Nuo Mi Fan 糯米饭 (Chinese Sticky Rice)

Nuo Mi Fan 糯米饭 (Chinese Sticky Rice) Nuo mi fan, also known as yui fan, is a Chinese sticky rice dish flavored with shiitake mushrooms and Chinese sausage just to name a few ingredients. My mom usually makes this style of sticky rice twice a year - traditional style during Chinese New Year and stuffed into a deep fried duck/turkey in place of stuffing for Thanksgiving. Every family has their own way of making sticky rice. My mom likes to add dried scallops but I find it a bit too fishy smelling/tasting. Other common ingredients include chestnuts, bamboo shoots and cilantro as garnish. Servings: 3 Ingredients: ¼ cup of dried shrimp, rough chopped (optional) 1 scallion, green and white parts separated and chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 2 Chinese sausages (lap cheong), diagonally sliced ½ cup of dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in 2 cups of hot water 1 tsp of sesame oil 1 cup of sticky rice, washed, soaked and drained Sauce Ingredients: 2 tbsp of Shaoxing wine 2 tbsp of soy sauce ½ tbsp of oyster sauce 1 tsp of sesame oil ½ tsp of salt Dash or 2 of white pepper Directions: Wash rice until water runs clear. Soak washed rice in clean water for 1 hour. Set aside to drain. Rehydrate dried shiitake mushrooms in 2 cup of hot water (30 minutes). Drain and mince. Set aside. Reserve the soaking liquid. Heat sesame oil over medium high heat and sauté garlic and white parts of scallion until fragrant. Add sliced Chinese sausage and fry for 1 minute. Add chopped shrimp and mushrooms. Continue to fry for another minute. Pour in the sauce ingredients and cook for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and add the drained rice. Stir to evenly distribute. Transfer the rice to your rice cooker pot. Pour the shiitake soaking liquid into your rice cooker. Cook the sticky rice according to your rice cooker settings. When ready to serve, fluff rice with paddle. Dish out and garnish with the chopped green parts of the scallion. Enjoy! Notes: Sticky rice is best enjoyed warm. Set your rice cooker to the warm setting to keep the rice warm if you aren’t planning on serving immediately. If you have leftovers, cover and refrigerate. When ready to eat, sprinkle a little water over the rice and reheat in the microwave for a minute or two. If the shiitake soaking liquid doesn’t cover the rice, you can use water or low-sodium chicken broth. Background Music: “Melt” by Broke for Free