Whenever I think of sticky “oil” rice (there is no good translation) or youfan (油飯), I am reminded of joyful and festive occasions. Youfan is a dish that is traditionally served as a celebration when there is a newborn in the family. Nowadays, it’s served often whenever there is a family gathering. Even though the basic ingredients between youfan and zhong-zi is very similar but youfan is a lot easier to make and can satisfy my craving for savory glutinous rice quickly. Just like American families have our own recipes for pot roast or chili, different parts of Taiwan have different recipes and styles for their sticky rice.
Unlike fried rice where all the ingredients and the rice is stir fried together, youfan requires stir frying the ingredients first and then stirring in the rice afterwards. This allows the flavors to mix into the rice without the rice turning into a sticky lump. The basic sticky rice requires these ingredients:
- Glutinous Rice – Taiwanese prefer long grain glutinous rice which keeps it’s shape better and prevents overcooking. It’s hard to find long grain glutinous rice in America so I opt for the Japanese short grain glutinous rice – just need to be more careful in cooking so it doesn’t become mush
- Sesame oil – black sesame oil would be ideal because it brings out strong flavors – but regular sesame oil works as well. Do not use light sesame oil as the flavor is not strong enough and would require a lot of oil which would make the dish too greasy.
- Protein – pork is usually the way to go because it has a milder flavor than beef. I’ve never had this dish with any other meat than pork but it might be worth experimenting in the future. As for pork, it can come in various forms and cuts. Pork belly works well so does the tenderloin. Braised pork (see recipe) is also an excellent choice. Ground pork can be a quick substitute as well. Others like to use Chinese sausages which gives it another layer of flavor. Me, however, I like mine with pork belly.
- umami ingredients – these ingredients help bring out the 『umami’ in the dish. They include dried shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp, dried scallops, dried squid, or bonito flakes.
- Sauce – regular soy sauce, condensed or thick soy sauce, oyster sauce can be used to add more flavor to the dish
The key about making good sticky rice is the rice vs the water portion. Too much water and your rice becomes like oatmeal. Too little water and your rice doesn’t cook through and has a hard uncooked center. I personally rather go under than over so the way I resolve it is to allow the rice to soak for 30min to 1 hour before cooking. This allows the rice to absorb the water and cook without needing a lot of water. If you don’t have a rice cooker at home with the sweet rice function, then I would suggest to use the golden ratio of 1 part rice and 0.6 part water. You will need to experiment a little bit to get the best results as each rice cooker is different. I haven’t tried this on the stovetop yet so I’m not sure how much water is required for stovetop cooking.
Ingredients for rice:
- 3 cups glutinous rice
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 ½ cups water
Ingredients for mix:
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- ½ cup sliced shallots
- 5-6 dried shiitake mushrooms reconstituted with water and sliced
- 8 oz of sliced pork tenderloin
- 1 tbsp dried shrimp soaked in water for 5 min and drained
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Prepare the Rice
Wash and drain the rice and place in rice cooker. Add in oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and water. Mix thoroughly and allow rice to soak for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. You can see that the water barely covers the rice before soaking. After soaking, some of the rice have come above water surface. Cook the rice with the sweet rice mode. My rice cooker took about 30 minutes. Before cooking the rest of the ingredients, I would wait until the rice is almost done so that it can be mixed in as soon as the other items are cooked.
Prepare the mix
Heat sesame oil in a large saute pan and brown the shallots. Throw in the rest of the ingredients and cook on medium high heat until pork is thoroughly cooked.
Mix the Rice
The rice should be done cooking by the time you finish cooking the mix. Set the stove on low heat and pour the rice into the saute pan and use a large wooden spoon to mix the rice with a folding motion. Be gentle so you don’t cut the rice kernels. I don’t recommend using a spatula because you need something sturdy and rigid in order to successfully fold the rice and the mix.
Serving Suggestions
Since this dish is a stand-alone, you can serve it by itself. Some like a pinch of cilantro on top. I prefer adding either a sweet chili sauce or thick soy sauce. If you want an extra kick, you can always add sriracha!
5.0 from 12 reviews
Taiwanese Sticky Rice ( 油飯)
Author:
Mike Hsu
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Taiwanese
Serves: 4-8 servings
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
This Taiwanese Sticky Rice recipe has been simplified so all you need is a frying pan and a rice cooker. No need to steam the rice.
Ingredients
Ingredients for rice
- 3 cups glutinous rice
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 ½ cups water
Ingredients for mix
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- ½ cup sliced shallots
- 5-6 dried shiitake mushrooms reconstituted with water and sliced
- 8 oz of sliced pork tenderloin
- 1 tbsp dried shrimp soaked in water for 5 min and drained
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
Cooking rice
- Wash and drain the rice and place in rice cooker.
- Mix in oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and water.
- Allow rice to soak for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Cook the rice with the sweet rice mode.
Cooking mix ingredients
- Heat sesame oil in a large saute pan and brown the shallots.
- Throw in the rest of the ingredients and cook on medium high heat until pork is thoroughly cooked.
Mix the rice
- Set the stove on low heat and pour the rice into the saute pan and use a large wooden spoon to gently mix the rice with a folding motion.
Notes
Garnish with cilantro and serve with sweet chili sauce or thick soy sauce.
