MAURITIUS: Upside-Down Chicken Bowl (Bol Renversé)

While my kids are older than when I started this journey, this is one of those meals I wish we had discovered on the initial go-round. I imagine they would have loved the magic of lifting an upside-down bowl to reveal a delicious meal underneath. To present bol renversé, a sunny-side up egg is placed upside-down in a bowl, then topped with a a layer of Chinese influenced chicken stir fry, then a layer of cooked white rice. A plate is placed on top, then the whole kit and caboodle is flipped over. One removes the bowl, revealing the towered meal! In parts of Mauritius, this is dish is referred to as "magic bowl." It is a meal whose sum is far greater than its parts.

Upside-Down Chicken Bowl (Bol Renversé)

2 cups uncooked jasmine or basmati rice

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken thigh (~2 large thighs)

½ lb Chinese sausage (~2)

½ small yellow onion

1 carrot

¼ lb fresh baby corn (~6)

 ¼ lb shiitake mushrooms, baby or full sized

2 small Chinese eggplant

2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine or mirin

¼ cup oyster sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

1 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon fish sauce

4 large eggs

salt and pepper, to taste

more oil to fry the eggs

1. Cook the rice according to package directions.

2. While rice is cooking, heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, season with salt and pepper, and add to pan and stir fry. While chicken is cooking, slice the Chinese sausage. When the chicken is just cooked, about 5 minutes, remove to a medium bowl and set aside. Add the sausage to the same pan, and stir-fry about 5 minutes. Add to the bowl with the chicken.

3. Chop the ½ onion into small dice. Peel the carrot, slice lengthwise, and slice into think half moons. Add both the onion and the carrot to the pan. If there is not enough oil to prevent browning, add a tablespoon or two of water and scrape the bottom of the pan. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.

4. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, then cut each slice into large slices. Roughly chop the shiitake mushrooms and baby corn. Add eggplant, mushrooms, and corn into pan with the onions and carrots, stir-frying for a further minute.

5. Add the cooking wine to deglaze the pan, then add cooked chicken and sausage back in along with oyster sauce, soy sauce, and chicken stock. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Once boiling, remove the lid and reduce the heat.

6. In a small bowl or mug, mix the cornstarch in with the fish sauce and 1 tablespoon of water. Stir until you have an even slurry. Add the slurry to thicken the sauce, and cook for 2-5 minutes, until sauce thickens.

7. While the sauce heats, fry each egg, sunny-side up style, on a non stick griddle or pan. You want the yolk to be just set, but still runny. As soon as each egg is done, place it in a bowl, yolk side down, in a rounded cereal bowl. (Ideally you fill 4, but you can also assemble one at a time).

8. Top each egg until the bowl is about half-way full with the stir-fry and sauce, followed by the cooked rice. Gently flatten the rice, then place a plate upside-down on top of the bowl. Flip the bowl and plate over together, so the plate is now right side-up and the bowl upside-down. Remove the bowl before serving.

#bolrenversé #ricebowl #sunnysideup #mauritius #heaven #cookingforkids

FUN FACTS:

• Mauritius is believed to be the only known habitat of the now extinct flightless Dodo bird.

• Public transportation in Mauritius is free for students, people with disabilities and senior citizens.

• American writer Mark Twain was said, "Mauritius was made first and then heaven, and heaven was copied after Mauritius."