Kale and Mushroom Sticky Rice Stuffing

Sticky rice stuffing is a mashup of the classic Thanksgiving cubed bread-based stuffing and the classic dim sum dish known as Lo Mai Fan — savory sticky rice mixed with Chinese sausage, shiitake mushrooms, and dried shrimp.

Having grown up in a Chinese American family, my mother would always make a huge casserole dish of sticky rice to enjoy alongside our turkey. I always longed for the stale bread stuffing everyone else’s family would enjoy, but I have since learned to appreciate the satisfying texture and addictive quality of my family’s sticky rice stuffing.

This sticky rice is cooked in chicken stock but can be cooked in vegetable stock to make it completely vegetarian. Carrots, celery, and onions are cooked in butter for the classic Thanksgiving stuffing flavor base and then mixed with savory mushrooms and hearty torn kale. The vegetables used can be easily swapped out for whatever vegetables you have on hand. Swiss chard, spinach, collard greens, or any other hearty green can be interchanged with kale.

The vegetables are seasoned with a mix of soy sauce, oyster sauce and sriracha for some spice. The spice level is relatively low, so increase sriracha to 2 to 3 tbsp if you prefer your rice to have a little more of a kick.

Once the rice is cooked, you can add the rice to the vegetable mixture and mix until evenly combined. At this point, you can serve the sticky rice stuffing as is, but I highly encourage you to bake the rice in the oven at a high temperature to give the rice a nice crispy texture.

Kale and Mushroom Sticky Rice Stuffing

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sticky rice or short grain sweet rice
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 4 green onions chopped (separate whites and greens)
• 1 head of kale chopped
• 12 oz mushrooms (baby portobello or shiitakes) sliced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp sriracha
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper
• Non-stick cooking spray

Instructions:

1. Rinse rice 2-3 times, until the water runs clear.
2. Cook rice in a rice cooker with chicken stock or simmer in a pot for 20-25 minutes until all the water has been absorbed.
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Melt butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add carrots, celery, and whites of the green onions to the pan. Cook while stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, until the carrots have started to soften.
5. Add mushrooms and kale and season with soy sauce, oyster sauce, sriracha, salt, and white pepper. Continue to cook for another 5-8 minutes.
6. Turn off heat. Add the cooked sticky rice to skillet and mix until evenly combined.
7. Grease a baking dish with non-stick spray and add the sticky rice to the dish. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until the rice is crispy.
8. Remove sticky rice from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Enjoy warm!