Dumplings deconstructed

Recently Duan Wu Jie or Dragon Boat Festival was celebrated in many places that have a significant ethnic chinese population. This festival is usually "associated with dragon boat races, making and eating rice dumplings and drinking realgar wine" according to Wikipedia.
Since I have no idea what realgar wine is and I do not take part in dragon boat races, I thought that the rice dumpling route best way to participate.

Rice dumplings can be wrapped with bamboo leaves (in Malaysia and Singapore) or lotus leaves (e.g. in Hong Kong dim sum restaurants). As I had decided to do this rather belatedly, I was not able to get hold of any leaves.

So when is a dumpling not a dumpling? When it is de-constructed... silly!

Following a culinary trend to de-construct many traditional dishes, I made my contribution to Duan Wu Jie thus:

Rice Dumpling - deconstructed

Ingredients: (enough for 3)

For the "filling"

• Belly pork, cut into 1cm thick slices x 4
  
• 5 spice powder
• white pepper
• sugar
• thick black soy sauce
• light soy sauce
• chilli powder (pinch)
• crushed garlic

For the "dumpling"

• dried chestnuts, soaked and cleaned
• dried shitake / assorted mushrooms, soaked
• water from soaking mushrooms & chestnuts, strained
• 1/2 stock cube (veg/chicken)
• white pepper
• 1 cup carnoli rice
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• knob of butter
• 1 Tsp olive oil
  

For "garnish"

• 1 salted egg, hard boiled - separate yolk, halve it and roughly chop the whites

Preparation:

• combine all ingredients with the pork belly and marinate for 30minutes
• pat dry and fry to seal the meat
• place in pot, add reserved soy sauce and enough water to cover
• braise at low heat till tender
• set aside, cut into 1cm x 1 cm strips

Make 1L of stock by simmering chestnuts, mushrooms, stock cube and reserved soaking water. Season to taste. Do not add to much salt as the salted egg garnish is quite salty. Remove chestnuts and mushrooms. Keep simmering.

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter in olive oil, sweat the onions, but do not brown. Add a splash of white wine or martini bianco if desired. Add the rice, stir till nicely coated. Add stock a ladle at a time, stirring often. Add more stock once the rice mixture looks dry. The stirring is an important part of risotto cooking as it releases the starch, making for a creamy risotto. Cook till rice grains are no longer opaque and cooked to "al dente". Stir in the chopped salted egg white, chestnuts and mushrooms. I prefer a slightly soupy or sloppy risotto.

To serve:

• Plate the risotto in a warmed soup dish
• Lay slices of pork on top
• Decorate with half a salted egg yolk
• Drizzle pork gravy over
• Serve immediately

Duan Wu Jie has several origins, one of which revolves around a poet named Qu Yuan in ancient China during the Warring States period. He opposed the state policy of forming an alliance with the powerful neighbouring state of Qin (from which came Qin Shi Huangdi, who became the First Emperor of all China). Dissent then, as is now, was not well tolerated and Qu Yuan was exiled. During this time he wrote much and was well beloved by the people. Eventually the state of Qu was conquered by Qin and in despair, the poet threw himself into the Milou River and drowned. The locals who were very saddened by this threw rice dumplings into the river so that the fish would not eat his body.