For the 2025 CNY eve potluck, I learned to make this traditional Cantonese dish for the first time—and it was a hit! Everyone loved it, so I’d call this a successful trial!
I’m fully “buffed up” (加持) with dried shrimp (bought from a fishmonger in Swatow—so sweet and fresh!), dried scallops and shiitake mushrooms (both from Guangzhou), cured sausages (handmade by a college alumni’s mom with aged orange peels!), and cured pork belly (homemade by my mom!). I think I might actually have more of these ingredients than sticky rice!
RECIPE
- 1-2 cups of sticky rice
- 1-2 cured sausages
- a few tbsp cured pork belly
- 5-10 dried shrimps
- ~5 dried scallops
- ~5 dried shiitake mushrooms
- minced shallots
- roast peanuts if available
- 1-2tbsp oyster sauce
- 1tsp dark soy sauce
- 1tbsp soy sauce
- 1tsp sugar
- scallion
Step 1: wash 1-2 cups of sticky rice, keep them in water for at least 2 hours so they are softened; sieve out the water and just keep the sticky rice
Step 2: put dried shrimps, dried scallops and dried shiitake mushrooms in water to soften them for at least 1 hour; do not discard the water
Step 3: in a pan, heat up oil, stir fry dried shrimp and dried scallop first. When the fragrance comes out, add in cured sausage, cured pork belly cubes, and when they become transparent and fat comes out, add in shiitake mushroom cubes and minced shallots to absorb the fragrance and fat 🙂
Step 4: marinate with 1tsp sugar, 1-2tbsp oyster sauce, 1tbsp soy sauce, 1tsp dark soy sauce (mainly for the color). Do not need salt as the cured sausage and cured pork belly are both salty. Keep them on the side
Step 5: in a non-sticky pan, heat up oil, put sticky rice in pan, gently stir fry sticky rice over low-to-medium heat. When rice expands, becomes transparent and slightly crispy, and starts to cluster together, splash in some water from step 2, with dried shrimps, dried scallop and dried shiitake mushrooms’ umami
Step 6: repeat the stir fry over heat, splash water a few times, till the rice is almost cooked – which can be judged by crashing the rice and only a small bit of hard core is left. If it takes too long, splash in water and cover with lid, let it cook for 3-5mins
Step 7: add in the stir fried mixture from step 4 to the sticky rice, continue stir fry till no more moisture, sticky rice is not clustering together (can also stir fry the mixture along with sticky rice early on/after adding water for the first time so the sticky rice can absorb more meat “sweat”/fat)
Step 8: add in roast peanuts and scallion and stir fry till scallion is also slightly cooked / becomes darker green
READY TO SERVE!
RESOURCES
