Chinese Long Bean Braised Rice Recipe

We simmer the Chinese long bean rice on the stovetop, rice cooker, or oven. What is different is the timing. Well. Just to be clear, braised rice is different from fried rice. The technique of braising pork belly and rice is the same. 

Braised rice is just a fancy name for cooking rice with flavorful liquid. So, it doesn’t matter whether braised rice Chinese style (aka. my grandma’s style) or braised rice in the French method.

Ingredients for The Chinese Braised Rice

I want to let you know. Everything in this recipe is customizable. You need to follow my methods. And you are on the way to making the best Chinese braised rice or any other style of braised rice.

• 400-gram Long Bean

• 200-gram Pork Belly

• 120-gram Dried Shrimp

• 4 Shallots 

• 4 cloves Garlic

• Oyster Sauce 1 tablespoon

• Dark Caramel Sauce 1 teaspoon

• Soy Sauce 1 tablespoon

• Uncooked white rice 350 gram

• White pepper 1/2 teaspoon

• Salt 1/2 teaspoon

• 630 ml Water

Substituting Ingredients for Chinese Long Bean Rice

Pumpkins: Replacing long beans. If you like those tender pumpkins’ texture, this is it.

Cabbage: Another one to replace long bean. You can also mix it with pumpkins. 

Dark Caramel Sauce: If you don’t like the sugar part, skip this. The purpose of this sauce is to darken the rice and bring a very little subtle sweetness. 

Dried Shrimp: Replace dried shrimp with 2 tablespoons of fish sauce. 

Rice: Rinse the rice. Preparing rice with care and attention can enhance the quality of your dish. By taking the simple step of rinsing your rice before cooking, you can remove unwanted substances and improve the taste and texture of your final product.

Preparation 

• Start by chopping the long beans into a smaller size.

• Mince the garlic.

• Slice the shallot.

• Rehydrating the dried shrimp. (check the section below)

• Cut the meat into smaller sizes. 

How to rehydrate the dried shrimp?

1. Start by rinsing the dried shrimp with clean water to remove impurities.
   
   
2. Next, place the dried shrimp into hot water and let it soak for approximately one minute.
   
   
3. If the dried shrimps still feel hard and dry, soak them in clean water until they become soft. This process may take up to 10 minutes.
   
   
4. You can use the water you soaked the dried shrimp in as a tasty liquid for cooking.

Sautéing Aromatics and Dried Shrimp 

1. Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil.
   
   
2. Put the onion and dried shrimp into a skillet. Stir-fry the dried shrimp until golden brown. 
   
   
   
   
3. Then, stir-fry the garlic and the pork belly. We do not add garlic earlier to prevent it from being burnt out. It’s unnecessary to stir-fry the pork belly until it turns golden brown after it’s cooked. This will cause an excessive amount of oil to be released.
   
   
   
   
4. Put the long bean in and stir fry.
    
   
   
   
5. Once the long bean changes color, it’s time to add the uncooked rice.
   
   
   
   
6. Put in 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce and soy sauce.
   
   
7. Put in a teaspoon of dark caramel sauce. 
   
   
8. Sprinkle the salt and white pepper.
   
   
   
   
9. Mix and keep stirring until everything is combined.
   
   
   
   

Braising the Rice 

Rice cooker cooking 

1. Transfer everything to a rice cooker.
   
   
2. Pour in the water; Press the cook button. It’s that easy. Usually take about 30 minutes.
   
   
3. Braising in a rice cooker is a hands-off cooking method. 
   
   
   

Stovetop cooking methods

1. To use this method, add the water to the long bean mixture and let it simmer until the rice is fully cooked.
   
   
2. While braising the stovetop, stir the mixture periodically to prevent the rice from sticking to the wok. Make sure you are stirring it lightly.
   
   

The 5 critical steps in Cooking Chinese Long Bean Braised Rice Recipe

1. Stir fry the aromatic first (onion and dried shrimp.)
   
   
2. Next, stir-fry the meat and garlic.
   
   
3. Then, stir fry the long bean.
   
   
4. After that, mix everything (rice and sauce).
   
   
5. Start simmering everything after adding the braising liquid.
   
   

Well, there you have it. Enjoy the Braised rice Chinese style. 

Other international braising dishes you need to try

• Taiwan-inspired Lu Rou Fan braised meat: This is easy to make and is best when accompanied by a bowl of rice.

• Italian Tomato Sauce Braised pork belly: This is also yummy with the rice.

• Japanese Miso braised pork belly

• Coconut Milk Braised Pork Belly with Miso: If you like something more exotic. I got you covered too.