mushrooms
- Rinse the dried shiitake under cold water for a few seconds to remove grit.
- Place them in a small bowl, pour in the 1 cup (240 ml) very hot water, and press them under with a small plate or lid so they stay submerged.
- Let them soak for 30 minutes.
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Ready when: Caps are soft and pliable with no hard, pale center when pinched
Tip: Do not discard the soaking liquid. It becomes the savory base for cooking the rice.
2
Rinse the rice
- While the mushrooms soak, put the rice in a bowl and cover with cold water.
- Swirl with your hand, pour off the cloudy water, and repeat 3 to 4 times.
- Drain in a fine-mesh strainer, shaking it well to remove excess water.
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Ready when: Rinse water looks only slightly milky, not thick and white
Tip: Drain thoroughly. Extra clinging water throws off the liquid ratio and makes the rice soft.
3
Prep mushrooms and aromatics
- Lift the mushrooms out of the bowl, squeezing the liquid back into it.
- Strain the soaking liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into a measuring cup to remove grit.
- You should have about 1 cup (240 ml).
- Cut off and discard the tough stems and slice the caps into ¼-inch (6 mm) strips.
- Slice the lap cheong, mince the ginger and garlic, and slice the scallions, keeping the whites and the green tops separate.
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Ready when: Strained liquid measures about 1 cup (240 ml) and looks clear and amber
Tip: If you have less than 1 cup of liquid, top it up with water so the total is 1 cup.
4
Brown the sausage
- Heat the neutral oil in a 10-inch (25 cm) skillet over medium heat for 1 minute.
- Add the lap cheong slices in a single layer and cook, turning occasionally, for about 4 minutes.
- The fat will render and the edges will caramelize.
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Ready when: Slices are glossy, deep red-brown at the edges, and the pan has a layer of orange fat
Tip: Watch closely. The sugar in lap cheong goes from caramelized to burnt quickly, which makes the rice bitter.
5
Sauté aromatics and mushrooms
- Add the ginger, garlic, scallion whites, and sliced mushrooms to the skillet with the sausage and fat.
- Stir for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Pour in the Shaoxing wine and scrape up any browned bits from the pan, then remove from the heat.
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Ready when: Raw garlic and ginger smell is gone, replaced by a sweet, toasty aroma, and the wine has mostly evaporated
6
Load the rice cooker
- Put the drained rice in the rice cooker pot.
- In the measuring cup with the mushroom liquid, stir in the 1¼ cups (300 ml) cold cooking water, the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and white pepper.
- Pour this over the rice and stir once to level the grains.
- Scatter the sausage and mushroom mixture, including the fat, evenly over the top.
- Do not stir it in.
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Ready when: Rice is submerged under about 2¼ cups (540 ml) of liquid with the toppings resting on top
Tip: Leave the toppings on top. Stirred in, they can sink and make the bottom layer of rice scorch or turn gummy.
7
Cook the rice
- Close the lid and start the white rice setting.
- Cook until the cooker switches to warm, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Do not open the lid while it cooks.
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Ready when: Cooker clicks to the warm setting and steam comes out of the vent
Tip: Opening the lid early lets steam escape and can leave the grains uneven.
8
Rest the rice
- Leave the lid closed and let the rice sit on warm for 10 minutes so the grains finish steaming and the moisture evens out.
- Open the lid and push an instant-read thermometer into a few sausage slices on top to confirm they read at least 160°F (71°C).
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Ready when: No standing liquid on the surface and the sausage reads at least 160°F (71°C)
Tip: If the sausage reads below 160°F (71°C), close the lid and leave on warm for 5 more minutes, then check again.
9
Fluff and finish
- Open the lid.
- Drizzle the sesame oil over the rice and add half of the scallion greens.
- Use a rice paddle to gently fold from the bottom up, mixing the sausage and mushrooms through the rice.
- Serve in bowls topped with the remaining scallion greens.
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Ready when: Grains are separate, tender, and evenly tinted golden-brown, with no white patches
Tip: Fold gently with slicing motions rather than stirring, which breaks the grains and makes them sticky.

Good to know

Tips

Salting is not needed. Taste the finished rice and add a splash of light soy sauce only if you want it saltier.
For crispy rice at the bottom, leave the cooked rice on warm for an extra 10 minutes in a cooker with a stainless or clay pot, then scoop the crust out in pieces.
Serve with blanched greens such as bok choy or gai lan drizzled with oyster sauce, or top the rice with a fried egg.
Different brands of lap cheong vary in sweetness and fat. If yours is very fatty, spoon off about 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat from the skillet before adding it to the rice.

Make ahead

Soak and slice the mushrooms and slice the sausage up to 1 day ahead. Keep the strained soaking liquid and the sliced ingredients in separate covered containers in the refrigerator. Rinse the rice and cook it the day you serve.

Storage & reheating

Room temperature: no more than 2 hours after cooking. Refrigerator: cool within 1 hour, then store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Freezer: freeze in portions for up to 2 months. Reheat in the microwave with 1 tablespoon of water per serving, covered, for 1½ to 2 minutes, stirring halfway, or in a skillet over medium-low heat with a splash of water until steaming hot all the way through (165°F/74°C).

Substitutions

lap cheong (Chinese sausage) → Chinese-style cured bacon, or smoked ham or kielbasa. Chinese-style cured bacon gives the closest flavor. Ham or kielbasa will be less sweet, so add ½ tsp sugar to the liquid.
dried shiitake mushrooms → 6 oz (170 g) fresh shiitake or cremini mushrooms, sliced. Use 1 cup (240 ml) chicken or vegetable stock in place of the soaking liquid. Brown the fresh mushrooms for 4 minutes in step 5.
Shaoxing wine → Dry sherry. Use the same amount. For an alcohol-free version, use 1 tablespoon of low-sodium chicken broth.
jasmine rice → Medium-grain white rice, such as calrose. Use the same amount of liquid. The rice will be a little stickier and chewier.

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Steps

Soak the mushrooms

Rinse the rice

Prep mushrooms and aromatics

Brown the sausage

Sauté aromatics and mushrooms

Load the rice cooker

Cook the rice

Rest the rice

Fluff and finish

Good to know

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