Sticky Rice with Barbecued Pork

When I made this the other day for a party, people asked, "Who made the fried rice?" It's not exactly fried rice, it's cooked in a bamboo steamer--but the rice is fried a little before, so it might qualify as fried rice. 

What makes it good is it's made with mochigome--glutinous, sticky rice. Although it's called glutinous rice, it doesn't contain gluten. Mochigome is what mochi is made from.

Ingredients:

2 cups mochigome or sweet rice, soaked in water for 6 hours & drained

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped barbecued pork

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped chinese sausage or kielbasa

1/4 cup drippings from purchased barbecued pork or 2 tablespoons soy sauce, mirin and 1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder

1/4 cup chopped green onion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

 I usually buy the Koda Farms Sho-Chiku-Bai mochigome--with this type of rice, you have to soak it in water for at least 6 hours before cooking, and drain before using.

At Nijiya Market, they have these two brands, as well as others. The bag on the right is sweet brown rice. I tried making this recipe with the brown rice and the recipe needs some work, after an hour of steaming, the rice was still hard. I called my cousin Brian for some advice since he is the proprietor of Fugetsu-Do and makes Japanese sweets from mochigome everyday. Brian doesn't use brown mochigome--I'm going to have to get him a bag to experiment with.

 I bought the meats, but you can make you own Chinese Barbecued Pork. To flavor the rice, I used the sauce at the bottom of the take-out container, but you can make it with 2 tablespoons each, soy sauce & mirin, and 1 tablespoon sugar.

 Chop the meats.

Add the sauce and meats to a frying pan with the rice and mix well over medium heat--stirring until the liquid is absorbed by the rice. 

Add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice Blend and mix well.

Brian suggested I use this cloth in the bamboo steamer--they have them at the Japanese grocery stores. If I read it correctly, it says--mushineno.

It's big, so I cut it in half to fit my two layers of the bamboo steamer. Rinse it and ring it out before lining the steamer and adding the rice. Then fold the cloth over the rice before adding the lid.

Steam the rice over boiling water. I use a wok on a bigger burner so there's a lot of steam--steam for about 20 minutes--making sure the water doesn't run out. It takes a little practice to get the steam right. If the rice isn't quite done, simply steam it longer, until the rice is done.

 When it's done, the rice gets a little translucent. Taste it to test for doneness.

Before serving, chop cilantro and green onion and mix into rice. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Itadakimasu!

***

Today's Jessica's birthday.

A couple of months ago, Jessica made her Thai Chicken Salad here on FOODjimoto.com and you can get to know her a little--after the recipe.

The salad's so delicious!

I love this picture of Jessica playing the "Pin the Mustache on Uncle Mako" game at Mako's retirement party--because in the very next second, she is laughing!

Jessica knows Rick loves baseball and goes to a lot of games.

Today, Jessica's co-workers decorated her office for her birthday.

Jessica loves Pinterest--as you can see!

Happy Birthday, dear Jessica.

All the attention and well-wishes you have received on this special day reflect all that you have given to others.

We love you.

***

Sticky Rice with Barbecued Pork

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups mochigome or sweet rice, soaked in water for 6 hours & drained

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped barbecued pork

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped chinese sausage or kielbasa

1/4 cup drippings from purchased barbecued pork or 2 tablespoons soy sauce, mirin and 1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder

1/4 cup chopped green onion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

Add the rice, sauce, 1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice blend and meats into a frying pan over medium heat and mix well. Heat until the liquid is absorbed and transfer into a damp-cloth-lined bamboo steamer. 2 cups rice will fill one layer of a 9-inch steamer.

Place steamer over boiling water and steam for about 20 minutes or until rice is translucent--chewy, but not hard. Before serving, mix in chopped cilantro and green onion. Taste and adjust seasonings.