Vegan Rice Cooker Chinese Sticky Rice (Nuo Mi Fan)
I’ve been wanting to learn how to make vegan version of Chinese sticky rice for a long time and I finally got it down! Traditionally, this is made with meat, but I love this mushroom version. The mushrooms add a delicious umami flavor. Also, it is normally made in a basket steamer, but I don’t own one so I wanted to make sure my rice cooker could produce a just as good sticky rice. I figured most of you would have a rice cooker over a basket steamer too. This vegan rice cooker Chinese sticky rice turned out SO good and just like the real stuff! You could make this on the stove with a normal steamer pot too if you have one big enough (I personally don’t have one). Just steam it for 30 minutes. My family mostly eats this during Chinese New Year and during different Chinese holidays. This is actually really easy to make and the flavors are incredible. Chinese sticky rice does not use normal white rice, you have to have Thai glutinous rice or sometimes it’s also called sweet rice, even though the rice is not sweet and it does not contain gluten. You can find it at any Asian grocery store. I love all the savory, umami flavors in this sticky rice and it reminds me of when I lived in Taiwan. This is my version of comfort food and it makes me think of my mom’s cooking. I could literally eat this at any time of day!
Vegan Rice Cooker Chinese Sticky Rice (Nuo Mi Fan)
Ingredients
- 2 cups glutinous/sweet rice (rinsed and soaked in cool water for 3-4 hours)
- 2 tsp olive or avocado oil
- 1/2 small onion, diced (or 6 shallots finely sliced)
- 2 cups diced shiitake mushrooms
- 1 large carrot, diced very small
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 inch fresh ginger, minced/grated
- 1 1/4 cup water
Sauce
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 1 tsp organic cane sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetarian stir-fry sauce (or oyster sauce if not vegan)
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- 3/4-1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp sesame oil
Topping
- crispy fried shallots
- sesame seeds
- chopped green onions
Instructions
- Rinse the glutinous/sticky rice in a fine mesh strainer until water turns mostly clear. Place in a large bowl and cover with cool water. Soak for at 3-4 hours.
- Once rice is done being soaked, drain well and set aside while you prep the other ingredients.
- In a large pan, heat olive or avocado oil over medium high heat. Saute onions or shallots until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute until golden brown. Add the carrots, garlic, and ginger. Saute for 2 more minutes. Add sauce ingredients and saute for 1 minute until everything is evenly combined.
- Add mushroom mixture to the rice cooker pot and spread it out until it is an even layer. Add the drained rice on top and level it out. (Make sure the mushroom mixture is on the bottom because if you put the rice first, it will come out too mushy.) Pour the 1 1/4 cup water over the rice. Cook in the rice cooker until the rice cooker button pops and it is done (about 25-30 minutes).
- Fluff rice with chopsticks or the rice scooper paddle until all the mushroom mixture and rice is combined. Serve with crispy fried shallots, sesame seeds, and green onions on top! Enjoy!
