Our Recipe of the Month is for Mauritian Bol Renversé aka "Magic Bowl". Its culinary origins are East and South Asian, combining Chinese stir-fry with Basmati rice in a unique presentation. It's both fun and delicious!

The island nation of Mauritius is located in the middle of the Indian Ocean six hundred miles east of Madagascar. Prior to the 16th century, the tiny island was uninhabited although both African and Arab mariners knew of its existence. The island was first settled by the Dutch in 1638. The Dutch established sugarcane plantations with and enslaved East Africans to work the plantations. However, the colony only lasted for 52 years, during which the colony was abandoned more than once due to bad harvests, bad weather, pestilence, and poor leadership. Five years after the Dutch left,  in 1710 the French took over the island. The French greatly expanded the sugarcane plantations, and they too enslaved Africans to work in the fields. The French ruled the island for 95 years but at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the British wrested control of the Island in 1810. Three years before this Britain had declared the slave trade  illegal by an act of Parliament but slavery continued in most British colonies until the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. Nearly half of the formerly enslaved Africans in Mauritius moved off the plantations either homesteading farms or establishing residence on the outskirts of the city. Needing workers for the plantations, the British administration brought hundreds of thousands of people from India and Southern China (Haka and Fujian) to work as indentured servants. Soon South Asians became the numerically dominant group on the island. The British ruled Mauritius until 1968 when, after decades of moving in that direction, Mauritius declared independence. Presently 2/3 of their population is of Indian heritage. The majority of Mauritians are Hindu. However, most people speak Mauritian Creole, a language based on French grammar with a lexicon that is derived from a number of African, European, and Asian languages. Both the language and cuisine of Mauritius are manifestly diverse.

Bol Renversé literally means "upside-down bowl," but the dish is also frequently referred to as "magic bowl". It is popular throughout the island. For all intents and purposes, it is Chinese-style stir-fry over rice and topped with a fried egg. The "magic" part is assembling everything in a bowl and then flipping it over. The stir-fried ingredients are variable; this recipe calls for chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, baby corn, and bok choi, but you can add or substitute green or red peppers, scallions, carrots, green beans, frozen corn kernels, bean sprouts. Cook's notes: Unless you live on a shrimp boat, it is nearly always best to buy frozen rather than "fresh" shrimp. When harvested, nearly all shrimp are either frozen on the boat or frozen before they are shipped. "Fresh" shrimp in supermarkets is almost always previously frozen shrimp that has been thawed some unspecified time before you buy it. The same is true of most fish from the ocean.

In Asia, eggs are commonly fried in a wok with a goodly amount of oil. The goal is to have the edges of the egg brown and crispy. For Bol Renversé some recipes instructions call for placing the fried egg at the bottom of the bowl and then adding the stir-fry on top (and then the rice). Most recipes I have encountered say to add the egg on top after the bowl has been flipped onto the plate.

Cooking Basmati rice: Soak the rice in water for 20 - 30 minutes. Some people then rinse the rice repeatedly, but this is not really necessary. Drain the rice. Boil 2 1/2 cups of water, add the rice, cover the pot and turn the heat down low. Cook for 20 minutes. Please be aware that if you use more water the rice will be softer, and using less water will make the rice firmer.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup Basmati rice
• 3/4 pound of chicken breast
• 1/4 pound of shrimp (defrosted and shelled)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 medium onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1-inch piece of fresh ginger
• 1 medium-sized carrot
• 1/4 pound of mushrooms
• 1/2 can of baby corn (about 4 ounces drained) or 3 ounces of frozen corn kernels
• 1/2 pound of bok choi (trimmed)
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives, cilantro or flat-leaf parsley

 

Preparation (makes 4 bowls):

1. Wash and then soak the Basmati rice in cold water for 30 minutes. Soaking the rice will make it fluffier.
2. Cook the rice.
3. Chop the onion, garlic, and ginger very finely (or use a food processor).
4. Cut carrot into matchsticks.
5. Slice mushrooms
6. Cut off the top green portion of the bok choi and then coarsely chop the greens and set aside.
7. Cut the white parts of the bok choi lengthwise into matchsticks.
8. Chop the baby corn into 1-inch pieces
9. Slice the chicken into 1/4 inch layers and then cut into 1/4 strips. (if the chicken is partially frozen it will be easier)
10. Slice shrimp into 1/2 inch pieces.
11. In a small bowl or cup,  mix together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and corn starch. Set aside.
12. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok until it just begins to smoke.
13. Add onion, garlic, and ginger, and fry for 1 to 2 minutes with vigorous stirring to prevent burning.
14. Add the chopped shrimp, mushrooms, carrots, corn, and chicken to wok and stir for 2 minutes.
15. Stir the sauce mixture together to integrate the corn starch and then stir into the wok.
16. Turn down the wok to medium-low and let simmer for 10 minutes.
17. While the wok is simmering, in a separate frying pan, fry the eggs until they are "sunny-side up", but keep the eggs separated from each other.
18. Divide equally the wok ingredients into 4 medium-sized bowls. Don't forget to add the sauce.
19. Fill the rest of each bowl with rice, pressing it down gently with a big spoon to make it more solid.
20. Place a flat plate on each bowl and then while holding the plate and bowl together, flip everything over.
21. Place each plate on the table and remove the bowls.
22. On each mound place one of the sunny-side-up eggs.
23. Garnish with chopped chives, cilantro or parsley and serve.

Bon Appétit!

Recipe and photos by T. Johnston-O'Neill