Yuping Shefan (Communal Rice)

Yuping Shefan

　　Yuping Shefan

　　Ingredients: 300g glutinous rice, 200g regular rice, 150g cooked cured pork, 200g Artemisia selengensis (sweet wormwood), 150g bitter garlic (wild onion).

　　Seasonings: tea oil, salt, monosodium glutamate (MSG), and others to taste.

　　Cooking method: steaming. Dice the cured pork, trim the roots of the bitter garlic and cut into short sections, wash the wormwood (use only the tender leaves) and cut into short sections, then knead out the bitter juice and drain the moisture. Stir-fry the wormwood in tea oil in a pan until it turns yellow and the bitterness is removed, then set aside. Rinse the glutinous and regular rice clean; soak the glutinous rice in water, and briefly blanch the regular rice in boiling water before draining the starchy water. After draining the glutinous rice, mix it with the parboiled regular rice, then combine with diced cured pork, bitter garlic, wormwood, salt, and MSG. Mix well and place in a bamboo steamer, then steam over high heat until fully cooked.

　　Flavor profile: fragrant with sweet wormwood and wild onion, rich aroma of cured pork, oily yet not greasy rice. Popular in the Tongren area.

　　Key techniques: use only the tender leaves of the wormwood, must knead out the bitter juice, do not use too much tea oil. If tea oil is unavailable, you can substitute with vegetable oil.