A recipe from mom for sticky rice that is great for gatherings, parties, gifting to others or eating at home. The best part: the springy rice and her flavorful, special additions. Yum, yum!
Tips on how to make Taiwanese sticky oil rice
Use lots of oil – Sticky rice is really, really sticky. Use lots of oil (or pork fat) when breaking up the rice and mixing with the brown sauces.
Note that we do not recommend feeding sticky rice to little ones.
Meat to use – For parties pork belly is our choice. Slice the pork belly into about 1/3rd inch slabs. Next, cut each slab into 1/3rd inch pieces. The resulting pieces will be about 1/3”x1/3”x1 ½” in dimensions. Some of the fat will render out when cooking up these pork belly pieces.
Other meat options: savory, sliced Chinese sausage and pre-cooked, braised pork belly.
For a healthier twist use lean, minced turkey meat.
Handling the sticky rice – Cook sticky rice until almost done, as it cooks a bit further in the pan. We use a rice cooker method devised by mom decades ago to ensure springy, perfectly cooked rice. These days, an instant pot is also acceptable; both methods are outlined in a blog here.
Rehydrating Shiitake mushrooms – Pour boiling water over the mushrooms until fully submerged. Cover and soak for about 1 hour until softened. Remove mushrooms and squeeze out the water, destem and slice thinly.
Rock sugar – Can omit altogether or substitute with an alternate sugar if desired.
Candied chestnuts – Pre-cooked, shelled snack chestnuts will work, such as Galil’s Roasted Chestnuts. Or, make them yourself. Simmer 1 lb. of shelled chestnuts in water with up to ½ cup maple syrup for about 30 minutes. Taste and add more syrup until the chestnuts reach your desired sweetness level.
Taiwanese Sticky Rice
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Loading...A recipe from mom for sticky rice that is great for gatherings, parties, gifting to others or eating at home. The best part: the springy rice and her flavorful, special additions. Yum, yum!
Ingredients
- 3 cups sticky rice partly cooked (read blog)
- 30 dried Shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and julienned with stems removed
- 1 lb. meat (read blog)
- 1.5 oz dried shrimp
- 1 lb. cooked, candied chestnuts, halved (read blog)
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2-3 white parts of green onions, diced
- 3-4 tbsp. soy sauce or to taste
- 1.5 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp. rock sugar or more (optional)
- oil
Instructions
Add oil to a large, non-stick wok or skillet over medium heat. To the pan add green onions, garlic and meat. Cook the meat partially before adding 1-2 tbsp. soy sauce. Toss the meat well with soy sauce and cook until almost done.
Next add the shiitake mushrooms and dried shrimp along with up to 1 tbsp. soy sauce. Cook until mushrooms have softened.
Add rock sugar and sticky rice, breaking it up. Drizzle up to 1 tbsp. soy sauce and oyster sauce onto the rice, tossing well to incoporate sauces into the rice. Add more oil (or pork fat) to help break the rice up and evenly distribute the sauces. Taste to adjust salt, sugar and sauce levels.
Lastly, stir in the cooked, chopped water chestnuts before plating and serving.
Notes
Sticky rice is really, really sticky. Use lots of oil (or pork fat) when breaking up the rice and mixing with the brown sauces.
