Sticky rice with mushrooms and jack fruit seeds

With

Gary Mehigan

Lao glutinous rice with grilled king brown mushrooms and jack fruit seeds.

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About this recipe

Laotian glutinous rice soaked overnight then steamed in a bamboo basket until it turns translucent and bouncy. Served alongside grilled king brown and oyster mushrooms with blanched jackfruit seeds, shallots, garlic and bird's-eye chilli pounded into a hot pad-style relish. A vegetarian Lao plate that pulls weight.

Khao niao (Laotian sticky rice) is the staple grain of Laos and northern Thailand, eaten with fingers rather than utensils. The grains are short, opaque and starchy when raw, glassy and elastic when cooked. Soaking is non-negotiable; four hours minimum, overnight ideal. Steam over (not in) water in a bamboo basket for twenty to thirty minutes until the grains are translucent and stick together when pressed.

Jackfruit seeds are the unexpected ingredient. When the fresh fruit is cut open, the pearl-white seeds are usually discarded; properly used (blanched briefly, peeled, sliced) they have a chestnut-meets-water-chestnut texture that pairs surprisingly well with mushroom. Sourced from Vietnamese or Indian grocers; substitute boiled chestnuts in a pinch.

Grill the mushrooms hard over coals to char the edges and pull the moisture out, then pound them roughly with the relish ingredients in a mortar. Eat with sticky rice formed into small balls in the fingers and used to scoop the mushroom mixture. A handful of Thai basil and mint, a wedge of lime.

Ingredients

- 2 cups Loas glutinous rice

- 2 punets king brown mushrooms

- 2 punet oyster mushrooms

- 6 shallots, peeled

- 6 cloves garlic, peeled

- 4 birds eye chilli

- 3 tbsp fish sauce

- 1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped

- 10 jackfruit seeds, blanched, peeled and roughly chopped

- ¼ cup Saw tooth coriander, snipped

- 1/3 cup sesame seeds

- 1/3 cup crisp shallots

- 1 cup mung beans soaked, boiled & drained

- 1 tbsp peanut oil – for brushing

Method

1. Place the rice into a medium bowl and cover then wash gently 4-5 times until the water begins to run clear. Cover with warm water and soak for 4 hours or ideally overnight. Choose a tall pot that the steamer basket will fit snugly into and ¼ fill with water and bring to the boil. Drain the soaked rice into the bamboo steamer basket and place over the boiling water. Make sure the steamer doesn’t touch the water below and the water is boiling.

2. Pop on the lid and steam for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the steamer from the pot and flip the rice over, cook for another 5-10 minutes until the rice is springy to touch and fully cooked. Tip the rice into a large bowl and mix through gently with chopsticks to break the rice up and separate. Set aside in a large bowl.

3. Pre heat a BBQ on high or alternatively pop a wire rack over a low open gas flame.

4. Cut the king brown mushrooms into large chunks and thread them onto wooden skewers and set aside. Repeat this process with the oyster mushrooms, shallots, garlic and chili. Brush with a little oil and BBQ until charred and just cooked, approx. 4 minutes. The shallots and garlic will take a little longer and should be sweet and soft.

5. Remove the shallots, garlic and chilli from the skewers and crush to a rough paste in a pestle and mortar. Remove the mushrooms from the skewers and chop roughly.

6. Place the mushrooms, spring onions, jackfruits, coriander, sesame seeds, crispy shallots, mung beans and shallot, garlic, chilli paste into a bowl and mix together

7. Gently mix in the rice.

8. Fold the circle of banana leaf into a cone, place enough rice into the banana leaf to fill the cone ¾ full. Fold in one edge first then fold in the next so they overlap. Press down so the rice is firmly packed, secure with a toothpick and set aside until they are all complete.

9. Pop the banana leaf parcels back into the steamer, cover with the lid and steam for 20 minutes and serve.

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Gary Mehigan

Gary Mehigan spent eleven seasons as a judge on MasterChef Australia before turning his attention to the road. He hosts Around the World on Two Plates and Good Food Everyday, cooking through markets and family kitchens from Spain to Sri Lanka. His own kitchen instinct sits in classical French technique with a forensic eye for produce.