Food & Receipts

The Ultimate Guide to Cooking Sticky Red Gac Rice This Tet: A Secret Ingredient for Good Fortune and Prosperity

To achieve that vibrant red sticky rice with gac dish for the New Year, you'll want to follow these simple yet effective tips that will ensure a colorful and delicious treat.

Administrator

5 September, 2024

The secret to making delicious sticky rice, especially with red sticky rice, is in the cooking method. While it’s not difficult to make, not everyone knows how to get the perfect dish with plump, glossy, soft, and fragrant grains.

According to experienced homemakers, to get bright red and tasty sticky rice for special occasions like holidays and New Year celebrations, it’s necessary to steam the rice twice and add some chicken fat. Let’s explore the recipe for making perfect red sticky rice, with tips from Bếp Eva.

How to Make Bright Red Sticky Rice for Holiday Celebrations

Ingredients

1.5 kg glutinous rice
2 red baby jackfruits
Salt
150g chicken fat
8 tablespoons of sugar
Sticky rice mold (optional)
Steamer

Tips for Choosing the Best Ingredients for Delicious Sticky Rice

Selecting the jackfruit

When buying jackfruit, look for ones that are:

Large, round, and have evenly spread spines.
Bright red in color.
Have fresh stems. Jackfruits with wilted stems are usually picked a long time ago and forced to ripen.
Heavy and have hard shells. You can tell by holding the jackfruit in your hand and gently pressing on the shell.

Choosing the glutinous rice

For making sticky rice, it’s best to use glutinous rice varieties like sticky rice velvet or sticky rice flowers. In this recipe, Bếp Eva uses sticky rice flowers. When buying rice, pay attention to the following points:

The grains are round and have a milky white color. When you pick them up, they should feel full and not broken.
Taste a few grains; they should have the distinctive fragrance of sticky rice milk.
Avoid rice with an unusual white color or a lot of silver bellies. This type of rice has been milled multiple times and will not taste as good or be as nutritious.

Instructions for Making Delicious Sticky Rice

Step 1: Soak the rice

Rinse the rice and pick out any impurities.
Place the rice in a bowl and add water to just cover the rice. Soak for about 6-8 hours. If you’re short on time, you can soak the rice overnight to ensure the grains absorb enough water.
Soaking the rice for the right amount of time ensures that the grains cook evenly, don’t become mushy, and have a delightful fragrance. If you’re short on time, you can use warm water to speed up the soaking process.

Step 2: Prepare the jackfruit

Use ripe red baby jackfruit for making the sticky rice. Cut open the jackfruit and scoop out the flesh with a spoon.
Place the jackfruit flesh in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of white wine.
Use your hands to mix well and remove the seeds.
Let the jackfruit mixture sit for 20-40 minutes before cooking.

Step 3: Rinse the rice again

After soaking, rinse the rice again with clean water.
Add a few grains of salt and mix well. Let the rice drain.

Step 4: Mix the rice and jackfruit

This step is crucial for ensuring that the rice is evenly coated and has a beautiful color.
Place the jackfruit flesh in a rice basket and mix well with the rice.
Note: Mix the rice and jackfruit thoroughly until all the grains are coated with the bright red color of the jackfruit.
Tip: At this step, you can add coconut milk to make the sticky rice even more delicious and creamy. However, traditional red sticky rice is made without this ingredient.

Step 5: Fry the chicken fat

Rinse the chicken fat with salt and blanch it in boiling water to reduce any fishy smell.
Place the chicken fat in a pan and fry until golden. Be careful not to use high heat, as it can cause the fat to burn and turn bitter.

Step 6: Steam the sticky rice

Place the steamer on the stove, adding just enough water, about half a pot.
Add the rice and jackfruit mixture, cover, and steam until cooked. This usually takes about 20-30 minutes.

Step 7: Remove the sticky rice

Take the sticky rice out of the steamer and place it on a plate or tray to cool.

Step 8: Steam the sticky rice again

For the best results, it’s essential to steam the sticky rice twice.
Follow the same steaming process as the first time. Place the sticky rice in the steamer and steam for about 30 minutes. The longer you steam it, the softer and more fragrant it will be.
Mix the sticky rice with sugar and chicken fat. The amount of sugar and fat can be adjusted to your family’s taste. Generally, for every kilogram of rice, use about 8 teaspoons of sugar and 3 teaspoons of chicken fat. Mix well to allow the flavors to blend.
chicken fat‘>
Steam for another 10 minutes, and then you can take the sticky rice out of the steamer.

Step 9: Final touches

Check if the sticky rice is soft and fragrant, then remove it from the heat and mold it if desired. Note that when molding the sticky rice, avoid pressing too hard, as this can cause the grains to stick together. The addition of chicken fat gives the sticky rice a glossier and softer texture.

Desired Outcome

The steamed red sticky rice has an attractive orange color. Each grain is plump, glossy, and perfectly soft. The dish has a wonderful blend of sweetness from the sugar, stickiness from the glutinous rice, and a rich flavor from the chicken fat, creating a delicious and visually appealing treat.

Frequently asked questions

Gac is a unique fruit native to Southeast Asia, known for its vibrant red color and distinct nutritional properties. During Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, gac holds cultural and symbolic significance. It is believed to bring good fortune, prosperity, and health for the coming year.

To cook sticky red gac rice, you’ll need glutinous rice, gac fruit, and a few other simple ingredients. Soak the rice overnight, then steam it with a mixture of gac aril (the red flesh) and water. Add a touch of salt and sugar to taste. The gac aril imparts a beautiful red color and a unique, slightly sweet flavor to the rice.

Gac is renowned for its nutritional benefits. It is an excellent source of carotenoids, including lycopene and beta-carotene, which are powerful antioxidants. Gac also provides vitamin A, E, and essential fatty acids. These nutrients support eye health, boost immunity, and promote healthy skin and overall well-being.

Absolutely! Gac is a natural and healthy alternative to artificial food colorings. The red aril of the gac fruit can be used to add a vibrant red or orange color to various dishes, including rice, desserts, and drinks. It’s a great way to enhance the visual appeal of your culinary creations while also boosting their nutritional value.

You can typically find fresh gac fruit in Southeast Asian markets, especially during the harvest season, which varies depending on the region. Canned gac aril and gac products, such as gac oil or powder, are also available online and in specialty stores, making it accessible throughout the year.

In Vietnamese culture, gac is often associated with good luck and prosperity. During Tet, it is customary to display gac fruits as decorations and offer them as gifts to bring blessings for the new year. Some families also have traditions of cooking sticky red gac rice as a special dish to share with loved ones during Tet gatherings.