Steamed Sticky Rice

Since I had Japanese neighbors, when I was growing up and ate most of my meals at their house, my taste and choice in foods is probably a bit different than most.  Likewise, we had about 200 acres of our ranch in rice production.  Coming from this kind of background, rice is a big thing for me and one of my essential foods in my diet.  The rice we grew was not sold in the U.S., but was sold to the Japanese market before it ever came out of the fields.  We catered to their choice in rice, which is quite different than the American standard.  The same with the Japanese family.  The rice they chose was the same type as that we grew in our fields.

I watch commercials and cooking shows and the objective seems to be "light, fluffy long grained rice."  Just the opposite of what I generally prefer.  We grew and the Japanese market wanted a short grain rice, which makes a wonderful "sticky rice."  The variety is known as "CalRose," as it is one developed and grown in the California fields for Japanese consumption.  Most of this long grain, fluffy rice we see in the U.S. is grown in places like Louisiana.  I use some long grain rice, especially if I'm mixing it with wild rice (which isn't really rice, but a type of grass seed.  Or, if I'm preparing a specialty rice, such as Jasmine.  If you ever want to try your hand at sushi making (and I plan to show you some easy ways to make things like "California Roll," in the future, you will absolutely need to get the process down for preparing sticky rice.  It's essential.

And, no...never....do I resort to "Minute Rice."  Nor do I resort to "Minute Oatmeal," "Minute Barley," nor other "Minute" products!!  I sort of cringe when I see someone open a foil packet of oatmeal, dump it in a bowl with some water or milk and stick it in the microwave oven!  Call me "old-fashioned," but it just doesn't taste the same nor have the same texture and you really don't save that much time over the real thing.

So, let's get started making steamed sticky rice!  Here's an example of the CalRose rice I buy.  Yeah, it's a big bag, but I use a lot of rice!  Just as I buy soy sauce in a half gallon container!  You can find CalRose short grain rice in much smaller packages.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup (240 ml) short grain rice *
1 1/4 cup cold water
*If you use a rice cooker, "one cup" is based on the Japanese cup, which is 180 ml.  Adjust the water proportionately.  The rule of thumb is 1 part rice to 1.2 parts water.  I prefer to cook rice in a pot on the range top.  I recommend a pot with a heavy bottom and a tight fitting glass lid.  Cast aluminum is great if you have one or can find one.

Rice must be rinsed to get rid of the excess starch and any foreign substances.  Rice absorbs water very quickly, so rinse it with a swirling motion of your hand.  You'll see a milky appearance to the water and that is the excess starch.  Swirl the rice and pour off the milky water.  After about 3 or four quick rinses, you'll see the water is mostly clear and you know you've removed most of that starch.

Now, let the rice soak in a bowl of water for about 30 minutes.  When the time is up, transfer the rice to a sieve or large strainer and let it drain for about 15 minutes.  The rice should be completely drained.

Transfer the rice to your cooking pot and add the correct amount of water.  In this case, 1 1/4 cups of cold water.  Put the lid on the pot, making sure it seals well and using medium heat, bring the water and rice to a boil.

Once the rice begins to boil, lower the heat on the burner to simmer.  Continue simmering the covered pot of rice for 12 to 15 minutes.  If you see water left in the pot, continue to simmer until the water is absorbed.

Once the water is absorbed, remove the rice from the burner, keeping the lid on and let the rice continue to steam without heat for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove the lid from the pot and fluff the rice.  I prefer to use "rice paddles" for this task.  They are available most places, made of wood or plastic and are very inexpensive.  And, you'll need them if you're going to try to make sushi rice, later on.

That's it!  Your authentic sticky rice is ready to serve.  You may use soy sauce, or other sauces you prefer to give additional flavoring to the steamed rice.

If you have questions, please feel free to email me at: stan.kain@gmail.com