My savoury sticky rice or xoi man in Vietnamese, is the perfect snack when you want something delicious for very little work! This popular Asian dish is flavoured with Chinese sausage, dried shrimp and fried onions. Using traditional methods this dish can take several hours to make but I have developed a simple recipe to take out much of the hard work, prep time and special equipment. It is truly a lazy way to making this delicious dish without sacrificing on taste.
It has been a while since my last post. These past few weeks have been a bit crazy with Tet (lunar new year) and my little girl’s 1st birthday. Originally, I had planned to get this post out before Tet but it has been somewhat of a nightmare. Planning and cooking food for 50+ guests for my daughter’s birthday was a massive challenge that took a lot of my time. Couple that with developing the most frustrating recipe I have ever experienced and you have a few weeks of fun, joy and happiness!!
I probably went through about 3 kg of glutinous rice before I was confident with the recipe. It was a very long and exhausting process but I am really happy with the outcome. This recipe requires less time and effort in comparison to other methods including:
- Removing the “overnight” soaking period for the sticky rice which most traditional recipes require. With this recipe you will only need to soak for 20 minutes.
- Using a microwave rather than a steamer, because (in Australia anyway) nearly everyone owns a microwave but steamers seem to be less common.
- Not calling for a container with a vented lid or plastic wrap as required by other microwave recipes. I have worked out you can get the same results just by using a normal, microwave-safe bowl and plate or a casserole dish.
My Tips for Success
- If possible, use chopsticks to fluff up the rice instead of a spoon. Chopsticks are less like to break up the rice while fluffing it up (mixing / stirring).
- When fluffing up (mixing / stirring) the rice, make sure to not forget the rice on the edges of the bowl. This is because the rice on the edges tend to dry out and go hard.
- Always cook the Chinese sausage in a pan before adding it to the rice. You want the oils and fats of the Chinese sausage to come out and flavour the rice.
- If you find water is overflowing out of the bowl and into your microwave, you will need a bigger bowl. The best equipment is a 2 L sized casserole dish with a lid.
This recipe now works for me every time, however I want to point out that every microwave is different so what works for me might need some tweaks to work for you.
Other Recipes You May Like
- Vietnamese Turnip Cake – Banh Bot Chien (cheat version)
- Chicken and Mushroom Rice in the Rice Cooker
- Vietnamese Red Coconut Sticky Rice – Xoi Gac (Cheat Version)
- My Cheat Vietnamese Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice – Xoi Nuoc Dua
- Mango Sticky Rice (Quick Version)
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– Scruff
Dim Sum Sticky Rice – Xoi Man
Ingredients
- 2 L boiling water
- 15 gm small dried shrimp, (available at Asian groceries)
- 250 gm glutinous rice
- 220 ml boiling water
- 1 tbsp Maggi seasoning sauce (found in most mainstream supermarkets or Asian groceries)
- 1 tbsp canola oil for frying
- 1/4 brown onion, very finely chopped
- 1 stalk of spring onion, finely chopped
- 1 Chinese sausage, cut into very small chunks
- 1 tbsp sweet preserved radish / cu cai muoi, finely chopped (Optional but highly recommended and available at Asian groceries)
- 1 tsp white sugar
Garnish
- 2 tbsp fried shallots / onion (Optional)
Instructions
- Wash the glutinous rice in a large bowl by moving it around in the water with your fingers and then drain. Repeat 3 times.
- Keep the rice in the bowl and pour boiled water over the top until the rice is submerged. Use a spoon and stir for 2 minutes.
- Drain the water and add enough boiling water to completely cover the rice by 2 cm. Let the rice soak for 20 mins and stir with a spoon every 5 mins.
- Place the dried shrimp in a pot and add 1.5 cups of tap water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the shrimp for 10 mins on low – medium heat. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat and strain.
- Cut your Chinese sausage, shrimp, onions and spring onions.
- Strain the rice with a strainer and rinse under a tap with warm water. Move the rice around with your fingers until the rice no longer feels gooey.
- Place the rice in a microwaveable bowl / casserole dish and add 220 ml of boiling water and Maggi seasoning. Stir the bowl until combined.
- Place the lid or a plate over the bowl (the plate does not need to seal the bowl completely) and cook in the microwave for 6 mins on high.
- In a small pot, add 1 tbsp of canola oil and fry the diced onion for roughly 1 min on medium heat. Then add the Chinese sausage and spring onion. Cook for a further 2 minutes and then take off the heat. Remember to keep stirring and don’t let it burn.
- After 6 minutes, use oven mitts to take the rice out of the microwave. Add the sugar, shrimp, preserved radish and the rest of the fried ingredients to the rice and mix. Cook in the microwave with the lid on for another 4 minutes on high.
- After 4 minutes take out the bowl and fluff up the rice with chopsticks. Put the bowl back into the microwave for 2 mins on high.
- Take the bowl out of the microwave and fluff up the rice. Leave the rice to rest with the lid on for 10 minutes and then serve with fried shallots.
Your rice looks magnificent Andrew.
Thank you Gary!!!
You had me at microwave😍. I will see if my wife can cook it for me.
Lee I created this recipe for people like us…. LAZY! And now you are too lazy to make it????
It looks so yummy, I have learned to make fried onions in microwave when I was on vacation in Australia a few years ago. Thank you!
Thank you!
I made it without the preserved radish and it is absolutely delicious. It really fixed my craving for xoi man and I see no need to buy it from the Asian stores anymore. Thanks Scruff!!
Hi Tram! I absolutely love this recipe and I am so happy you do too! Thank you for leaving a comment and letting us know.