Chengdu's Sleeper Dish: Mizheng Rou

Sichuanese rice meal-coated steamed pork belly with pumpkin

If all goes according to plan, Dave and I will be back in Chengdu in a little over a month. Until then, we have mizheng rou.

"Rice-steamed meat" is the admittedly not especially appetizing translation of the Chinese characters for what is actually a quite delicious dish. At its most basic mizheng rou consists of meat tossed with ground toasted rice packed into a bowl and steamed for a good long time. It's a cool weather staple, served from giant bamboo or stainless steel steamers set out on sidewalks in front of hole-in-the-wall eateries.

Mizheng rou is probably the most delicous Sichuan dish you've never heard of.

It's deeply comforting in the way that a long-simmered stew is. Imagine it --- meat seasoned with sauces and (sometimes) chilies, then tossed with coarsely ground toasted rice, packed into a bowl, and set into a steamer. For two hours, or maybe three (it's hard to overcook mizheng rou) the meat and rice are gently coddled in swirling scented steam. The meat goes wonderfully soft, absorbing and releasing flavors that are picked up by the uneven bits of rice clinging to its surfaces. They in turn plump up, taking on a texture akin to a thin layer of lumpy mashed potatoes.

Our first encounter with mizheng rou was in 1991, on our first trip back to Chengdu since teaching English there in the mid-eighties. One evening we ate at the home of our friend Qiao's (the same Qiao who taught me how to make some pretty fantastic sauce for noodles with Sichuan preserved vegetable) parents. The weather was typically late-autumn awful -- damp, cold, and gray -- and Dave and I were both nursing sore throats and achy bones. Soon after we arrived at Qiao's parents' place they threw open the windows to let in some "fresh air". We shivered in our coats and warmed our hands on big mugs of tea.

But that dinner -- oh, the food! -- nearly cured us. If there's anything better than a meal in Chengdu it's a home-cooked meal in Chengdu. We ate dry-fried green beans sporting bits of fatty pork and salty preserved vegetable, softened stir-fried tomato slices nestled in pillows of scrambled egg, deep-fried 'sandwiches' of chopped pork held between crispy slices of lotus root, tender pea vines dotted with toasted Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies, and cool shredded cucumber and carrot tossed with bean thread noodle, chili oil, and black vinegar.

But the highlight of the meal was Qiao's mom's mizheng niu rou, a mound of roughly chopped steamed beef mixed with chili paste, soy sauce, sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorn, chopped green onion, lots of chopped cilantro, and bits of toasted rice. It wasn't especially spicy, but every bite was so flavorful, every morsel of meat thoroughly imbued with the seasonings.

Dave and I talked about that dish for days, months even. Then on our trip to Chengdu last January it seemed that mizheng rou was everywhere. Pork belly with pumpkin, beef with green onions, pork ribs with preserved vegetable -- we couldn't get enough of it. When we returned home I set about recreating the dish, with help from Fuchsia Dunlop's Land of Plenty and a recipe book of Sichuan home-style dishes that I picked up in Chengdu, and we've eaten it many times since.

Mizheng rou's greatness was confirmed when we served it to two houseguests a few months ago, Americans who had no preconceptions of what Sichuan food should or shouldn't be. They loved it. I think you will too. (Bonus -- it is VERY easy to make. Any steamer will do -- you don't necessarily need a Chinese-style bamboo one.)

I offer two versions, one for beef and one for pork with pumpkin or winter squash (the pork is not spicy), below. Both are wonderful served with crisp cold romaine leaves dressed with black vinegar (substitute a mixture of cheap balsamic and rice vinegar) mixed with sesame oil, a bit of sugar, salt, chili oil, and just enough sesame paste to give body.

 

Rice-meal coated spicy beef pre-steaming

Mi Zheng La Niu Rou (Spicy Rice-Steamed Beef)

This recipe is adapted from Dunlop's Land of Plenty (a must-buy if you are at all interested in Sichuan cuisine, and especially if you're travelling to Sichuan and want to bone up on what to eat there). I sometimes top it with slices of carrot, which will soften in the steam. Feel free to play with the recipe -- add a bit of chili bean paste if you like, or chop up some cilantro stems and mix them into the meat with the green onions.

