Spicy Sticky Rice Recipe

Traditional Asian sticky rice is plain, sweet and, as one might guess from the name, sticky, and is more fun to hurl at a friend than it is to eat, at least as far as I’m concerned. A certain variety of the grain known as glutinous rice that cooks into a gummy gelatinous mass, what most people think of as sticky rice, is often served as a desert, most likely by people who can’t afford ice cream or by those who consider sugar cubes a delicacy. I use regular rice in my recipe (usually short grain white rice); it’s what I put into the dish that makes it sticky, and if you use my recipe as a weapon against a friend and it gets into his eye, you better vacate the area while he is temporarily blinded by the hot chilies, or you’re likely to face terrible retribution.

Perfect for warming you up on a cold winter day—or distracting you from the sweltering weather during a heat wave, especially if you have masochistic tendencies—this side dish goes particularly well with chicken but can accompany nearly any main course. Chop up some baby corn, carrots, onions or whatever other vegetables you have on hand, give them a quick stir-fry and add them to the rice, especially when serving these vegetables to people, most likely kids, who would normally shun them.

This can be one of my spicier recipes, depending on how many chilies you add. To make this side dish, you will need my Simple Chicken Broth; if you can’t make it, you can substitute canned broth or water with chicken bouillon, but it won’t be as good. When it comes to purchasing canned bamboo, I usually prefer that sold in chunks, which is tenderer, but the sliced variety is easier to mince and works well for this recipe.

The one big drawback to this recipe is that while it’s pretty simple, it is very time consuming, mostly due to the preparation of the ginger and garlic. Substitute them with powdered spices if you must, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

 This dish requires Penzey’s Turkish Seasoning, though can substitute Penzey’s Northwoods or Arizona Dreaming seasonings with terrific results. Making it without this seasoning is acceptable; it’ll be good, but not great.  Buy the Penzey’s!

For this, you will need:

• 4 cups cooked rice
• 3 cups Simple Chicken Stock
• 1 cup bamboo shoots, minced
• ½ cup finely minced fresh ginger
• ½ cup finely minced fresh garlic
• 2-5 Serrano peppers, minced (depending on how spicy you want it; *optional*)
• 2 Tbs. Penzey’s Turkish seasoning
• Salt to taste

The procedure:

1. Over a high heat, add the chicken broth, Penzey’s Turkish seasoning and the Serrano peppers to a large pot. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Add the minced garlic and ginger; simmer for another 10 minutes.
3. Add the bamboo shoots and rice, stir and mix thoroughly over low heat. Add the salt to taste.
4. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand for 30 minutes until the rice absorbs all the fluid.

Serve the rice with a generous dollop of chicken stock to make it a bit soupy; this makes it easier to eat without losing your eating utensil every time you try to spoon some out of the bowl; it also reduces the fieriness of the concoction a bit while retaining a nice spicy bite.