Another dim sum favorite of mine, Chinese sticky rice provides a great combination of sweet and savory. This recipe is a perfect recreation of the dish, studded with little bits of tasty mix-ins, including sweet Chinese sausage (with a taste reminiscent of raisins), dried mushrooms, and dried shrimp, which are all essential to the rice’s success. The technique involves sauteeing all the ingredients, including the rice, and then transferring the mix to a steamer – something I was initially skeptical about that ultimately yielded amazing results. Together with some scallion pancakes (which you undoubtedly have waiting in your freezer, right?), you can be well on your way to your own dim sum feast.
Chinese Sticky Rice (adapted from Food Mayhem)
Yield: 3 – 4 servings as an entree, 8 – 12 as part of dim sum
Ingredients:
- 2 cups sweet rice*
- 1/2 cup dried mushrooms (about 8 – 10 mushrooms)**
- 1/4 cup tiny dried shrimp**
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup sweet Chinese sausage, diced**
- 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce + more to taste
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- kosher salt, to taste
- 2 Tbsp water
- scallions and/or cilantro, chopped, to garnish (optional)***
*Short-grain sweet rice is typically recommended for this dish – but I could only find long-grain sweet rice and the texture was still really good.
**These ingredients can all be found at Chinese markets and there really are no good substitutes (although using fresh mushrooms instead of dried will most likely be okay). You will probably want to adjust the proportions to your liking – I like a whole lot of little pieces throughout my rice so the amounts here are on the higher side.
***I didn’t have any scallions or cilantro for garnishing, and the dim sum restaurant I go to doesn’t put any on their sticky rice either, but the bright color and crisp freshness can be a welcome little addition if desired.
Method:
- In a bowl, put 2 cups sweet rice and enough cold water to cover. Soak for two hours.
- Meanwhile, in another bowl, put 1/2 cup dried mushrooms (about 8 – 10 mushrooms) and enough cold water to cover. Soak for two hours or until soft.
- In a third bowl, put 1/4 cup tiny dried shrimp and soak for half an hour.
- Drain the rice, mushrooms, and shrimp. Squeeze any excess liquid out of the mushrooms and dice into 1/4″ pieces.
- In a wok or large sautee pan, heat 1 Tbsp vegetable oil to medium high heat. Add 3/4 cup sweet Chinese sausage, diced and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan, and cook, stirring, for one minute.
- Add the drained shrimp to the pan, and cook, stirring, for thirty seconds.
- Add the drained rice to the pan, and cook, stirring, for one minute.
- Lower the heat and stir in 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar, and kosher salt, to taste, making sure it is well-distributed, then remove the pan from the heat.
- Transfer the rice mixture to a steamer (a metal colander or sieve set over a pot of simmering water works well here – make sure the water is not touching the bottom of the colander). Spread the mixture evenly and sprinkle 2 Tbsp water over the top.
- Steam the rice for 20 – 25 minutes or until cooked through.
- Taste and add more soy sauce, to taste. Garnish with scallions and/or cilantro, chopped if desired.
