Brown Rice Served with Chinese Shacha Gravy and Lamb Slices

Brown rice has been gradually replacing the all-mighty position in my heart,
Maybe it's becauses I love the al dente texture of pasta, and brown rice gives me that similar bite,
The bran/germ layer provides a slightly chewy texture that I can't find in regular white rice,
Don't even mention the high nutritional value it brings to my happy tummy.

However, some people doesn't like it for the reason why I love it - that chewy bite,
They think it's too dry and too tough to eat,
To remedy the situation? Why not serve brown rice with some kind of "saucey" and heavy tasting seasonings?
The soupy ingridients not only work wonderful with brown rice since the bran prevents the grains from sogginess, but also make it less parched for brown rice haters!

Ingredients (for 3~4 portions)?

Marinade:

1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of shacha sauce
1 teaspoon of Chinese cooking wine
1/2 teaspoon of chili sauce

To cook:

1 lb/about 35 lamb slices
1 big bundle of spinach
8 to 10 shitake mushroom
2 eggs
1/2 large onion
4 to 5 garlic cloves
4 fresh chili peppers
3 tablespoons of shacha sauce
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of corn starch with some filtered water 
2 1/2 cup of hot water
1/2 teaspoon of chili sauce
Some rice of preference
Some olive oil
Some sea salt
Some freshly ground black pepper
Some toasted sesame seeds (optional)

How?

Whisk all the marinade ingredients together and massage the lamb slices with it,
Let it marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Peel and slice the onion, peel and mince the garlic, chop the chili peppers into smaller pieces,
Remove the stems from the mushroom and cut into slices,
Beat two eggs,
Thoroughly rinse the spinach and soak in water for about 5 to 10 minutes,
Once done, drain well and set aside,

Prepare a big pan or a pot,
Drizzle some olive oil till the bottom of the pan is well coated,
Turn to medium high heat,
Toss in sliced onion, sprinkle some salt and pepper.

Cook till the onion turned slightly translucent,
Toss is minced garlic and chopped chili peppers,
Give it a quick stir and wait till that garlicky aroma comes out, but don't let it burn!

Add in the mushrooms together with shacha sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and chili sauce,
Mix well and cook till the mushrooms appear soft and tender,
The color will get darker too after absorbing all the heavy seasonings.

Transfer the spinach into the pan, cook till wilted,
Taste it and see if more seasonings are needed,
It should be on the salty side since we gonna add water into the mixture, it'll dilute the taste a bit.

Pour in hot water and bring to a boil,
Mix corn starch with just a little bit of water,
Gradually pour in the corn starch water while stirring the soupy ingredients at the same time,
This will prevent doughy lumps, so don't be lazy!

While doing the same motion, add in the eggs and turn off the fire,
Don't stir too much here, otherwise the whole thing will look kind of dirty and mushy.

Simply scoop the soupy ingredients onto the rice,
You can sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds to add more nutritional value,
I also added some ground pepper on top to give it an extra kick.

Hope this recipe will make more people willing to give this healthy grain another try!

Cindy's Rating: 8