Did you hear about the ridiculous storm we had in NYC yesterday? It’s still unclear whether it was technically a tornado or just a fierce storm but the damage is horrifying. Large trees were uprooted and many streets are still completely blocked in my parents neighborhood (where we’re staying). I drove by crushed cars and houses with wrecked walls and windows.

Lon and I were in the car yesterday on Queens Boulevard when the storm hit and the rain poured on the windshield in a blinding layer and we had to stop-and-go on this major roadway. It really only lasted a few minutes but I was petrified by the sounds of I-don’t-know-what hitting the car and the fear of hitting large objects that had blown into the road. I didn’t know until later on how lucky we were. All we had to really endure was driving to my parent’s house at a snail’s crawl and not getting to watch TV since the storm killed their satellite.

Sticky Rice 6


Miraculously, only one reported death and no other severe injuries, but peoples cars and houses are ruined. My mom’s precious garden looks like tossed salad and so many couldn’t get home for hours last night when the Long Island Rail Road was halted along with multiple subway lines. Power was out for many too.

Sorry to go off on such a tangent but I’m just amazed, having never seen something like this in person my whole life. This doesn’t happen in New York!

Back to food; this is one of my favorites. It’s a sticky rice dish called Yo Fan that almost needs no introduction. You may have seen it at dim sum places, usually treated as one of many small plates. In homes, it’s often eaten as a side. Breaking rules, I sometimes just eat a big bowl of this for lunch. It’s very filling and already includes protein and mushrooms so why not? Besides the addictive texture sticky rice has for us carb-lovers, the sausage, shitakes, and dried shrimp add so much aroma while this is steaming. It just smells like a Chinese kitchen.

Sticky Rice4

This happens to be a great make-ahead dish that keeps well for days in the fridge and reheats well in the microwave.

Sticky Rice with Chinese Sausage, Shitakes, and Dried Shrimp
~ 8 side servings

  • 2 cups sweet rice (sticky rice)
  • 3 dried shitake mushrooms
  • 2 tablespoons tiny dried shrimp
  • 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup chopped (1/4″ pieces) Chinese sausage
  • 4 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • chopped scallion to garnish
  • chopped cilantro to garnish
  • kosher salt to taste

Instructions –

1. Put rice in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let it soak for 2 hours. Drain and set aside. At the same time, soak shitake mushrooms in water for about 2 hours, or until soft. Squeeze out excess liquid and chop into 1/4″ pieces.

2. Soak dried shrimp in water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

3. Heat oil in a wok (or similar) on medium high heat. Add sausage and stir and toss for 30 seconds. Add mushrooms. Stir and toss for one minute. Add shrimp. Stir and toss for another 30 seconds. Add rice and stir for one minute.

4. Turn heat down to low. Stir in soy sauce with sugar and a few pinches of salt. Stir until well distributed. Remove from heat.

frying sticky rice

5. Transfer the rice to a flat bowl to steam in, about 1 3/4″ high. Spread it evenly into one layer and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of water.

Sticky Rice before steaming

6. Set up a steamer on medium heat and steam bowl of rice for 20 to 25 minutes, or until rice is cooked to your liking. Garnish with scallion and cilantro and serve.

Sticky Rice 3


posted by jessica at 01:16 PM Filed under Chinese, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.