For the Love of...: …Lap Mei Fan (Chinese cured meat rice)

My parents recently returned from a weekend trip from Vancouver and instead of bringing back the usual souvenirs, we got a bag full of cured chinese meats including lap chong and cured, smoked pork belly. We figured the best way to enjoy our gift was to make a traditional dish called Lap Mei Fan which is simply a big pot of rice over which the meat and sausages are steamed over. The meats impart a delicious flavour to the rice making it the best part of the dish.

Ingredients:

- 2 cups of rice

- 3.5 cups of water

- 4-6 links of lap chong (Chinese sausage)

- 1 piece of smoked and cured pork belly

- 4 chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces (marinated with soy sauce, sugar, corn starch and sesame oil overnight)

- 1 bunch of green onions, chopped

Method:

1. In a heavy bottomed pot, add the rice and water

2. Scatter the sausage, cured pork belly and chicken over the rice and place over medium low heat

3. Cook the rice and meats for approximately 20 minutes checking every 5 minutes or so until the water is all evaporated and the rice is cooked

4. Serve the rice and meats with a drizzle of dark or regular soy sauce. Remember to scrape the bottom of the pot to get the crispy toasted layer of rice

Enjoy!