1/2 cup white or brown rice

2 star anise

a 1-inch piece of cinammon stick

1 lb of beef (Dunlop recommends flank steak, but I've used tough Malaysian beef to good effect -- any stewing beef will work)

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp each chopped ginger and garlic

2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped

Anywhere from 1/2 tsp to 1 Tbsp dried red chili flakes (if you're a chili head -- OPTIONAL)

2 Tbsp dry sherry or rice wine

3 Tbsp sesame oil

water or meat broth

For serving:

Ground Sichuan peppercorns

sesame oil or chili oi

cilantro leaves, a large handful

1. Rice meal: Put the rice, star anise, and cinammon stick into a pan and toast over low-to-medium heat, stirring fairly constanty, till the rice turns opaque. Remove the rice from the heat and set aside to cool. Then, remove the star anise and cinnamon (set them aside) and pound the rice in a mortar or grind it in a spice grinder to make ROUGH, UNEVEN pieces. (You do not want a powder).
2. Cut the beef into thin slices or approx. 1/2-inch chunks. Put it in a bow and add the soy sauce, ginger and garlic, green onions, chili flakes if using, dry sherry or rice wine, and sesame oil and mix. Set the meat aside to marinate for 15 minutes.
3. Add the rice meal to the meat and mix. If the mixture is completely dry add water or broth by the tablespoon full. You want just a small pool of liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
4. Pack the meat snugly (and any liquid) into a heat-proof bowl (I use a stainless steel bowl). Tuck in the reserved star anise and cinnamon. Lay thin slices of carrot on top, if you like.
5. Place the meat into a steamer and cook for 1.5-2 hours. (It's hard to overcook this dish and how long it takes will depend on the cut of meat you use. Test for tenderness after an hour and 15 mins.)
6. When the meat is done, remove the bowl from the steamer. Place a large plate over the top of the bowl and turn it upside down. Remove the bowl and scrape any bits clinging to its sides onto the meat. 
7. Drizzle with sesame or chili oil, sprinkle with ground Sichuan peppercorns, garnish with a flurry of cilantro leaves, and serve.

Rice meal-coated steamed beef with carrots, served

Mi Zheng Zhu Rou Nan Gua (Rice-Steamed Pork with Pumpkin/Winter Squash)

Note that there are no chilies in this dish (though you could certainly add some if the spirit moved you.)Use soft pork ribs or a fatty cut (belly perhaps, or shoulder). Pumpkin, butternut, acorn, kabocha squashes all work well here. I like to serve this with a simple stir-fried leafy green like spinach, mustard, or baby bok choy.

1/2 cup white rice

3/4# boneless pork cut into 1/2-1 inch chunks, or 1# soft pork ribs

2 Tbsp taucu (bean paste)

3 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice wine or dry sherry 

2 Tbsp sesame oil

1 1/2-inch piece ginger, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves finely chopped

2-4 tablespoons meat or vegetable stock

1/2# pumpkin or winter squash cut into 1.2-inch chunks.

Sesame oil for drizzling

Handful of cilantro leaves

1. Toast the rice in a pan till opaque (don't burn it!), let cool, then roughly grind in a spice grinder (or pound in a mortar).
2. In a bowl, mix the pork, taucu/bean paste, soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic, then set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.
3. Add the rice meal to the pork and mix, then add stock and water a tablespoon at a time until the meat is thoroughly moistened and there's perhaps 1-2 tbsp of liquid at the bottom of the mixing bowl.
4. Pack the meat and its juices snugly into a heatproof bowl. Cover the meat's surface with squash or pumpkin cubes, pressing them down into the meat.
5. Steam the pork and pumpkin for up to 2 hours. Check after 1 hr 15 mins for tenderness.
6. When the meat is done remove it from the steamer, place a large plate over the top, and turn the bowl upside down onto the plate. Scrape any pieces sticking to the bowl onto the meat. Drizzle 1/2 a tablespoon or so of sesame oil over the top, garnish with cilantro leaves (if using), and serve.

Comments

[Sticky]

sounds perfect for the short but bone-chilling Hanoi winter...and not too many ingredients, which is sometimes a turn-off for me. I've never tried the rice toasting process - must add an extra flavour dimension? I'm going to give this a go.

[Wen]

Intriguing... I grew up with plenty of steamed pork patties, garnished with preseved veggie bits etc. Eaten with rice congee / rice. But never with rice mixed into the meat for the steaming progress.

So much to learn about Chinese food still, despite eating it my whole life :-)

[foodbin]

looks a bit lardy.

[Jessie]

you're going back to chengdu?!?! can i be more jealous?! :) let me know if you want some contacts, there we plenty more people i wanted to introduce you to last time and didn't get the chance...

[Liz]

I read this post from start to finish as I could not take my eyes off your mouthwatering descriptions. Been reading your blog for a while now and saved this recipe to try one day. I love sichuan food too and the combination of rice and slow cooked meat is hard to resist.

