Chinese Again

I miss my friends in Cebu, I mean my friends from my previous company in Cebu, especially now that everyone of us are in different parts of the world (Georgia will soon be in UK, Claire is in the US, Crys and Arlene in Singapore..etc). Which makes it impossible to imagine that one day we are going to gather together like we used to. One thing that we usually do in Cebu was eat at our favorite chinese restaurant, Harbor City of which their Lahug branch we frequently visit. And where we always order their Steamed Rice that used to cost only P30 per bowl..(pila na kaha ni karon?). That is why I suddenly had the craving for it. It's been years since I last had my fill because it is not available at any chinese restaurant in Manila (even here in Japan), it's uniquely from Cebu so when I miss the food in Cebu, it's not their Lechon that first comes to mind, but instead the Harbor City steamed rice!

So I asked Claire for her mom's steamed rice recipe, bought myself a steamer last week but only got to cook it last Sunday morning because I couldn't stop my craving anymore (dili ko buntis oi). I thought, I already have the recipe, then why settle on reminiscing?

I altered the recipe to make use of what we have at home because we haven't gone to the grocery yet, so I had very limited supplies. The recipe calls for a lot of vetsin(which is expected in a chinese recipe), I tried to stay away from it but I couldn't get the kick and spunk I was craving for so I gave in and put a small dash of Maggi Magic Sarap on the sauce.

And this is my first attempt to make Pork Steamed Rice. It's not as brown as the one from Cebu coz I used Japanese Toyo, which I think has less coloring. But overall it tastes close to it. =) My hubby haven't gone to Harbor City so he couldn't really relate to it but he ate 2 servings. Yatta! Thanks Claire for sending recipe! =)

Haay... I miss the chitchats, laughter and fun that used to go with it back then. =)

Pork Steamed Rice

Ingredients:
Cooked Rice
Pork, peeled Shrimp (or Pork lang kung walang shrimp I used dried ebi for garnish)
Green Peas
Onion, minced
Sesame oil
for Sauce:
3 cups water
1/2 Pork Cube
2 tbsp Cornstarch dissolved in water
3 tbsp Toyo
salt and pepper to taste
for Meat:
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp vinegar
garlic
pepper to taste

1. Put the cooked rice on separate bowls that is safe for steaming. Set aside.
2. Mix the ingredients for the meat with the meat and marinate it for 30 minutes.
3. Fry the marinated meat until brown then set aside.
4. To do the sauce, Mix the pork cube with water and Toyo. Saute the onion with butter or sesame oil. Pour in the sauce, simmer. Then add in the dissolved cornstarch while stirring, add in the green peas, and the meat. Simmer again. If it is too malapot, add water and adjust the taste with salt, toyo and pepper. Add a dash of vetsin or Maggi Magic Sarap.
5. Pour it in the bowls of rice. Then Steam for 15 minutes.