Looking around the pantry, I see I still have a rather large bag of glutinous rice from when I made Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf. This time I was much too lazy to bother with the lotus leaves. I thought to myself “I’ll just make a batch of sticky rice and serve it up in a bowl instead. It’ll be quicker since I’m not messing around with the leaves.”
But I’m probably deluding myself. It’s not hard to make but there’s still a bit of work involved. First, there’s the chopping of all the ingredients. And then there’s the combining of the savory part with the rice and since it’s sticky rice, it’s quite an upper arm workout.
I made it a little easier on myself by mixing in a bit of jasmine with the glutinous rice so the cooked rice is not quite as sticky. It’s not as chewy either but it’s still rich and flavorful.
Sticky Rice Bowl
Makes 4-6 servings
1 1/2 cups glutinous rice also known as sweet rice (use the measuring cup that came with the rice cooker)
1/2 cup jasmine rice
Savory Mixture
4 dried mushrooms, soaked and diced
1 medium carrot, diced
3 1/2 ounces vegan sausage (or 1 Tofurky Italian sausage), sliced into 1/8 inch rounds
3 ounces baked tofu
2 medium green onions, diced
3 sprigs of cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons vegetarian oyster sauce
Additional cilantro sprigs for garnish (optional)
Cooking directions is for use with a rice cooker with a 5.5 cups capacity. Using the inner pot of the rice cooker, rinse the rice in several changes of water until the water is clear. Add enough water to cook the sweet rice as indicated on the inner pot. Let the rice soak in the water for 2 hours before cooking. Cook the rice according to the rice cooker directions.
Combine the soy sauce and oyster sauce and set aside.
Heat a wok to hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add the veggie sausage and stir fry until lightly browned.
Add the mushrooms and carrot and continue to stir fry for a few more minutes. If it appears dry, add a little bit of water. Add the tofu, peas and green onions, stir fry to combine. Add the sauce and cilantro and mix well.
Divide the savory mixture and rice in half to make it more manageable to combine. Place 1/2 of the mixture in the rice and 1/2 of the rice in the mixture. Mix together the two halves until everything is evenly distributed. It’s easiest to do when the rice is hot. Once cooled, it’ll be much harder.
To serve dim sum style, place a sprig of cilantro in the bottom of a rice bowl and pack the rice into the bowl. Invert onto a serving plate and remove the bowl.
