Sticky rice with savory Chinese sausage and crunchy peanut, Chinese stir-fry sticky rice (Nuo Mi Fan) is the comfort food you will want more.
If I have to pick one thing to eat every day in winter, it will be Chinese sticky rice. It’s one of my childhood favorites and still is.
It’s also a popular dim sum dish across the globe. Seems like my love for this sticky rice recipe is shared by many.
What is Nuo Mi Fan?
Nuo Mi Fan, or Loh Mai Fan in Cantonese, is a traditional Chinese rice dish. Nuo Mi means sticky rice, and Fan also refers to rice.
Basically, it’s stir-fry sticky rice with Chinese sausages, cured meat, shiitake mushrooms, and peanuts.
What makes Nuo Mi Fan or Loh Mai Fan so irresistible is its flavors and textures.
First, sticky rice is a bit chewy and gluey, not something we will always have. Also, the Chinese sausages and cured meat are packed with flavors themselves. They give the dish a sweet, savory, and smoky taste.
Finally, the peanuts. Peanuts are, in my humble opinion, the best finishing touch. In contrast with the chewy rice, the crunchy peanuts tease our tastebuds and highlight the taste.
Altogether, they create a rice recipe that will burst your cravings and hunger in winter.
Making Nuo Mi Fan takes more effort than regular Chinese fried rice. But I guarantee it’s worth the time. So follow along to make authentic Chinese sticky rice with sausage and peanuts.
Where to buy sticky rice
I use long grain sticky rice in this recipe where you can find in most local Asian markets. On the package, it will be labeled as sticky rice, sweet rice, or glutinous rice.
You may also find the Japanese version of sticky rice that is named mochigome or mochi rice.
If there’s no Asian market around, you can also buy it online like this one.
How to make Chinese sticky fried rice (Nuo Mi Fan)
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups of Sticky rice (glutinous rice or sweet rice or mochi rice)
- 20 grams of peanuts
- 2 Chinese sausages
- 40 grams of cured meat
- 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 shallot
- 1 scallion
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil
Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
- A pinch of five-spice powder (optional)
Making authentic Nuo Mi Fan step-by-step
Cooking Chinese sticky rice in a rice cooker
Rinse the sticky rice in water 3 times until the water is clear. Then soak it for 3 hours (or overnight).
Pour the rice into a rice cooker. Add water just to cover it and press cook. It takes about 25 minutes to cook 150 grams of sticky rice.
And when it finishes cooking, leave the lid close and let it simmer for another 20 minutes. In the process, the rice will absorb additional water and be less sticky to stir-fry later.
What if I don’t have a rice cooker?
- If you don’t have a rice cooker, you can place the rice flat on a plate and cook it with a steamer.
- Steam for 30 minutes.
- Leave the lid close to simmer for another 20 minutes and take it out for later.
Preparation for cooking Nuo Mi Fan
Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in warm water for 20 minutes or until they soften as the rice is cooking. Then cut the mushrooms into small dice.
Rinse shallot and scallion, remove the stem and chop into small pieces.
Dice the Chinese sausages.
There are two ways to dice Chinese sausages. The first one is to cut them vertically and chop each small round-shaped piece.
Or you can cut it length-wise and remove the peel. Then, continue to cut it into thin slices and dice afterward. I found the second way easier and quicker. Give both a try and see which one works for you.
Cut cured meat into small pieces. Then set aside for later.
If you don’t have cured meat, you can replace it with bacon.
Rinse the peanuts a few times. Coat the pan with one teaspoon of olive oil and heat over medium-low heat.
Add the peanuts to the pan and keep stir-frying them for 3 minutes. When they turn golden brown, transfer them to a plate to cool down.
Stir-frying the peanuts makes them more crunchy. And make sure you fry them on medium-low or low heat the entire process as they may burn easily.
In a bowl, mix a tablespoon of soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, half a teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of five-spice powder (optional), and a tablespoon of water. Stir evenly.
Stir-frying the sticky rice
So now everything is done, we can start making Chinese stir-fry sticky rice.
On a pan or a wok, add the diced cured meat and Chinese sausages. Turn the heat to medium-high and stir-fry the ingredients. The heat will squeeze out the oil in the meat. And that’s why we don’t need to use oil in this step.
