Pumpkin is one of those things that does not inspire enthusiasm.
I don’t think that I have ever gotten excited about pumpkin-anything. I think the only pumpkin-anything I even come close to liking was Halloween (but that does not require me to eat any pumpkin) and Cream of Pumpkin Soup – the ang moh style one. That actually is pretty good.
Until now.
See, it all started because I was wondering what other quick and easy dinners I could do. I wanted something like Cabbage Rice or this Rice Cooker Claypot RIce which can be par-cooked then placed in a rice cooker to finish cooking. In this way, dinner can be served any time.
It so happened that some folks in the various Facebook groups I belong to posted pictures of pumpkin rice. They all said it was really good.
It got me wondering. I mean, a whole bunch of people can’t be THAT wrong, right?
So I decided to give it a shot, and I cooked some pumpkin rice.
Since I was still unsure, I decided to add ingredients like dried shrimps, lup cheong (Chinese sausages) and dried scallops. At least I knew these ingredients would help impart flavor to the dish since pumpkin by itself is rather bland.
But you know what – this turned out really good!
Even the LAM, who was fed boiled pumpkin (yucks!), and who had a better reason than I did to fear pumpkin, said it was good!
I simply have to share this fantastic recipe with you today! So here’s the step-by-step pictorial guide on how to make pumpkin rice with pork belly, Chinese sausage and dried scallops!
Start by marinating the pork belly (I removed the skin and the bones) with Shaoxing wine (replace with dry sherry if you don’t have Shaoxing wine), oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave this to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
In a hot wok, saute the minced garlic for about 30 seconds. Once the garlic at the edges start to brown, add the dried shrimps and scallops.
Stir fry for a minute then add the pork belly.
Once the pork turns white, add the lup cheong, dried scallop and pumpkin. Stir to mix.
Add the rice, chicken powder (if using), dark soy sauce and white pepper.
Mix to combine and turn off the heat. Transfer everything into the bowl of a rice cooker and add water.
Place in a rice cooker and hit the START button. Give the rice a stir roughly about half way through the cooking process.
Once cooked, you can serve immediately, garnished with chopped spring onion, sliced chili and fried shallots if you wish. Alternatively, just leave the rice in the rice cooker until you are ready to eat!
Try cooking this – I promise you will not be disappointed!
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- 600g pork belly, skin and bones removed and cut into bite sized pieces
- 30g dried shrimps (See note)
- 30g dried scallops (See note)
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pieces lup cheong (Chinese sausage), thinly sliced
- 500g pumpkin, skin removed and cut into 1-inch cubes - I used Australian blue pumpkin
- 2 cups rice - I used Jasmine rice
- 1 3/4 cups water - may need more
- 2 tablspoons dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon chicken powder, or replace with 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- Start by marinating the pork belly (I removed the skin and the bones) with Shaoxing wine (replace with dry sherry if you don’t have Shaoxing wine), oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave this to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- In a hot wok, saute the minced garlic for about 30 seconds. Once the garlic at the edges start to brown, add the dried shrimps and scallops.
- Stir fry for a minute then add the pork belly.
- Once the pork turns white, add the lup cheong, dried scallop and pumpkin. Stir to mix.
- Add the rice, chicken powder (if using), dark soy sauce and white pepper.
- Mix to combine and turn off the heat. Transfer everything into the bowl of a rice cooker and add water.
- Place in a rice cooker and hit the START button. Give the rice a stir roughly about half way through the cooking process.
- Once cooked, you can serve immediately, garnished with chopped spring onion, sliced chili and fried shallots if you wish. Alternatively, just leave the rice in the rice cooker until you are ready to eat!
- Soak the dried shrimps and dried scallops separately in hot water for 15-20 minutes. Drain and shred the scallops with your fingers.
So fragrant and tasty … lots of “liao” added. Yum !
Cooked this yesterday. Delicious.
Thank you.
Hi Caroline that is so nice to hear! I am glad you and your family liked the dish! 🙂
Hello, just a quick question before I try this recipe! For the rice and pumpkin – when you are stir frying it, they are essentially still raw right. Do they only cook/steam when in the rice cooker? Sorry if this question sounds rather strange haha
Hi vabessa yes that is correct! 🙂
Hi, have being following your website for a long time. For this recipe,can I use chicken instead of pork?
Thank you
Regards,
Aichoo
Hi Aichoo yes you can!
Hi. A quick clarification. Would it be better to add the lup cheong and dried shrimp when the rice is 3/4 cooked to preserve their fragrance and favour, rather than mixed it with the rice and water from the start, hence diluting their flavour? Thanks
That is a great idea – I normally put everything in the rice cooker then I am off to work, so if you have the time, yes that is a good way to cook the dried shrimp and lup cheong.
Hi Diana,
For the water measurement, are you referring to the water marking on the rice cooker or you use back the same cup that you use to scoop the rice?
Hi Lyn, I am referring to the cup in which I measured the rice with!
Hi, I am still unsure about the water measurement as usually I use 1.5 cup water for 1 cup rice. So will 2 cup rices with the rest of the ingredient cook with 1.75 cup of water? How long did you take for your rice cooker?
Josephine, vegetables contain a lot of water and the water will be released as they cook. If you add the normal amount of water + water from the vegetables, you will end up with pumpkin porridge.