Savory Thai Sticky Rice Recipes

Steps:

• Rinse, soak and steam rice according to directions in the recipe for Basic Sticky Rice. While rice steams, cook bacon and sausage in a wok or skillet over medium heat, to render a little fat. Add diced onion and stir-fry until onion is soft and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add red chiles and dried shrimp and cook for 1 minute. Add mushrooms, season well with salt and pepper, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and sweet wine. Stir and scrape bottom of pan with a wooden spoon to deglaze. Add 1/2 cup water and simmer 1 minute.
• Turn off heat and add cooked sticky rice. Sprinkle lightly with salt and mix well with 2 spoons to incorporate. Serve immediately or transfer to several individual heatproof bowls. (Rice may be reheated later in a water bath.) If desired, invert bowls onto plates. Garnish with scallions and cilantro.

Steps:

• Soak 2 cups sweet (sticky) rice in 3-4 cups water, or enough so water exceeds the rice by at least 1 inch. Soak for at least 40 minutes (if you lose track of time, it's no problem - sticky rice can soak up to 4 hours or longer). Note: Sweet rice has a hard outer shell that needs to soften before it can be cooked.
• While rice is soaking, prepare your steamer. Line a bamboo steamer or colander with 2 layers of banana/bamboo leaf, OR use cheesecloth, or a clean kitchen cloth. To clean and thaw the leaf (if frozen), rinse under hot water. Cut the leaf large enough that it extends over the top. Place steamer over a large pot, and have a tight-fitting lid ready.
• Place bacon in a large frying pan/wok together with 1-2 tablespoons water. Fry over medium-high heat until cooked (chewy, not crisp). Remove from heat, leaving all or half the fat in the frying pan.
• Remove bacon from the pan and cut into small pieces (I use a clean pair of scissors for this, like they do in Asia - much faster and easier than a knife!). Place it back in the frying pan.
• Also add to the frying pan the shallots or onion, mushrooms, garlic, and chili. Return to medium-high heat and stir-fry 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. If your pan becomes dry, add a little water (1-2 Tbsp.).
• Turn heat to low. Add the drained sticky rice, plus the fish sauce and soy sauces. Also add half the green onion. Stir until the color of the rice has consistently darkened . Remove from heat.
• Transfer the rice from the frying pan into your prepared steamer. Make sure there is at least 1 inch of water in the pot. Cover with the lid and steam over high heat for 30-35 minutes. (You may have to add more water to your steamer partway through.).
• After 30 minutes, remove from heat. Allow to sit (with lid on) for 5 minutes. The rice should be soft, sticky, and slightly translucent. If there are any hard grains, steam 5 minutes longer. (Dig down into the middle of the rice when testing for "done-ness".).
• Taste-test the rice for salt. Sprinkle over a little more fish sauce if not salty or flavorful enough. If too salty, add a sqeeze of lime juice. Gently stir rice with a fork or chopsticks to mix inches.
• To serve, slide the banana/bamboo leaf directly onto a serving plate. Or, if you want to pretty it up, line a serving bowl or plate with a fresh banana leaf. Mound the rice on top and sprinkle with remaining spring onion (add optional garnishes too if desired). ENJOY!

Steps:

• In a bowl wash rice well in several changes of cold water until water is clear. Soak rice in cold water to cover overnight.
• Drain rice well in a sieve. Set sieve over a large deep saucepan of simmering water (sieve should not touch water) and steam rice, covered with a kitchen towel and a lid, 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender (check water level in pan occasionally, adding more water if necessary).
• While rice is cooking, in a small saucepan bring 1 cup coconut milk to a boil with 1/3 cup sugar and salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and remove from heat. Keep mixture warm.
• Transfer cooked rice to a bowl and stir in coconut-milk mixture. Let rice stand, covered, 30 minutes, or until coconut-milk mixture is absorbed. Rice may be prepared up to this point 2 hours ahead and kept covered at room temperature.
• While rice is standing, in cleaned small pan slowly boil remaining 1/3 cup coconut milk with remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Transfer sauce to a small bowl and chill until cool and thickened slightly.
• To serve, mold 1/4 cup servings of sticky rice on dessert plates. Drizzle desserts with sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Divide mango slices among plates.