This Chinese sticky rice dish is loaded with ground pork, shrimp, Chinese sausage, shiitake mushrooms, and a flavorful sauce that's all cooked up in the rice cooker! It's an easy way to make this deliciously popular Chinese dish!
When one thinks about Chinese food, one automatically envisions a bowl of plain white rice.
But you never see white rice served alone because...well, it's really plain!
By itself, a bowl of white rice leaves you asking, "What's there to go with it?"
It's kind of like a blank canvas that needs some color...or flavor in this case.
Chinese sticky rice, on the other hand, is anything but plain...it is a flavorful work of art, ready to be enjoyed!
My Chinese sticky rice, or "lo mai fan", is loaded with tasty ingredients like Chinese sausage, Chinese mushrooms, ground pork, and shrimp, all cooked up in a delicious, yet mild sauce.
Add some Thai glutinous rice to the mix and you have a bowl of perfection.
A couple of notes about Thai glutinous rice:
1) It contains no gluten, despite the sound of the word. The "glutinous" in this case merely means "like glue", or simply...sticky!
2) It might also be called "Thai sweet rice"...but it's not sweet!
3) When you go looking for it in the store, it may not say "Thai" at all. You might see it labeled as simply "glutinous rice" or "sweet rice".
And just for some added insight into this recipe, the first thought might be to put the rice in the rice cooker first and then top it with all the filling. I tried this method a few times and every time I did, the rice came out too mushy. Mushy is never good for rice.
The rice in lo mai fan is meant to be steamed, not boiled, but if you don't have the whole steamer set-up (like me), this is the way to make it work in the rice cooker!
The grains of rice are tender with just the right amount of stickiness...no mushy rice or wet clumps!
This recipe really hits the spot for flavor, texture, and balance of all the ingredients. As my niece, Deanna pointed out, "It looks like Grandma's!"
And while I couldn't officially name this recipe "Mom's Chinese Sticky Rice", it is my own creation that definitely makes me think of my childhood and how my mom made it!
So if you've got a rice cooker, this is the perfect recipe to try and cook up something more exciting than plain white rice!
~ Lisa.
Watch How To Make It!
Rice Cooker Chinese Sticky Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups Thai glutinous rice (see note below)
- ½ lb. (225g) ground pork
- ¼ lb. (115g) shrimp, deveined and shells and tails removed (about 12 medium-sized)
- 2 Chinese sausages
- 2-3 medium sized dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 ¼ cups water
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoons soy sauce (tamari for gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- ½ teaspoon tapioca starch (cornstarch okay)
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
Equipment
Instructions
Soaking:
- Place dried mushrooms in a bowl with hot water and let soak for at least 2 hours until softened. (See note below)
- Run cold water through the rice in a strainer. Stir the rice with your hand to wash and rinse it well until the water is mostly running clear.
- Soak the rice in a bowl of water for at least 2 hours.
When ready to cook:
- Combine the 3 tablespoons oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari), 1 teaspoon grated ginger, minced garlic clove, ½ teaspoon tapioca starch, ½ teaspoon sesame oil, and ¼ teaspoon white pepper in a bowl and mix well to make the sauce. Set aside.
- Drain the rice through a colander, discarding the water.
- Remove mushrooms from soaking liquid and gently squeeze out some of the water. Cut of and discard tough stems. Cut mushroom caps into slices or chunks.
- Slice Chinese sausages into disks.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add Chinese sausage and ground pork and cook until pork is mostly cooked through.
- Add mushrooms and sauce to the pan and stir. Heat through.
- Add shrimp and cook until just starting to turn pink and remove from heat.
- Transfer Chinese sausage mixture to the rice cooker pot and level out.
- Add drained rice on top and level out.
- Add 1 ¼ cups water to the rice cooker.
- Cook until rice cooker button pops, or for about 25 minutes. Let sit for another 5-10 minutes. Rice should be completely cooked and slightly translucent.
- Fluff rice with chopsticks, stirring well to mix the rice and filling ingredients.
- Garnish with chopped green onions, if desired.
Notes
- I used a 5.5 cup capacity rice cooker for this recipe.
- The longer you soak the dried shiitake mushrooms, the better so you can slice into them very easily and do not see any dry area inside. Soaking overnight is the easiest thing to do.
