Recipes: glutinous rice

Prepare the Black Sesame Filling

1. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan for 5-8 mins on medium-low heat, stirring continuously until fragrant. Cool completely before adding to a food processor. Blitz to grind seeds to a paste. Add sugar and pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse to combine. Place filling in a bowl, cover and chill for 30 mins to harden.
2. Once the filling is chilled, you will be able to portion it into little 5g balls. If the balls are too soft, return them the fridge for another 10-20 mins to set before continuing. 

Prepare the Peanut Filling

3. Toast the peanuts in a dry pan for 3-5 mins on medium-low heat, stirring continuously until fragrant. Allow to cool completely. I like to pound my peanuts using a mortar and pestle until they resemble rough sand. Add sugar and mix through. Add butter and mix through. Place filling in a bowl, cover and chill for 30 mins to harden.
4. Once the filling is chilled, you will be able to portion it into little 5g balls. If the balls are too soft, return them the fridge for another 10-20 mins to set before continuing. 

Prepare the Dough

5. Add glutinous rice flour and potato starch in a bowl. Slowly add in the water, stirring as you go until a smooth ball is formed. You may not need all the water.
6. Break off 12-13g balls from your dough. Make rice balls one at a time, flattening the dough ball into a disc, placing a ball of filling in the middle then enclosing the dough over the filling. Roll the ball in your hands until it’s round and smooth. Set aside while you make the rest of the balls.

You can freeze the balls at this stage (do not allow them to touch) and cook them at a later stage.

Prepare the Sugar Syrup

7. Add sugar, water and ginger slices to a large bowl. Bring to the boil, stirring to melt the sugar. Once the syrup starts to boil, reduce the heat to low until it is ready to receive the rice balls.

Cook the Tang Yuan

8. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Cook your tang yuan in batches by slowly adding into the boiling water. Carefully nudge them so that they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot and to each other. After one minute, remove them with a slotted spoon and transfer them directly into the simmering sugar syrup. Cook for a further minute or until they rise to the top.

Serve tang yuan warm in a bowl partly filled with the sugar syrup.

1. Wash glutinous rice and soak at least 2 hours before cooking.                                     

2. Finely chop garlic and 1 clove of eschalot. Thinly slice the rest of eschalot and shallot and set aside.                                    

3. In a medium bowl, add chicken, 1 teaspoon of garlic, 1 teaspoon of sliced eschalot, cooking wine, five spice powder, fish sauce and 1 tbsp oyster sauce, sesame oil and 1/2 tbsp sugar. Mix well to combine and let it marinade for 1 hour.

4. Take glutinous rice out and drain well. Add glutinous rice to steamer on medium high heat, add salt and stir evenly. Steam for about 10 minutes. When it turns soft and sticky, add coconut cream into sticky rice and stir evenly to combine and cook for another 5 minutes. Make sure glutinous rice is not too mushy or too dry.

5. (Fried Eschalot) In a saucepan on medium heat, add 1/2 tbsp of oil. Once the oil is heated, add sliced eschalot and fry it. When eschalot turns golden brown, turn off the heat and set aside.                                                                            

6. (Shallot Oil) In a saucepan on medium heat, add the remaning oil. Once the oil is heated, add shallot in and quickly stir for 15 seconds and then add a pinch of salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and set aside.

7. (Sauce) In a small pan on medium heat, add oil, the remaning garlic, chopped eschalot and fry until fragrant. Add soysauce, chilli sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, chicken powder and mix well to combine. Turn off the heat and aside.           

8. Turn oven on 180 degree, grill the chicken for 30 minutes.                                    

9. Remove chicken from the oven and rest it. Then cut chicken into small pieces.

10. Place sticky rice on a plate. Place pate, shallot oil, sauce, fried eschalot and chicken on the top.