One-Pot Chinese Sausage with Cabbage Rice

Chinese sausages, sliced pork, cabbage, mushrooms, dried shrimps and shallots come together in this Chinese Sausage with Cabbage Rice to create a delicious one-pot meal.

Every now and then I love making one pot rice meals such as this Chinese Sausage with Cabbage Rice. It’s really easy and convenient. I only have to cook once and it will be enough for both lunch and dinner so it saves me the hassle of cooking multiple dishes. More importantly, the rice tastes delicious and my whole family enjoys it. Did I also mention that there’re less things to wash?

You won’t go wrong with a cabbage and Chinese sausage pairing. Other must-have ingredients for me in this rice are mushrooms and dried shrimps. The addition of spring onions as garnishing provides a fresh contrast to this rich tasting rice.

There are several ways to make a one-pot rice meal with a rice cooker. Below is a summary.

Rice Cooker One-Pot Rice – 3 Ways

1. Put rice to cook in a rice cooker. Stir-fry vegetables, meat and seasoning in a wok. Pour all the stir-fried ingredients into the rice cooker when the cooking time is almost up and mix well.

2. Stir-fry rice together with vegetables and seasonings in a wok before transferring everything into a rice cooker to complete the cooking.

3. Briefly stir fry all ingredients (except rice) in a wok. Put uncooked washed rice in a rice cooker and pour the partially cooked ingredients into the rice cooker. Turn on the rice cooker to cook.

I used the third method for this Cabbage Rice with Chinese Sausage recipe. Whichever method you choose, the most important thing is the amount of water used. You can’t use the same amount of water as you would with cooking rice alone. It will result in mushy rice. Use less water as the cabbage will release some water and also the sauce contains water.

Chinese Sausages

If you’ve never tried Chinese sausages before, I think you’re gonna love it. It has a sweet, smokey and savory taste that reminds me of candied meat. Often made with pork, some Chinese sausages are made with livers (called yuen cheong), chicken and even beef. Known as lap cheong in Cantonese, Chinese sausages are hard air dried sausages. They have to be cooked before eating.

Not all Chinese sausages are created equal. The main ingredients are usually pork and sweetened with rose water, rice wine and soy sauce. Different brands have their own variations of the ingredients and taste. When shopping for lap cheong, I try to find those with more pockets of fat. The fat that oozes out from them when cooking makes the rice very tasty. I know most people (including yours truly) shun fat but it is not always evil. Fat is flavor.

Can I make a confession?

I don’t really care about the Chinese sausages. Well, not as much as the rice. It is the rice that has been gently perfumed with the fragrance of the lap cheong and seasonings that I absolutely LOVE. Every kernel of rice is simply delicious and so flavorful.

Here are the steps to cook this Cabbage Rice with Chinese Sausage.

1. Heat up oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Fry shallots for a while before adding dried shrimps. Fry till fragrant.

2. Add the Chinese sausage slices and stir fry till fragrant. Add pork slices and mushrooms and continue to stir fry for about a minute.

3. Add cabbage leaves and mix everything well. No need to wilt the cabbage as it will be cooked in the rice cooker. Turn off heat. Remove contents from wok and place into a large bowl. Put rice and sauce into a rice cooker. The water level has to be lesser than the stipulated amount inside the rice cooker as the cabbage will release some water as it cooks.

4. Pour in the contents from the bowl into the rice cooker and let it sit on top of the rice. Close the lid and turn on the rice cooker to cook. When the cooking time is over, gently mix the rice and ingredients with a rice paddle. Let it rest for 2 – 3 minutes before serving. If you find the texture of the rice not soft enough, add slightly more water and cook for a few more minutes.

Besides cabbage, the vegetables that I like to use for a one-pot rice are long beans and Chinese mustard greens (kai choy). Yam and pumpkin are also good choices. As the rice is very flavorful and rich tasting, I like to wash it all down with a soothing green tea.

What is your favourite one-pot rice? I hope you’ll enjoy today’s recipe. Have a go at it and let me know how it turns out.

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Chinese Sausage with Cabbage Rice

 

Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hr

 

Fragrant one-pot rice made with Chinese sausages, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimps and rice.

Author: Yvonne Oh

Recipe type: Rice Recipes

Cuisine: Chinese

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 rice cooker cups uncooked rice - rinsed a few times and drained
• 1 medium sized cabbage (about 500 g) - Cut into large pieces, rinsed and drained
• 40 g dried shrimps - soaked till soften, drained
• 4 shallots - peeled and sliced thinly
• 2 Chinese sausages (lap cheong)- washed briefly, remove casing and slice diagonally
• 100 g lean pork - sliced thinly across the grain (optional)
• 5 dried shiitake mushrooms - Soaked till soften and reserve soaking water
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Marinade for Pork and Mushrooms

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp corn starch

Sauce

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• ½ tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Shao Xing wine
• ½ tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• Dashes of white pepper
• Water ( seasoning + water should add up to 300ml or 1¼ cup ) - use the mushroom soaking water

Garnish

• Spring Onions
• Fried shallots (optional)
• Sesame oil (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut or trim off the hard stems from mushrooms. Gently squeeze out excess water from each caps. Slice them thinly and marinate them together with the lean pork. Set aside.
2. Put all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
3. Heat up oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Fry the shallots for a while before adding dried shrimps. Fry till fragrant. Add the Chinese sausage slices and stir fry till fragrant.
4. Add pork slices and mushrooms and continue to stir fry for about a minute. Add the cabbage leaves and mix everything well. No need to wilt the cabbage as it will be cooked in the rice cooker. Turn off heat. Remove contents from wok and place into a large bowl.
5. Put rice and sauce into a rice cooker. The water level has to be lesser than the stipulated amount inside the rice cooker as the cabbage will release some water as it cooks.
6. Pour in the contents from the bowl into the rice cooker and let it sit on top of the rice. Close the lid and turn on the rice cooker to cook. When the cooking time is over, gently mix the rice and ingredients with a rice paddle. Let it rest for 2 - 3 minutes before serving. If you find the texture of the rice not soft enough, add slightly more water and cook for a few more minutes.
7. Optional: Drizzle with a little sesame oil. Garnish with some spring onions and serve.

Cooking Notes

1. The cooking time will vary depending on your rice cooker.
2. Chicken (cubed or sliced) can be used instead of pork if preferred.
3. When mixing the rice and ingredients in the rice cooker, I recommend using the rice cooker paddle to stir to avoid scratching the bottom of the rice cooker.
4. If not adding lean pork, it is not necessary to marinade the mushrooms.

3.5.3226