peace in my pans: Sticky Rice w/ Chinese Sauage, Chicken, and Mushrooms (Xôi Mặn)

Sticky rice has always been one of my must-order dish at dim sum so it's only natural that I will attempt to make this dish and debunk all myths as to the level of difficulty. It is multi-process but even then, it is very simple.

Glutinous Rice:

Soak it overnight. I soaked 2 cups of rice overnight and I woke up to 4 cups of rice. How cool.

Chicken Broth:

You can choose to buy your chicken broth instead of making it and therefore eliminating one of the steps. If you choose to make it then it's quite simple... you will need water and bone-in chicken pieces - either white or dark. The sunshine in my life wanted dark so I went with that.

I used approximately 2 lbs of chicken (2 bone in chicken thigh pieces) and about 6 cups of water. I added 1 T of salt. This is the most basic way to make chicken broth - you can throw in an onion if you like. After I'm done w/ the broth - I dropped the chicken into a pot of cold water and later shred the meat off it. If you buy your chicken broth then you can cook your chicken separately then shred it.

Just make sure to cook it on low heat - high heat makes cloudy broth and cloudy broth is not delicious.

From what I heard, this is supposed to keep the chicken moist because the cold water closes up its pores? Anyway, it works so I'll do this, again.

Hand shredded. Ninja style. Set aside.

You will need a knob of ginger and some cloves of garlic. Use as much or as little depending on your ginger/garlic preference. I love this stuff and can't get enough of it.

I usually smash it first then mince the life out of it. Like this.

You will need a bunch of scallions but will need to separate the pale white part from the leafy green part. The white part will go into the pot to cook w/ ginger and scallions. The green part will be finely chopped and sprinkled into the dish when it's done.

Slice it! Ninja style.

In a large pot, add 1 T of canola oil, heat it up to a low-medium heat, then throw it in the ginger, garlic, and scallion.

Now slice your leafy green part and set aside for later.

I used this brand of chinese sausages. I know I'm always advocating for simple ingredients and I understand that the ingredients in this sausage are far from simple so let's just ignore it this one time.

I used four pieces.

I sliced them thin - sometimes at an angle and sometimes not. This was not done on purpose. I also advocate for consistency - so slice it according to your preference but thin is highly encouraged.

Now, chunky-chop up a cup of mushrooms. I used button mushrooms but feel free to use other ones like shiitake or black mushrooms.

Cook everything together in that pot with the ginger, garlic, and scallion.

In a separate and larger pot, add 1/2 cup of Chinese rice wine, 1/2 cup of soy sauce, and 1/2 cup of oyster sauce. Mix well. Don't worry - those are chicken bits since I used the same pot in which I made chicken broth.

Now, add your rice (drained), and everything in that other pot. Add enough chicken broth to cover up the rice just like in the photo. About a 1/2 inch over the top. Combine well then cook on low heat and covered for the next 20 minutes until rice is tender.