碟頭飯 "Plate Meal"

One of my new year resolutions is to improve (or I should say gain back) my Chinese food cooking skill. There is only one way to achieve that goal - practice, practice, practice. I usually get very hungry after work, so, instead of going for the normal "3 dishes 1 soup" typical Chinese full dinner, I decided I should start with something simple but would still fulfill my appetite - "plate meal".

What is plate meal? Plate meal is a type of quick lunch very popular in Hong Kong and Macau. Basically, it is a Chinese dish served over a plate of plain rice. The idea is like the "1 item combo" you get from Panda Express. Because of the British/Portugal colony culture, sometime the dish or the "1 item" is not Chinese dish but some interesting fusion dish, which resulted in an interesting thing about the serving utensil. Depending on the dish, the serving utensil could be chopstick with Chinese style spoon for Chinese style dish or fork with spoon for Western style dish. The plate meal is only available in those fusion eateries line between diner & cafe (茶餐廳). So, don't be silly to ask for plate meal at a Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong and Macau.

What kind of dish can be used on a plate meal? Anything! One major feature of this type of eatery is the crazy never end menu. If the menu does not provide large selection, they are screwed; if the food served too slow, they are screwed; if the food is not good, they are screwed. So, this kind of cheap eatery actually serve pretty good food with a very affordable price. They serve breakfast (from omelet to rolled rice noodle 豬腸粉), lunch (from fried rice/plate meal to pasta), afternoon tea (large variety of pastries selection), dinner and sometime late night dinner. Kind of crazy, huh?

Alright enough for the eatery, back to the plate meal now and time for practice! So, here is a recipe for the easiest Chinese style dish plate meal. Simple ingredients, healthy & yummy!

菜遠肉片飯 (Stir Fry Brassica Rapa with Sliced Pork Plate Meal)

Serving Size: 3-4 servings

Serving Utensil:  Chopstick with Chinese style spoon


Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound any kind of pork but not pork chop or the pre-sliced pork. The pre-sliced pork is too thin and not suitable for this dish. Sorry, you gotta slice the pork by yourself! I don't have any pork at home this time, so I used 1 chicken breast instead. 
• 1 pound of brassica rapa, also called field mustard or turnip mustard (菜心, I've believe northern Chinese called it "油菜"). Don't be confused with the Chinese Broccoli (芥蘭). They are different. They look very similar but brassica rapa has lighter yellowish green and usually not as thick as the Chinese broccoli on the stem.
• 1 1/2 cup jasmine rice
• 2-3 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1-2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn starch (separated)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon Cantonese rice cooking wine
• 2 cloves garlic 
• oil, salt, water
• 1 table spoon oyster oil (optional)

Cooking Direction:

1. Cook the jasmine rice with same amount of water in a rice cooker. Unlike basmati rice, you don't have to sock jasmine rice before cooking. If you do not have a rice cooker, you can cook the rice in a medium pot on stove top. Cover and turn the heat on high until boil. Then, immediately turn the heat down to medium low until rice is fully cooked. Do not stir or open the cover while cooking.
2. Meanwhile, slice the pork or chicken. No need to slide it too thin. Marinate with light soy sauce, sugar, half of the corn starch, sesame oil and cooking wine. Stir fully and set aside. 10 to 15 minutes marinate time should do the trick. If marinate for longer time, keep the meat in the fridge. 
3. Wash the brassica rapa and cut each into 3 pieces. Each piece is about 1-2 inches long. 
4. Slice the garlic. When the rice is half way cooked, start preparing the dish.
5. Heat a medium pan at high, add the slice garlic and brassica rapa. Immediately turns the heat down to medium. Stir fry until the brassica rapa turns green. Take out from the pan and set aside.
6. Heat the same pan on high again with a little additional oil. Add the chicken and turn the heat down to medium. Stir fry until the pork or chicken is 90% cooked and add the brassica rapa back to the pan. Stir and turn the heat to low. 
7. Prepare oyster sauce (蠔油茨) by mixing 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon corn starch with 1 cup of cold water. Mix fully and add to the pan. Turn the heat back to medium. Stir frequently until the sauce get thick. If you don't have oyster sauce, you could prepare a plain sauce (玻璃茨) instead by mixing 1 tablespoon corn starch, a little bit salt and 1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon (if available) with 1 cup of cold water. 
8. In a medium plate, put some cooked jasmine rice and top with some stir fry brassica rapa with pork or chicken. I personally love to have it with lots of sauce. Enjoy~