When the meat started to turn slightly brown, add shallot and mushroom. Keep stirring for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the sticky rice to the pan. Use chopsticks or a spatular to mix the ingredients with rice. Stir and let the rice absorb the oil and flavors. It will take about 5 minutes.
Add the sauce to the pan and keep tossing the rice till the rice is evenly brown. Then add peanuts and scallions.
Stir-fry for another 2 minutes and transfer to a plate. Serve with a side dish or a soup, and enjoy!
Notes
- Some cured meat (or bacon as an alternative) is fattier and extracts a great deal of oil under heat.
- If there’s too much oil in the pan, pour some of it out. The oil left on the pan should be just enough to coat the bottom of it.
- I use a non-sticky pan in this recipe because sticky rice sticks to the pan easily. If you are using a wok, make sure that you fry the rice under medium-high heat and coat the wok with oil.
What to serve with Chinese stir-fry sticky rice?
Nuo Mi Fan has savory rice and meat in it. And you can add some greens and make it a complete meal. Personally, the flavor of a stir-fry morning glory vegetable goes well with the sticky fried rice.
If Nuo Mi Fan comes a bit greasy for you, these following recipes will bring freshness to the meal and balance out the flavor.
- Chinese Winter Melon Meatball Soup Recipe
- 20-Minute Easy Stir-Fry Shrimp And Vegetable
- Baby Bok Choy with Shiitake Mushroom in Oyster Sauce
What to do with the leftover sticky rice?
Glad you asked. Sticky rice has been a regular item in my pantry. It’s always fun to switch it with regular rice and see how it goes.
But recently, I’ve discovered that you can use it to make desserts, pasty, sushi, and many other awesome goodies. So here’s a list of sticky rice recipes for you to experiment with.
Authentic Chinese Sticky Rice (Nuo Mi Fan)
Sticky rice with savory Chinese sausage and crunchy peanut, Chinese stir-fry sticky rice (Nuo Mi Fan) is the comfort food you will want more.
Ingredients
- Glutinous rice, 3/4 cups
- Peanuts, 20 grams
- Chinese sausages, 2
- Cured meat, 40 grams
- Dried shiitake mushrooms, 4
- Shallot, medium, 1
- Scallion, 1
- Olive oil, 1 teaspoon
For the sauce
- Soy sauce, 1 tablespoon
- Dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon
- Oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon
- Sugar, 1/2 teaspoon
- A pinch of five-spice powder (optional)
Instructions
Rinse the sticky rice in water 3 times until the water is clear. Then soak it for 3 hours (or overnight).
Pour the rice into a rice cooker. Add water just to cover it and press cook. Leave the lid close and let it simmer for another 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in warm water for 20 minutes or until they soften as the rice is cooking. Then cut the mushrooms into small dice.
Rinse shallot and scallion, remove the stem and chop into small pieces.
Dice the Chinese sausages and cut cured meat into small pieces. Then set aside for later.
Rinse the peanuts a few times. Coat the pan with one teaspoon of olive oil and heat over medium-low heat.
Add the peanuts to the pan and keep stir-frying them for 3 minutes. When they turn golden brown, transfer them to a plate to cool down.
On a pan or a wok, add the diced cured meat and Chinese sausages. Turn the heat to medium-high and stir-fry the ingredients.
When the meat started to turn slightly brown, add shallot and mushroom. Keep stirring for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the sticky rice to the pan. Use chopsticks or a spatular to mix the ingredients with rice. Stir and let the rice absorb the oil and flavors. It will take about 5 minutes.
Add the sauce to the pan and keep tossing the rice till the rice is evenly brown. Then add peanuts and scallions.
Stir-fry for another 2 minutes and transfer to a plate. Serve with a side dish or a soup, and enjoy!
Notes
Cut the Chinese sausage length-wise and peel the skin off. It's easier to chop it without the skin.
If there's too much oil extracted from cured meat and Chinese sausage, pour some of it out.
Use non-sticky pan or a heated wok for stir-frying to prevent the rice from sticking.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 476Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 2081mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 19g
