Chinese Sticky Rice 糯米飯

Have you ever heard the phrase "all roads lead to Rome"? It means there are many different ways to achieve the same goal. I think it's a good way to describe how we can cook sticky rice.

What makes "sticky rice" sticky? It's the type of rice used, called glutinous (or sometimes known as sweet) rice. Glutinous rice has a higher starch content than regular rice, which causes the rice to be less fluffy and to "stick together". Glutinous rice comes in both long and short grain form - see the picture for comparison between glutinous and white rice - as you can see, glutinous rice is opaque and has a chalk-like color, whereas regular rice is more translucent. You can either use long or short grain glutinous rice for this recipe.

(i) Left - regular short-grain rice, (ii) Center -regular long-grain rice, (iii) Right - glutinous long-grain rice

There are so many ways to cook sticky rice depending on your preferred taste, texture and method. The rice can be cooked with less water resulting in a more bouncy/chewy texture, or with more water resulting in a more moist and softer texture. Some stir-fry the rice all the way till it's cooked, and some steam the plain rice first before mixing with cooked toppings and seasonings. Some go one step further and wrap the rice in lotus leaf before steaming it again (like what you get at dimsum places) - this way the rice becomes really soft and moist with added fragrance from the leaves.

And others, like my recipe today, stir-fry the toppings and rice before cooking the rice in the pan. The rice is first cooked with shallot oil and chicken stock, both of which enhance the flavor. I prefer to add the toppings after the rice is partially cooked to retain some original flavors of the toppings.

Enjoy this classic and well-loved comfort food for many!

RECIPE FOR CHINESE STICKY RICE 
Serves 4-6
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Ingredients:

Toppings
2 Tbsp cooking oil
30g (6 medium) dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked and diced)
1/3 cup dried shrimps (soaked and chopped)
1/3 cup chinese sausages (diced)
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp pepper

Sticky Rice
3 Tbsp cooking oil
50g shallots (8 small) (peeled and sliced thinly)
2 cups glutinous rice (based on US cup size)
1¾ cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
1/2 tsp five spice powder (optional)

Initial Preparation
Wash the glutinous rice and soak in water for 2 hours. Drain dry in strainer.

Soak mushrooms in hot water till soft and dice.
Soak dried shrimps in hot water for 15-20 minutes and chop if you prefer smaller bites.
Dice chinese sausage.
Peel and cut shallots into fine slices.

To cook toppings
Over medium-high heat, heat up 2 Tbsp of cooking oil in pan. Add dried shrimps, mushrooms and chinese sausage. Season with 1 tsp soy sauce and 1/4 tsp pepper. Stir-fry till aromatic and cooked. Transfer ingredients to a plate.

To cook sticky rice

Over medium heat, heat up 3 Tbsp oil in pan. Add sliced shallots and stir regularly. Once shallots start to turn golden-brown color, add the drained glutinous rice and stir well.

Season with 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp five spice powder and stir-fry slightly. Add 1 cup chicken stock, bring to a boil, and turn heat down to low (important to use a slow fire). Cover pan with a lid and stir rice occasionally.

After 15 minutes, add remaining 3/4 cup chicken stock, mushroom, dried shrimps, chinese sausage and mix well. Cover with lid, cook for another 15-20 minutes or so till rice is cooked through, stirring occasionally.

Serve hot or warm.

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