Dimsum Break : Steamed Rice Craving, Satisfied!

I wrote about how excited I was that Dimsum Break is opening a branch in SM North Edsa last year, and I was desperate to finally have a taste of their Steamed Rice again after years of longing for it since I moved back here in 2009 after my 1-year stay in Cebu. Days after their opening in October 2012 (I know, this post is a year late), I dragged my nanay to their first branch at SM Annex and ordered away.

Dimsum Break's Original Steamed Fried Rice

Cebu may be known for many delicious food, but I’m willing to bet that Steamed Rice is on the list of dishes that Cebuanos, or anyone who has lived or even visited Cebu, are craving for when they go anywhere else.

Dimsum Break is the self-service, fast food restaurant of Harbour City Dimsum House, one of the popular Chinese restaurants in Cebu. I’ve dined in both restaurants there and the quality of the dim sum and Steamed Fried Rice are well-kept, so I know they’d make sure to maintain the quality even here in Manila.

So, Steamed Fried Rice, or simply Steamed Rice, is like your typical rice topping dish – rice topped with a savory mix of their ‘secret’ rich sauce, peas, shrimp and pork. The sauce is what makes this rice bowl so irresistible. We’ve tried making them at home – check out Mai’s Steamed Rice recipe – but we have yet to finally uncover the formula of Dimsum Break or Harbour City’s Steamed Rice.

Continue reading Dimsum Break : Steamed Rice Craving, Satisfied!

Dimsum Break : Finally in SM North Edsa!

Update: Dimsum Break at SM North Edsa Annex is FINALLY open! Read our review here.

One thing most of you don’t know about me is that I lived in Cebu for about a year. Sure, there are many dishes and food places that anyone traveling there shouldn’t miss like Taboan (best place to buy pasalubong like danggit and dried squid) and Sutukil near the Mactan Shrine (Dampa-style restaurants). But, there’s one specific dish that I have been longing to have a taste of again and that’s Steamed Rice, Cebu style. So, I was frantic when I learned that Dimsum Break from Cebu is opening a branch here in Manila – at SM North Edsa! 😀

Dimsum Break in SM North Edsa is opening in October 2012

(Photo from Dimsum Break’s Facebook page)

When I moved back here, I have been longing for another taste of their Steamed Rice. In a desperate move, I begged Mai, one of the contributors in this food blog, a pure Cebuana, to come up and share a recipe for Cebu style Steamed Rice that she made here at home. The flavors are close to the actual dish from Cebu, but there’s something missing. Still, the recipe did satisfy our craving.

Cebu Style Steamed Rice - CertifiedFoodies.com

You might be wondering what the heck this Steamed Rice dish is. Don’t take it literally. It’s not just plain steamed rice. It’s a mix of many ingredients and with just one small bowl, it can fill you up because of the combination of the rice, the sauce, peas, the shrimp and pork (or beef). It’s so good that it’s one of the things I deeply miss about Cebu. 😀 If you’d like to try making at home, check out Mai’s Steamed Rice recipe.

Harbour City Dimsum House from Cebu

Anyway, going back to Cebu. There are 2 popular restaurants there where you can order Steamed Rice. One is Harbour City Dimsum House, which is my favorite spot. Here’s a REALLY OLD and LOUSY photo of our lunch there one weekend (taken back in 2008, I think, and I didn’t know better 😀 ):

Steamed Rice and dimsum from Harbour City - photos from 2008

Continue reading Dimsum Break : Finally in SM North Edsa!

Cebu Style Pork Steamed Rice Recipe

This recipe is from our previous contributor, Mai who is a Cebuana and now a chef. Oh, and yes, we’ve been to Dimsum Break at SM North Edsa many times already. Check out our review.

Everytime I go home to Cebu (fyi, I’m a pure Cebuana), I always see to it that I get to eat at Harbour  City Dimsum. One of their most popular, and my favorite, dish is their Pork Steamed Rice. For me, they serve the best steamed rice in Cebu! They also serve the best dimsum I’ve had in my life. Seriously!

