6 c Chicken broth
2 tb Shredded Smithfield ham
4 sm Cakes Chinese bean curd
-cubed, rinsed in cold water
6 lg Chinese black mushrooms
- soaked, squeezed dry
- and shredded
4 c Peanut oil for deep-frying
BRING THE BROTH TO A SIMMER in a pot and add the ham,
bean curd and mushrooms. Let it simmer 5 minutes. Heat
the oil in a wok to very hot (about 380F). Test the
oil by dropping a small piece of Rice Crust into it.
It should float immediately. Slip the whole Rice Crust
into the oil. As it begins to puff up like popcorn,
break it up into large chunks with long chopsticks.
Turn it to brown on all sides (about 1 minute). Remove
the rice and drain it. At the table, add the rice to
the serving bowl of soup. It will sizzle as the steam
rises and provide quite a show. Add the scallions and
sesame oil just before serving. (The oil used for
deep-frying can be cooled, strained through a fine
sieve and stored in a jar for future use.)
FOR RICE CRUST: Prepare rice as you normally would,
but cook it in a wide, heavy pot at least 15 minutes
after the rice is soft so that a crust forms on the
bottom of the pot. Spoon off the top layer of loose
rice and set aside for Fried Rice or freeze it for
future use. If left to stand overnight at room
temperature, the crust will be easier to remove from
the pot. To use the rice right away, keep the pot on
low heat and dribble peanut oil around the edge. Heat
for a few minutes, then loosen the crust with a
spatula. It should come out in one whole piece. Invert
the crust onto a plate. It can now be frozen for
future use or used while still hot.