[tian]

as a chengdu native, i think it's more commonly called "fen zheng rou" instead of "mi zheng rou", and it's not pumpkins in it, it's sweet poptato.

[Robyn]

Hi Sticky - yes, toasting the rice gives a little flavor, esp if you toast with some dry spices. In the way that Isaan-style laab benefits from bits of toasted rice, though uncooked.

Wen - I feel the same way abt Chs food. I learned so much abt it even after moving to Malaysia.

foodbin - I'll take that as a compliment.

Jessie - Didn't return for 15+ years and now we can't stay away! I may take you up on that.

It's really delicious Liz. Let me know how it turns out for you.

Tian - Thanks for your comment.
I'll assume you didn't mean for it to sound as snarky as it does. I have in front of me a recipe book I picked up in Chengdu, in Chinese (I read characters). The contents are divided into various types of dishes (as cookery books usually are) and one of the categories is Mi Zheng Lei. We certainly did eat a few versions with pumpkin/winter squash and I saw plenty of kabocha-style squashes at the market.

As a Chengdu native I am sure that you have many insights to offer here. We'd all benefit and I'd love to hear from you again ... if you can lose the unpleasant tone.

[YY]

Hi Robyn,

Love your blog and it's wonderful to see one of my favorite dishes featured here. I do agree with Tian that it is commonly referred to as "fen zheng rou" or "mi fen zheng rou" and I'm guessing that's why they put it under the "mi zheng lei" category.

Thanks for the beautiful post and look forward to hearing all about your adventure out in Chengdu.

[fotografiafoodie]

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, I will have to try this one. Gorgeous. Beautiful.

[Nga Seg Son]

Hi Robyn,

Thanks for the enlightenment. I resided at North Eastern China (东北 ) for 7 years. I frequented Sichuanese Restaurant occasionally and the variation of this particular dish at the North East comes in a big bamboo steaming tray called Feng Zheng Pai Gu (粉蒸排骨). I have always wonder what the gooey stuff was guessing whether it was taro or pumpkin never thinking that it was ground toasted rice.

I am a Malaysian currently residing in Vietnam and I suppose the commentator above Sticky must be of Stickyrice fame.

I love your articles in the Wall Street Journal as well. I suppose for copyright reasons you can't paste the full article at your personal blog.

I don't see Tian's comment as coming across as harsh. Probably it is her transliteration of her thoughts from Chinese to English. It appears quite ordinary to me.

Oh, lest I forget I follow your Malaysian write-ups fervently and has visited the locations you mentioned in Ipoh. Will do a food trail of your Penang write up soon.

Regards

Nga Seg Son

[Katy]

Robyn, Tian,YY and Seg Son –this is my view:

Mi Zheng Le refers to any dish that is rice (in whatever form) steamed – be it with pumpkin, winter squash, taro or sweet potato (I personally can’t image the sweetness steamed well with the meat, but may just be a personal preference, it does seem a bit of an odd choice if I’m being honest) I am thinking of the taste of Taiwanese sweet potato, there may be a different type with different texture and taste in Chengdu.

I think the ‘misunderstanding’ lies in the character Feng 粉, it is rice in powder form. Whereas, in Robyn’s recipe, it is ground rice toasted. It is apparent that a dish with Feng is prepared with 米粉 (Rice powder, whatever rice is used but I would have thought something coarse powder) and hence as in Tian and YY’s “fen zheng rou” or “mi feng zheng rou”. Feng Zheng Pai Gu (粉蒸排骨) in Seg Son’s if done correctly as the term suggests – should also be prepared in rice powder.

Nobody is wrong and not much to disagree – the argument lies in whether the dish is prepared in grain or powder. I also think the cooking time in Robyn’s recipe would have been longer and slower because essentially you are cooking the grain too – whereas with Rice powder, the timing is significantly reduced.

I haven’t been to Chengdu, so I can’t say. But if two of you referred it to Feng Zheng and Tian as a native –it may be possible that the ones that sold on the street or some restaurants are prepared from rice powder, it makes sense in modern busy days. And the one in Robyn’s cookbook is a classic recipe steamed from toasted rice and of course what you had back in 1990s.

Is this agreeable, everyone?

[Katy]

Rice powder is not the right word - it should be rice flour.