- I find larger shiitake mushrooms tend to hydrate faster than small ones, but they do cost more.
- You can use fresh shiitake mushrooms, but they will not have the same deep umami flavor as the dried mushrooms.
- When buying the rice, the bag will either say "Thai glutinous rice" or "Thai sweet rice", or the word "Thai" might be excluded.
- Use a regular 1 cup measuring cup to measure the rice; do not use the plastic measuring cup that comes with your rice cooker.
- Some Chinese sausages have a dry casing that should be removed before slicing the sausage, depending on the brand and how they made it.
- The dry shiitake mushrooms can be omitted, if desired.
- You can use chicken thighs cut into small pieces, or cha siu in place of the Chinese sausage and/or shrimp.
- I use frozen shrimp and thaw them in cold water for about 30 minutes before cooking.
- To reheat any leftovers, place in a dish and steam, or microwave with a bit of water in the dish. Microwaving may dry the rice out a little, but works in a pinch.
- This serves 8 people as a side dish, but that can vary depending on how much people actually want to eat!
Yvonne Lo
Thanks for the recipe! I found it last month online and it's already in my regular dinner rotation. Easy and delicious!
Lisa
Wow, Yvonne...that is awesome to hear! I'm so glad you like and have made it a regular option!
Alicia
Tried this tonight! So delicious!!! So easy to follow, and the pictures really help. Thanks!
Lisa
That's fabulous to hear, Alicia! So glad you liked it!
Judy
This recipe is awesome!!! I tried it and it came out perfect! The only thing I'd change is add more mushrooms and sausage. Yum! I don't have a steamer and this rice cooker method makes it so easy and convenient. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Lisa
You definitely can't go wrong with more mushrooms and sausage in this dish, Judy! I'm so glad you like it!
Daisy Nguyen
Love the recipe. It’s one that I use often. Thank you for sharing.
Lisa
I'm so glad to hear that, Daisy! Thanks for letting me know!
Peggy
I was wondering if you've ever tried adding a soaked and cleaned bamboo leaf on top of the rice before turning on the rice cooker. Would it add flavor?
Lisa
I have never tried doing that, but I understand the flavor you're trying to get that comes from the dim sum style sticky rice. If you give it a try, I would be interested to know how it turns out!
regs
Can't live without rice, gonna try your recipe
Lisa
Great! I hope you like it.
Daisy Nguyen
A great recipe! Following this instruction, the sweet rice came out perfectly moist and tasty for the first time using my older rice cooker. Thank you a million! Do you have other recipes for sweet rice such as with munkbean or peanuts
Lisa
I'm really glad the recipe worked out and that you liked it, Daisy! I haven't tried any other recipes yet with mung bean or peanuts, but thanks for the suggestion...I would definitely like to explore using those ingredients like those more.
Sandy
Hi Lisa,
I didn't make it for our BBQ (too much food), however, I did make it just now and wanted to report it turned out Delicious! I did add alittle more oyster sauce at the end and green onions. I also used small dried shrimp and just dumped them into the rice cooker w/the remaining ingredients prior to topping it off w/the rice. My GoTo recipe for Sticky Rice here on out! Thanks again Lisa!
Sandy
Lisa
Adding the dried shrimp to the rice is an excellent flavor boost...great idea! I'm so glad you liked it, and thanks so much for reporting back!
Sandy
Hi,
I have a ZOJIRUSHI Rice Cooker w/the Sweet Rice selection. Do I still need to soak the sweet rice for 2 hours using this feature on the rice cooker? I intend to make this yumminess this Saturday for our BBQ party.
Thanks!
Lisa
Thanks for your question, Sandy. As a previous reader who also has a Zojirushi rice cooker commented below, soak the rice as the recipe says and use the sweet rice feature on your rice cooker. I hope it’s a hit for your BBQ party!
PL
Taste yummy!
Lisa
Thank you!
Marlies
Okay I never rate stuff on the internet. But Lisa is one of my oldest friends. She’s awesome. This recipe is awesome. If you have a ZOJIRUSHI rice cooker, follow her instructions and then choose the SWEET RICE steam option. It comes out perfectly and you will be very happy! 5 STARS!!!
Colleen
I love your step by steps! I didn't know about Thai glutenous rice. Thanks for that, and, I'm hoping to try some of your amazing dishes very soon. Cheers, Lisa!