How to Make Kiampong 鹹飯 (Hokkien Chinese Rice Casserole)

I apologize, apologize, apologize!!!  I couldn't apologize enough as I know this post is long overdue  I have a great post though but when I did the video, I didn’t realize that the write up wasn't yet written.  Worse, I just have several things on my plate that I needed to digest....  On top of that, now I can reveal, that with the worst cold snaps that the United States experienced (yes, while there is a drought on the other side of the coasts), I, not doing my yoga, despite that I do proficient yoga, slipped on ice - seven weeks ago - and broke my ankle.  I didn’t take off from work, yet I have to go to work with a broken ankle, in a cast, fulfilling each responsibility while having to go to my Orthopedist and my Physical Therapist. 

Kiampong....mmmm. Memories of home. We used
to eat this with ketchup.  This one is
with Sriracha sauce on top.

Anyway, I am not here to b-- further but that was, I hope, a short explanation of a rather long list of hassles which prevented me to be timely with this.  So, off to the post.  But before that, I again, apologize. 

For today's post.  A remnant from my past and I hope yours too.  While the dish is popular in certain circles of the Filipino community, I think that originally, about forty years ago, as I was growing up, that this dish was usually only found strictly in  Chinese communities.  I didn’t see it in restaurants as I was growing up but then, I could be wrong.  I was quite surprised when saw it recently in menus of Chinese restaurants in Manila.  That dish, my friends, is "Kiampong". 

Kiampong is essentially a casserole dish which means that it contains all that one needs for a complete meal and in itself, is the carbohydrate, the vegetable and the meat, hence, a "casserole".  For my Filipino friends out there, as implied, casserole is "kaserola" which is the implement used to stew, boil or simmer foods, usually soups or braised meats.  But the use of the "kaserola" also may be found in casserole dishes like this one, much like paella, or pancit bihon or chicken pot pies. 

Meaning "salted rice" or "salty rice" in Chinese, it means that the dish is preflavored with meats and vegetables ready for serving rather than the bowl of white rice serves with other dishes -- meat, fish  or vegetables.  Hence, it is served, theoretically with just the pot in the middle of the table while each person grabs a plate or bowl, ready to grab some and eat away.  

And that's what my mom used to do when I was growing up with my siblings.  Because the dish has everything, and my mother would cook it on rare occasions, we kids considered it to be special.  And rightfully so, the pot would surely be empty in half an hour.  Even the burnt bottom of the pot would likewise be gone as well. 

When my mom shouts, "Lan Be Tsiah Loh!" (i.e.
"We are about to eat!") This is exactly how we
look like.

I've seen a lot of recipes out in the internet that call  kiampong as somewhat related to fried rice, but containing the usual ingredients found in kiampong.  It is not.  Kiampong is essentially a rice caserrole, like paella or Risotto.  Therefore, therefore the rice is boiled with the rest of the ingredients rather than separately and added later in a saute as in Fried Rice.  Also, this traditional way does not  have a lot of ingredients but just maintains it to the following: chicken, pork, soy sauce, chinese sausages, shitake mushrooms in rice.  This formula incidentally is true to the original from my mother, who learned it from her mother.  And now, it is with me and I am sharing it all of you. 

Kiampong (Hokkien Chinese Rice Casserole dish) 

• 1 pound chicken, cut into desired pieces 
• 1 pound pork, cut into desired pieces 
• 1/2 head garlic 
• 1 small onion, sliced 
• 2 Chinese sausages (Lap Chong) sliced into small pieces 
• 6 rehydrated dried shitake mushrooms, sliced 
• 1/2 pound of peeled and cubed butternut squash (or similar squash with the same sweet flavor) 
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup soy sauce 
• 1 tablespoon fermented salted black beans (tau-si) 
• 1 tablespoon five spice powder 
• water for boiling (or broth or half of both) 
• salt and pepper to taste 

Procedure 

1. Saute in a hot casserole using an eighth cup of oil, the garlic and onions until caramelized.  To this, add the chinese sausages until the sausages' oils have melted a bit a mixed with the saute.  Saute the meats with the soy beans next until half cooked. 
2. To the meats, add the mushrooms and rice and saute further until the rice is covered with the meats and onions much like making risotto.  Add the liquids: broth (water) and soy sauce.  The liquid level should be at the second line of your middle finger when the tip is touching the very surface of the rice and meat mixture.  Add the squash and five spice powder.  Cover and simmer, opening the lid once in a while to stir the rice once in a while to prevent burning the bottom and allow the liquids to settle and facilitate steaming and drying the rice.  Once the rice is cooked, turn off the heat and allow to rest for about fifteen minutes before serving. Serve with a topping of chopped green onions.  Sliced scrambled egg strips and peanuts are great additions too.

Superstition perhaps? 

My mother used to cook this dish and during the simmering would put a teaspoon of salt on the cover of the casserole.  When asked for the reason, she said that it facilitates cooking the rice and it’s a practice her mother used to do as well.  I don’t ascribe to this advise, but whatever the origin of this practice perhaps, one can just imagine when and why.