This sticky rice recipe is simple to make and oh so delicious! A meal unto itself, this Thai Sticky Rice with Pork & Mushrooms is a savory dish that is similar to fried rice, except it has a wonderfully chewy texture that even kids enjoy. While this recipe would normally be made with Thai or Chinese sausage, I've substituted strips of bacon, which I find works wonders with this recipe. Note that you can either include the minced chili in the recipe, or leave it out and serve with chili sauce on the side (it's delicious like this!).
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- SERVES 2-3 as a Main Entree OR 4-6 as a Side Dish
- 2 cups Thai sticky rice (also called Thai "sweet rice") soaked in 3+1/2 cups water
- 5-6 strips bacon
- 1/3 cup shallots or purple onion, diced
- 1 cup shiitake mushroom, diced
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- optional: 1 red chili, de-seeded and minced (omit for mild rice)
- 1+1/2 Tbsp. fish sauce
- 1+1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce (or 2 tsp. mushroom-flavored soy sauce)
- 1 Tbsp. regular soy sauce
- 3 spring (green) onions, sliced
- 1 package banana leaves OR bamboo leaves (thawed if frozen), OR cheesecloth or clean kitchen cloth
Preparation:
For a step-by-step version of this recipe (including how to steam sticky rice with banana leaf), see my:
How to Make Thai Savory Sticky Rice (with pictures).
- Soak 2 cups sweet rice in 3 + 1/2 cups water for at least 3o minutes or longer. Note: Sweet rice has a hard outer shell that needs to soften before it can be cooked.
- Place strips of bacon in a large frying pan together with 1-2 Tbsp. water. Fry over medium-high heat until cooked (chewy, not crisp). Remove from heat, leaving the fat in the frying pan.
- Remove bacon from the pan and cut into small pieces. Place it back in the frying pan.
- Also add to the frying pan the shallots or onion, mushrooms, garlic, and chili (if using). Return to medium-high heat and stir-fry 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
- 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.
- Line a steamer with 2 layers of banana/bamboo leaf, OR use cheesecloth, or a clean kitchen cloth. Cut the leaf to cover the lower 2/3 of your steamer. Tip: In place of a steamer, I use a pasta-type colonder placed inside a large pot. You will also need a tight-fitting lid.
- Transfer the rice from the frying pan into the lined steamer/colander. Make sure there is at least 1 inch of water in the bottom of your pot/steamer. Cover with the lid and steam over high heat for 25 minutes. (You may have to add more water to your steamer partway through.)
- After 25 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 "doneness".)
- Taste-test the rice for salt. Sprinkle over a little more fish sauce if not salty enough. If too salty, add a sqeeze of lime juice. Gently fluff rice with a fork or chopsticks to mix in.
- To serve, slide the banana/bamboo leaf directly onto a serving plate. Or, if you want to pretty it up a bit, line a serving bowl or plate with a fresh banana leaf. Mound the rice on top and sprinkle the remaining spring onion over top. Serve with or without Thai chili sauce on the side, and ENJOY!
