Sichuan and Chongqing people love pumpkin, mushroom, and rice crust (Kong Fan)

In Sichuan and Chongqing, this braised rice dish is known as "Kong Fan." Braised pumpkin, dried mushrooms, and rice create a golden rice dish that blends the sweetness of pumpkin with the savory flavors of mushrooms and minced meat. The crispy texture of rice crust and the chewy, soft texture of pumpkin create a truly delicious dish. Even without the added ingredients, you'll still be left wanting more!

Ingredients

Steps

Soak the mushrooms: Soak the mushrooms 4 hours in advance and set aside.
Rub the pumpkin with salt (eat with the skin), soak it in water and cut into small pieces for later use.
Prepare the ground pork. You can buy it ready-made, or you can buy a mixture of fat and lean meat and chop it yourself.
Chop the soaked dried mushrooms into small pieces. Chop the green onions into small pieces, keeping the white and chopped green onions separate. Crush the garlic and set aside.
Bring water to a boil in a pot, take 220g of rice, wash it clean, pour it into the boiling water, and cook over high heat for 8-10 minutes until cooked.
Remove the partially cooked rice and set aside (keep the rice soup for drinking or for cooking rice later).
After heating the pan, spray some oil on it (or pour in 1 tablespoon of oil), add the minced pork, turn down the heat and cover and cook for 1 minute until the minced pork is slightly cooked, stir fry twice to prevent it from sticking to the pan.
Stir-fry the minced meat until fragrant and slightly golden. Add 1 tablespoon of lard (or 2 tablespoons of cooking oil). Add the scallions and garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add the diced shiitake mushrooms and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add the pumpkin cubes and stir-fry evenly.
Add a teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce and stir-fry until well combined. Add about 150 grams of water (pay attention to the amount of water I added to the pot), reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes, until the pumpkin is 80% cooked.
Once the broth has reduced slightly, spread the pre-cooked rice evenly over the pumpkin and add 150 ml (about 8 tablespoons) of rice broth. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes, rotating the pot occasionally to ensure even heating and prevent burning.
Cook until you hear a continuous "sizzling" or "crackling" sound when the rice grains are crispy. This is the sound of the rice crust being formed. After turning off the heat, you can sprinkle with chopped green onions according to your preference, stir well and serve.