Dimsum Break's Original Steamed Fried Rice

We’ve actually tried finding a place here in Manila where they serve Steamed Rice cooked just like in Cebu. But, so far, we haven’t found any Chinese restaurant that serves it (if you know of one, let me know at the comments section!). (UPDATE: Dimsum Break finally opened in Metro Manila in 2012! Woot!)

So, just like with any other dish I crave for, I decided to make it at home and serve it the same way Harbour City Dimsum does. And, I’m sharing my homestyle recipe with you.

Cebu Style Steamed Rice Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
(Apologies if there are no measurements. We’ll try to improve on that next time! But, we usually just taste, adjust or add more, ’til we get the desired taste — We added the measurements.)

Servings: 3-4 bowls

  • 1/4 to 1/2 kg Pork Tenderloin – depends on how much pork you want in there
  • 5-8 pieces Shrimp
  • 1/4 cup Green Peas (not the canned ones please!)
  • 1 small Onion,  chopped
  • 2-3 pieces Garlic, crushed/pressed
  • 2-4 tablespoons Soy Sauce – adjust based on your preference. We used Kikkoman.
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 tbsps. Cornstarch
  • 1 cup Pork Broth
  • Rice

Note: Please read the comments as one of the posters mentioned that adding rice wine and clam juice, plus a different soy sauce, made a difference.

Note 2: There’s another recipe shared by one of the comment posters (Ann), and you can see it at the bottom of this post.

 

PROCEDURE:

1. Pour oil in a hot pan and sauté onions and garlic for about 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Add pork and mix until the pork’s fat starts to ooze out. Then, add shrimp and stir for about 3 to 4 minutes. Then, add 3 tablespoons of soy sauce.

3. Adjust heat to medium and stir. Add a cup of pork broth (you can use pork cubes dissolved in a cup of warm water) and let the mixture boil for 5 minutes. Then, add 2 teaspooons of Worcestershire sauce.

4. Dissolve cornstarch in a half cup of cold water, then, add it to the pan, just enough to thicken the sauce. Stir continuously, then, add the fresh green peas.

Note: Please do not use the ones in can.

Cebu Style Steamed Rice Recipe - CertifiedFoodies.com

 

5. Let it boil for about 3 to 5 more minutes and, then, serve it on top of rice.

I served ours in our soufflé bowls so they’ll look a bit closer to how Harbour City Dimsum serves their Steamed Rice.

Cebu Style Steamed Rice - CertifiedFoodies.com

 

Cebu Style Steamed Rice in Manila - CertifiedFoodies.com

I wasn’t really able to get the exact taste from Harbour City Dimsum, but, the result of this recipe really tastes good. Michelle and I both enjoyed it. It sure did help satisfy my craving and how much I miss Cebu Style Steamed Rice.

Update: We’re sooooo happy to know that Dimsum Break finally opened here in Manila!! Check out our review (branch: SM North Edsa).

This recipe is from our previous contributor, Mai who is a Cebuana and now a chef.

 

Steamed Rice Version II

UPDATE 2: We received a ton of suggestions on how to make this taste closer to Dimsum Break or Harbour City. Here’s one of the recipes shared by Ann (see comment below this post) that you might want to try. Many have mentioned that the actual recipe calls for sesame oil, which is included in the recipe below.

1. Fry the rice with garlic and oyster sauce, then set that aside.

2. In another pan, sauté garlic until brown.

3. Add the cubed pork with some fat (tastes better than just lean pork) and sauté.

4. Add chicken stock or if using chicken Knorr cubes, add water.

5. Let it boil until pork is tender, then add chopped shrimps (you can use the cooked salad shrimps too), then the frozen peas.

6. Add soy sauce per your taste, a tsp. of rice wine to enhance the taste, and sesame oil.

7. Then add cornstarch, diluted in cold water, gradually, to your topping mixture, while stirring until it reaches a thicker consistency.

8. Sprinkle chopped green onions. Place the fried rice in individual bowls, and pour your gravy/topping over the rice.