Vegan Fan Tuan 飯糰 (Stuffed Sticky Rice Rolls)
I’m so excited to finally be posting this fan tuan recipe because it’s been in the works for a few months. Newborn life with a toddler has been keeping me busy, but atlas, here she is! Fan tuan, or stuffed sticky rice roll, is a breakfast street food popular in Shanghai and Taiwan. It typically consists of sticky rice, a fried donut/cruller (also known as you tiao), dried meat floss, and pickled mustard greens or radishes. However, the filling possibilities are endless and you can really use whatever you like. In this vegan fan tuan, I used a vegan dried “meat” floss and it turned out really good. You can find it at your local Asian grocery store.
I love using purple or black sweet rice because it nuttier, chewier, and heartier. Fan tuan was one of my favorite breakfast items to get when I lived in Taiwan. It’s so convenient and delicious! I always crave it and my mom taught me how to make it when she came to visit. This recipe makes extra filling, so you can either freeze the extra or eat it with rice.
Wrapping fan tuan can be a little tricky at first but having a sushi mat helps. You basically want to wrap and press the rice together to make sure everything is compacted and the filling is completely enclosed by the sticky rice. I hope you love this as much as I do. This vegan fan tuan is pure comfort food to me and it is so dang good!
Vegan Fan Tuan 飯糰 (Stuffed Sticky Rice Rolls)
Ingredients
Filling
- 4 blocks five spiced dried tofu, about 280 grams (dou fu gan 豆腐干)
- 1 pack pickled mustard greens (suan cai 酸菜)
- 1 tbsp avocado oil (or any oil)
- 2 big cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp pure organic cane sugar
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3 sticks of frozen Chinese cruller/donut (you tiao 油条)
- 1/2-3/4 cup vegan dried meat floss (su rou song 素肉鬆)
Sticky Rice
- 1 cup white sweet rice
- 2 cups black sweet rice
- 2 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- Add the the white and black sweet rice to your rice cooker pot. Rinse and drain rice a few times to wash it and get rid of extra starch. After you have rinsed and drained the rice, add the 2 1/2 cups of water. Let it soak for 2 hours, or up to 4 hours. Then cook rice in your rice cooker, don’t drain the water. After rice is done cooking, fluff and let it sit in your rice cooker for 10 minutes.
- While the rice is cooking, prepare the five spiced dried tofu by slicing the tofu blocks and dicing the strips into little pieces. Set aside.
- Prepare the pickled mustard by rinsing the mustard under cold water very well. Then squeeze out the excess water. Chop into little pieces and set aside.
- In a large pan, heat oil on medium high heat. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds, careful not to burn the garlic. Add the chopped pickled mustard and saute for one minute. Add the tofu and saute again.
- Add the sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and black pepper. Saute for 2 more minutes until everything is combined. Remove from heat and let it cool.
- Toast or bake frozen Chinese cruller/donut according to package’s instructions. Divide into 6 pieces. Each frozen stick has two pieces stuck together. You’ll probably have to cut the donuts to the length of your fan tuan when you wrap it.
- Prepare a piece of plastic wrap on top of a sushi mat. Scoop some cooked sticky rice (about 1 cup) onto the plastic wrap and spread the rice using the back of the rice scooper spatula or silicone spatula to make a rectangle about 5×7 inches. Make sure to pack the rice into a thin layer, you can use damp fingers to flatten the rice too.
- Place a Chinese donut on top in the center of the short end of the rectangle. Scoop some of the prepared filling (about 1-2 Tbsp) and spread it right against the donut. Then sprinkle some vegan dried meat floss (about 1-2 Tbsp) on top.
- Use the plastic wrap and sushi mat to roll and squeeze all the ingredients into a long roll so it is packed tightly. Squeeze and push the ends of the roll with the plastic wrap to make sure everything is compacted and the rice sticks together. You want to enclose the ends to make sure the filling stays inside. Keep it tightly wrapped in plastic while cutting and serving. Enjoy warm!
