On this post I would like to introduce you one of my most missed and
favourite home dishes in Lunar New Year, my all-time-favourite Taiwanese food, that is Taiwanese Sticky Rice, or we
called You Fan 油飯 in Mandarin.
You Fan
is a common festive food in Taiwan, we eat You Fan for special occasions such
as Lunar New Year, religious practices or newborn baby’s first month
celebration. (In Taiwanese culture, You Fan is given to celebrate the birth of baby
boy and cake for baby girl.) You Fan is a savoury dish to bring up so much
umami flavour along with the sticky chew of rice. I remember when my grandma cooked
You Fan for all our family, I can eat a lot and had to force myself to stop
otherwise I would just eat too much! For me, my grandma’s homemade You Fan is
always the best and irreplaceable, therefore having You Fan, especially when I
am currently so far away from my Taiwanese family, makes me feel comfort and reminds
me of pleasant memory at Lunar New Year reunion when I was in Taiwan. The
ingredients to make You Fan are simple and quite straightforward to make. Here is how I made my You Fan.
Ingredients
-300g sticky
rice.
-100g pork
belly, cut into strips.
-A
handful dried shrimps, soaked in rice cooking wine for 15 minutes, drain and
set aside.
-3
pieces dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 1 cup of water, once soften, drain and
cut into thin strips. Keep mushroom soaking water.
-A
handful fried shallots or fried onions.
-4-5
tbsp soy sauce.
-1 tbsp
sugar.
-1/2 tsp
white pepper.
-1-2
tbsp sesame oil.
-Coriander
or spring onion curls to garnish.
To Cook Sticky
Rice
There
are two ways to cook sticky rice:
-Add water to sticky rice, the ratio of sticky rice to
water is 1:0.6. (No need to soak beforehand.)
-Steam for 20 minutes and rest for 10 minutes.
Or you can:
-Soak sticky rice in water at least 6 hours, then drain
the water.
-Put baking sheet on a heat-proof bowl or a container,
evenly place soaked sticky rice on the baking sheet.
-Steam for 15-20 minutes.
How to steam without a steamer?
-Use a large pot, lift a plate inside with a holder. (Or
you can make three balls with aluminium foil and place them on the bottom of
pot to hold the plate.)
-Pour in 1/2 inch of water and bring it to boil.
-Steam your food with a lid on.
Method
-Heat 3
tbsp oil in a pan over high heat, deep fry soaked dried shrimps until bubbling
and fragrant.
-Add shiitake
mushrooms, stir fry until brown, then add pork belly strips until cooked
through.
-Add soy
sauce, sugar, and white pepper.
-Pour in
mushroom soaking water and bring it to a boil, then reduce to the lowest heat
and simmer with a lid for 15 minutes.
-Add
cooked sticky rice and fried shallots in, break it up with a spatula and continuously
stir until sticky rice is evenly coated with sauce.
-Season with
sesame oil and cook over low heat for a further 3-5 minutes.
-Sprinkle
with coriander or spring onions (optional), serve immediately.
