Taro Rice

Taro is what people from this region fondly call yam. Yam is not taro and taro is not yam, actually.

Yam is from the Dioscoreaceae family and Taro is from the family Araceae.
It's just like a cat is from the felidae family and the cow is from Bovidae family. Although both cow and cat are mammals, you don't think they are the same, right?

So, how can the yam and the taro be the same? Yeah, they are edible roots, but hey, yams are creepers and taro grows firmly on land. Orang Utans and humans have 2 hands and 2 legs... but I'm no orang utan.

But do you know that okra and the beautiful national flower of Malaysia, Hibiscus is from the same family, Malvaceae???  And the rose flower is in the same family as apples?? Plant Taxonomy is a complicated thing.
Gave me headache during my 2nd year in Uni. I loved these subjects, but memorising them was a nightmare. I was literally calling out the names of trees whenever I see them, just like calling a friend by name.

"Hi there, Samanea Saman

Pterocarpus Indicus,I see you

Thunbergia laurifolia, beautiful purplish flowers"


Anyway, enuff said, let's eat some Taro Rice..

Taro Rice Recipe
Serves 3 or 4

400gm peeled taro cubes (it was 500gm before peeling)
3 shallots, finely sliced
2 Tbsp dried shrimps, soaked and drained
100gm minced meat (chicken or pork)
4 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked, diced
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
2 Tbsp dark soy sauce (If using those dark caramely soy sauce, please use only 1 Tbsp and use an additional Tbsp of light soy sauce)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1.5 cups thai fragrant rice or jasmine rice, washed and drained (1 cup is 250ml, please take note, not the one that comes with your rice cooker)
3 cups water (It seems a lot of water for this type of rice grain, but take note that taro will absorb a lot of water)
3 Tbsp cooking oil

1. Heat wok and put in oil.
2. On medium heat, sauté shallots until golden, drain and dish up.
3. On high heat, put in taro cubes and fry until surface of the taro is very slightly golden and seemed to have taken on a crust. Drain and dish up.
4. On high heat, put in soaked dried shrimp and fry until fragrant with remaining oil in wok. Put in minced meat and fry until it turned opaque. Try to break up the meat, don’t let it clump together in large clumps. Then put in the mushrooms. Cook for 10 seconds and if it is too dry, add in a few table spoons of water. Season with soy sauces, salt and sugar. Turn off the heat.
5. Return taro to wok and put in rice as well. Toss everything together a few times. And put them into your rice cooker.
6. Put in water and cook accordingly. Let rice sit in the pot for 15 minutes before fluffing the rice.

I do not own a rice cooker, and I always use the microwave to do one pot rice. So, what I did was, put the rice mixture into a microwave safe cooking vessel and pour in 3 cups of boiling water. Zap on high for 4 minutes. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Zap another 4 minutes. Let the rice sit for minimum 20 minutes before serving.

I was taught to zap the rice a few times instead of one long period of time by my kids’ nanny. This way, I only use 50% of the zapping time. Saves a lot of power.