This Taro Rice recipe is a big bowl of comfort. I bet you won’t stop at just one bowl! Buttery taro cubes, seasoned rice, Chinese sausage, aromatic dried shrimp, and scallions make a delicious meal for any time of day.
A Min (闽) Cuisine Recipe
Do you remember my post on the eight cuisines of China? As promised, I am looking to expand into some of the less covered cuisines on the blog! This Taro Rice is an exploration into Min (闽) cuisine, which hails from the southeastern coastal province of Fujian. Min dishes feature the best that both land and sea have to offer.
Unsurprisingly, this recipe boasts earthy rice, taro, and Chinese sausage, as well as the pungent flavor of dried shrimp. It’s very much a home-style dish, and it’s an easy recipe that will expand your repertoire!
Taro is the Star
Taro comes in small and large sizes. This recipe uses large taro, which has a very starchy texture like a russet potato. Bill grew up only eating the large variety of taro, so every time I boil the small taros to eat with some light soy sauce for dipping, he can’t help but make faces. He’s partial to the large kind, and the small taros have a different texture! I grew up eating small taro, so I love it.
While we’ve eaten taro all of our lives, when I made this recipe, we started asking ourselves why we don’t eat it more often! It has a smooth, rich texture and deliciously buttery flavor.
So we’re firmly back on the taro bandwagon, with our love of taro growing by the day! With Sarah’s taro sago soup, and now this taro rice, I have a feeling you will see more taro recipes coming your way!
This recipe is often made with pork belly instead of Chinese sausage. However, I find that pork belly tends to turn bland after it’s cooked with rice. So instead, I reached for Chinese sausage. It’s faster, easier, and tastier if you ask me!
If you’d like to use pork belly, marinate it overnight with Shaoxing wine, light and dark soy sauce, five spice powder, and a couple tablespoons of water. You want the meat to be slightly saltier than if you were cooking it alone—to offset the rice absorbing some of the salt.
Also, this dish is usually made in a rice cooker, but after posting two rice cooker recipes (Rice Cooker Ribs and Rice and One Pot Rice Cooker Rice with Dace Fish), we know many of you don’t have a rice cooker. So I went ahead and made the recipe in both a regular Dutch Oven and a deep pot, and those results were just as easy and delicious. I’ve also included instructions for a rice cooker, if you’d like to go that route!
Recipe Instructions
Wash the shiitake mushrooms, then soak them until completely hydrated (2 hours if using boiling water, or overnight if using cold water). Squeeze the mushrooms of excess water, saving the soaking water in the bowl. Thinly slice the mushrooms and set aside.
Add the rice to a medium bowl, and cover with 2 inches of water. Soak for 15-20 minutes.
Drain completely before using it in the recipe.
Preheat the wok until it just starts to smoke. Coat with 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the taro, and brown on all sides over medium heat. It will take about 6-8 minutes; be patient. This step creates a crust, ensuring the taro doesn’t turn to mush in the rice. Remove the taro from the wok and set aside.
With the wok still set over medium heat, add 2 more tablespoons of oil. Cook the ginger and white parts of the scallions for 1 minute.
Add the Chinese sausage, cook for a couple of minutes to render some of the fat from the sausage.
Then add the sliced mushrooms, carrots, dried shrimp, and salt. Cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant.
Reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Add the drained rice, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper, and five spice powder. Increase the heat to medium high, and stir for a couple of minutes until everything is well combined. Remove from the heat.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to a Dutch oven or flat-bottomed pan with a lid. Spread it around so the oil evenly coats the bottom of the pan.
Alternatively, if using a rice cooker, add the oil to the bottom of the rice cooker pot!
Transfer the rice mixture to the pan or rice cooker pot, spreading it out so it’s level. Measure out 2½ cups water or stock (including the mushroom soaking liquid, avoiding any sediment from the mushrooms). Add the liquid to the rice, and top with the taro, spreading it in an even layer.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover, and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat. Let the pot rest—untouched!—for 10 minutes to cook off any remaining moisture in the rice.
Uncover, add the green parts of the scallion and the minced garlic, and stir until everything is well combined. Salt to taste, and serve hot. This goes great with a side of sautéed leafy greens!
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Recipe
Taro Rice (芋头焖饭)
Ingredients
- 6-7 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked and sliced)
- 2 1/4 cups uncooked jasmine rice
- 5 tablespoons oil (divided)
- 1 1/4 pound large taro (peeled and cut into 1-inch/2.5 cm pieces)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (minced)
- 5 scallions (sliced, with the white and green parts separated)
- 4 links Chinese sausage (thinly sliced)
- 1 1/2 cups carrots (cubed)
- 1/4 cup dried shrimp (rinsed)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon five spice powder (to taste)
- 2 1/2 cups water (or chicken stock)
- 1-2 tablespoons garlic (minced; to taste)
Instructions
- Wash the shiitake mushrooms, then soak them until completely hydrated (2 hours if using boiling water, or overnight if using cold water). Squeeze the mushrooms of excess water, saving the soaking water in the bowl. Thinly slice the mushrooms and set aside.
- Add the rice to a medium bowl, and cover with 2 inches (5cm) of water. Soak for 15-20 minutes. Drain completely.
- Preheat the wok until it just starts to smoke. Coat with 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the taro, and brown on all sides over medium heat. It will take about 6-8 minutes; be patient. This step creates a crust, ensuring the taro doesn’t turn to mush in the rice. Remove the taro from the wok and set aside.
- With the wok still set over medium heat, add 2 more tablespoons of oil. Cook the ginger and white parts of the scallions for 1 minute.
- Add the Chinese sausage, cook for a couple of minutes to render some of the fat from the sausage. Then add the sliced mushrooms, carrots, dried shrimp, and salt. Cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Add the drained rice, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper, and five spice powder. Increase the heat to medium high, and stir for a couple of minutes until everything is well combined. Remove from the heat.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to a Dutch oven or flat-bottomed pan with a lid. Spread it around so the oil evenly coats the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, if using a rice cooker, add the oil to the bottom of the rice cooker pot! Transfer the rice mixture to the pan or rice cooker pot, spreading it out so it’s level. Measure out 2½ cups water or stock (including the mushroom soaking liquid, avoiding any sediment from the mushrooms). Add the liquid to the rice, and top with the taro, spreading it in an even layer.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover, and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat. Let the pot rest—untouched!—for 10 minutes to cook off any remaining moisture in the rice.
- Uncover, add the green parts of the scallion and the minced garlic, and stir until everything is well combined. Salt to taste, and serve hot. This goes great with a side of sauteed leafy greens!