[Katy]

Robyn, look at this and you will see what this is about: In Chengdu/Sichuan, they use rice flour 大米粉 to make the dish 粉蒸肉 Fenzheng rou. Your Mizheng rou is a classic recipe.

http://www.meishij.net/china-food/caixi/chuancai/419.html

[Albert]

Thank you for the great post. I use to make this dish with packaged (seasoned) rice powder from chinese markets. Now I am looking forward to making this from scratch. I wonder if it is always made with regular white rice, or is glutinous rice sometimes used sometimes as well?

[Katy]

Albert, are you the one from Taiwan who went to 建中？ You know 糯米蒸肉,made with glutinous rice, pork belly, and steams well with starchy ingredients - taro, red potato etc. 荷葉糯米蒸肉is basiclly prepared the same way as Hunan zongzi (湖南棕子)? - I personally found it too bland. I prefer the Tainan zongzi, seasoned rice with salty duck egg. Hakka's too gooey.

[Albert]

Hi Katy, yeah, that is me. My grandma use to make 湖南棕子, and I agree that it can seem a little sparse in flavor and texture if eaten on its own.

What I was wondering though, was that if one can toast and grind glutinous rice for 粉(米)蒸肉, or is regular white rice better suited for this dish?

[Robyn]

Thanks everyone, for your comments.

Albert -- you could certainly do it with glut. rice but the texture wouldn't be the same. This rice coating isn't at all sticky or gummy as I noted it's a bit like lumpy mashed potatoes. I'm thinking of a certain Thai street food that is coated with ground sticky rice and steamed ... not the same texture at all.
That said, I don't think it would be *bad* with glutinous rice, just very different. And if you try it definately then do make sure the rice isn't ground too fine. Oh, and let us know here how it works out.
(I know I have had those pork chops you mention somewhere before, they sound so familiar, but at the moment I can't place them. Hong Kong maybe, years ago.)

[Krista]

Made the beef one this evening for dinner -- really liked the texture.

[Robyn]

That's great Krista, thanks for the feedback!

[Katy]

I forgot to mention that people mix white rice and glutinous too in Mizheng rou dishes - depends on the texture preference. Commonly higher ratio of rice to the other. This one is 1:1 though. Didn't know Pekinese prefer gummy rice! :-)

http://www.sbar.com.cn/caipu/69304/

Did it say in your book?

[Robyn]

Pekinese as in Beijing ren? Says who? (Can't open your link.) I find the rice in many places in China to be 'gummier' than say rice in parts of southeast Asia that eat non-glutinous rice, but nothing approaching glutinous rice's gummy-ness. More like Japanese rice stickyness, from the short grain I think.

I would not want any gumminess in this dish but that's an entirely personal preference. And I think it would make the dish off-putting to foreigners not accustomed to sticky rice.

[Katy]

1. Pekingese as in 北京的 (Beijing's)。Not the dog.

2. Says the internet：
http://www.sbar.com.cn/ (美食吧）

Bit difficult if you can't open the link. Try this 正宗老北京粉蒸肉; copy and paste it all either in google search (or the site above) and you should see links about the 'authentic old Peking Fen zheng rou'. 1:1 white rice:glutinous rice (大米与糯米１：１)

3.It is not gummy short grain rice I can assure you,I know what you mean. Like comparing sushi rice to basmati. It is glutinous rice 糯米 . I've seen it in other sites wth mixture of white rice and glutinous. But mostly higher ratio of white,like 4:1. (maybe 赣菜- Jiangxi 江西) Obviously as you said, it's the texture preference. It would be clearer if you can see the link with the photos. This one does look gummier steamed with the pork, don't think you can taste the rice as much as in yours.

[Katy]

Glutinous rice absorbs fat more than white rice? So I am guessing, instead of a layer of lumpy mashed potatoes, you get moist tender meat, all melt in mouth, not necessarily meat with a layer of gummy rice which foreigners not accustomed to?

Never tried any of these, but does it make sense?

[eastingfeasting]

that's another one Robyn,
you should do a variety of rice and texture review, i do find korean,japanese,vietnamese, thai rice are very different in taste and textures.
i'm the type that get physcially ill if i dont' have rice for more than a month, but will only eat basamati or japanese rice only onces.

[Chris]

I have been reading your blog as i'm going to Chengdu in December. I like to eat different foods, and pulled out the trusty "Land of the Plenty" to make this dish, once I had read you rave about it. I originally went passed the recipe because "Steamed Beef in Rice Meal" didn't sound that appetizing. I made it yesterday and its a wonderful dish. I don't know if I made it right, but it reminded me a bit of a chinese cous cous dish. Dunlop said the rice should be smaller than Cous Cous but not a powder, which is what I did. Thankyou for giving me another dish to try at home, and I look forward to trying many different foods when i'm in Chengdu!