Sticky Rice with Chinese Sausage - Xoi Lap Xuong

A.'s favorite Vietnamese dish is Xoi Lap Xuong. He could probably eat this for breakfast EVERYDAY. Whenever my Mom comes to visit, he would request it every morning. I've eaten and bought this sweet sticky rice more times than I could count, but have never made it until now.

Xoi Lap Xuong is typically eaten for breakfast, but I could probably eat this at any time in the day. The sweet Chinese sausage make this a delectable meal, morning, noon, or night. I'll be making this recipe more often now that I know how easy it is.

Xoi Lap Xuong

• 2.5 cups glutinous sweet rice (soaked in water overnight and drained)
• 2 links of Chinese Sausage, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1 boneless chicken breast/thigh cooked and cut into thin slices
• 3 tbs small dried shrimp, soaked in water for about 30min, then drained
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• steamer, muslin fabric

Soak the sweet rice over night.

Add the soy sauce to the drained rice.

Using a bamboo steamer or a regular steamer lined with muslin, add the rice and steam about about 12-15 minutes (longer if you soaked it less than overnight) or until rice is soft, sticky and translucent but not mushy and still holds it’s shape. If you think it’s too dry, add a tbsp of water and mix. You could steam without the muslin, but it will leave your pot with a sticky mess. The clean up is a cinch with the muslin so it's worth it, but not necessary.

In the meantime, prepare your ingredients. Here is what chinese sausage looks like. I bought mine in a two pack at Costco for $9.79. I was happily surprised that I saw it there one day so now my pantry is always stocked with it (no refrigeration needed until opened).

In a pan on medium high heat, add the Chinese sausage, green onion, dried shrimp and chicken. No need for oil here as the fat from the Chinese sausage is more then enough. Add a dash or two of soy sauce if you like.

Since A. and my hubby only like the Chinese sausage and dried shrimp, they get a batch of their own without the chicken and onion.

When the sticky rice is done, remove from steamer. In a bowl, add the sticky rice and top with the sauteed mixture. Adjust seasoning by adding additional soy sauce if desired.

This is the perfect recipe to conclude my week of new recipes challenge

This year, I plan on making (stop reading if you are family)

a photo cook book for my family this Christmas. Every year, I make a hand made something and I thought this would be a great. I'm also tired of reading my chicken scratch recipes that are drenched with soy sauce or flipping my lap top on to read a recipe I've typed up, but not printed. Having a cook book of my favorite recipes on hand for myself will definitely be a treat for me and hopefully my family as well. What do you think? Is a cook book a good idea to give?