Chez Christine: Chinese Sticky Rice

I love sticky rice. Japanese sushi rice, Chinese sticky rice, Thai sticky rice. You name it, sweet or savory, and I would probably love it.

My grandmother used to bring her famous sticky rice ("no mei fan" in Cantonese) to family gatherings. She made a gigantic pot of it in the ricer cooker, left it plugged in to keep warm, and I remember always eating bowl after bowl while neglecting all the other dishes. This dish has both a sentimental and comfort value to it that always reminds me of grandma.

Trying to recreate the sticky rice, especially in Paris, has been an adventure. My mother was kind enough to send me her recipe, and although I don't have a ricer cooker, my little electric hot plate turned up some decent Chinese sticky rice after a few tries. For best results, a steamer is recommended so that the rice doesn't get mushy.

A few tips I learned along the way:

read through the list carefully to make sure the ingredients are well-soaked beforehand; use plenty of water to cover, as the rice will absorb a lot
Chinese sausage comes in a regular or liver version; the liver version is darker and well, more liver-y!

Prepped Chinese Sticky Rice Ingredients

Chinese Sticky Rice
Serves 4

2 cups glutinous rice, soaked at least 4 hours
3-4 Chinese sausages
3/4 cup dried shrimp, soaked for an hour
5-7 dried black mushrooms, soaked overnight
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 stalks green onion, sliced and separated into white and green parts
1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp Chinese oyster sauce (plus more to taste)

Wash black mushrooms, drain, remove stems, and dice.
Rinse Chinese sausage and dice.
Rinse dried shrimp and dice if necessary.
In a wok or saute pan, heat up oil to medium-high heat, and stir fry Chinese sausage until fat begins to render, about two minutes. Add dried shrimp and cook for about 1 minute. Add dried mushrooms and white parts of scallions and stir-fry together for 5 minutes, until fragrant.
Drain and rinse glutinous rice. Place in a larg3e mixing bowl. Add stir-fried ingredients, two tbsp of oyster sauce and mix well.
Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in the pot of a steamer. Water should not touch the bottom of the steamer portion. Place a piece of cheesecloth in the steamer.
Place rice mixture on top of cheesecloth and smooth into an even layer.
Steam, covered, until the rice is cooked through. Depending on how long you've soaked the rice and how wide your steamer is, it should be anywhere from 20 minutes-1 hour. Check after 20 minutes and fluff occasionally. The sticky rice should be cooked through, soft, but still be slightly chewy when done.
When the rice is cooked, add frozen peas, place lid on, and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes for peas to heat through.
Top with scallion greens, fluff rice (chopsticks are the best tool), and add more oyster sauce, pepper, or salt to taste.

Bon appétit!