Chinese-American Sticky Rice Stuffing
Soaked and steamed glutinous rice tossed with lap cheong (sweet Chinese sausage), onion and caramelized shiitake, seasoned with light and dark soy sauce and chicken stock, then roasted in a cast-iron skillet until the top and bottom turn crisp.
For many Chinese-American families, Thanksgiving stuffing is made with rice. On NPR's "Tell Me More" on November 21, 2007, San Francisco Chronicle writer Lynne Char Bennett, a third-generation Chinese-American who grew up in Oklahoma, described her family's mixed table of turkey and bread stuffing beside roast duck, fried rice and dumplings, and the rice stuffing she now makes: sweet glutinous or jasmine rice with garlic, roasted chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms, ham or Chinese sausage and sometimes dried shrimp, cooked before it goes into the turkey. The flavors come from Cantonese sticky rice, a dim sum cart staple of glutinous rice with Chinese sausage, dried mushrooms and dried shrimp (The Woks of Life:). Lap cheong is Cantonese for "preserved sausage", a dried, sweetened pork and pork fat sausage (Wikipedia:). The Leung family of The Woks of Life say they had long used this sticky rice to stuff chickens before turning it into a Thanksgiving side roasted crisp in a skillet.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Soaked and steamed glutinous rice tossed with lap cheong (sweet Chinese sausage), onion and caramelized shiitake, seasoned with light and dark soy sauce and chicken stock, then roasted in a cast-iron skillet until the top and bottom turn crisp.
🇬🇧 The original
The English original is sage and onion bound with breadcrumbs and butter, cooked inside the bird or in a dish beside it. See the Sage and Onion Stuffing (Mrs Beeton, 1861) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Soak, then steam
Glutinous rice cooked in a pot of water turns into paste; soaked overnight and steamed, each grain stays separate but chewy.
Roast in cast iron
15 minutes in a hot skillet gives the soft rice a crisp, toasty crust top and bottom, which the family says is the key.
Step by step
- Step 1
Cover the rice with cold water by 2 inches and soak at least 6 hours or overnight. Drain.
- Step 2
Line a steamer basket with cheesecloth or parchment with holes poked in it, spread the rice in an even layer and steam over boiling water 40 minutes, until the grains are tender and translucent.
- Step 3
Heat the oven to 400°F. Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil, then the onion and sausage, and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until the sausage fat renders.
- Step 4
Add the shiitake and cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until browned and caramelized at the edges.
- Step 5
Add the steamed rice, both soy sauces, the stock and the scallions. Stir and fold 2 to 3 minutes, breaking up clumps, until every grain is evenly light brown.
- Step 6
Press the rice into an even layer and roast 15 minutes, until crisp on the top and bottom. The center should read 165°F.
- Step 7
Serve straight from the skillet, scraping up the crisp bottom.
Chinese-American Sticky Rice Stuffing
Serves 6 · one 12-inch skillet · 1 hr 30 min total
Rice
- 2 cups glutinous rice (also sold as sweet rice or sticky rice)
Stir-fry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 links lap cheong (Chinese sausage), thinly sliced on the diagonal
- 8 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, thinly sliced
Seasoning
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
Method
- Cover the rice with cold water by 2 inches and soak at least 6 hours or overnight. Drain.
- Line a steamer basket with cheesecloth or parchment with holes poked in it, spread the rice in an even layer and steam over boiling water 40 minutes, until the grains are tender and translucent.
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil, then the onion and sausage, and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until the sausage fat renders.
- Add the shiitake and cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until browned and caramelized at the edges.
- Add the steamed rice, both soy sauces, the stock and the scallions. Stir and fold 2 to 3 minutes, breaking up clumps, until every grain is evenly light brown.
- Press the rice into an even layer and roast 15 minutes, until crisp on the top and bottom. The center should read 165°F.
- Serve straight from the skillet, scraping up the crisp bottom.
Adapted from The Woks of Life, "Sticky Rice Stuffing" by Sarah Leung (updated November 22, 2021), as written for 6. We set the skillet size at 12 inches and add the 165°F check (USDA FSIS) because the rice is cooked with broth and meat. The Woks of Life. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (4)
Tips
- Dried shiitake, soaked in hot water 30 minutes, give a stronger flavor; strain the soaking water and use it in place of some of the stock.
- A rice cooker with a sweet rice setting can replace the steamer.
- Vegetarian: The Woks of Life use roasted, chopped chestnuts in place of the sausage and mushroom or vegetable stock.
- To stuff a turkey, use the rice hot, straight from step 5, and follow every FSIS rule in the Food safety baseline.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Use only glutinous rice. Disputed: The Woks of Life use glutinous rice; Lynne Char Bennett uses either glutinous or jasmine rice, and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center's "Pickles and Tea" recipe mixes both (search summary only).
- It goes inside the turkey. Documented as both: Bennett cooks the rice and stuffs the bird, with extra in a bowl; The Woks of Life serve it as a skillet side.
- Dried shrimp are traditional. Documented for dim sum sticky rice (The Woks of Life) and as an option for Bennett; not in the skillet stuffing.
Every other stuffing
Sage and Onion Stuffing (Mrs Beeton, 1861)
The Victorian English stuffing for goose, duck and pork: onions simmered until mild, chopped fine with fresh sage, worked together with bread crumbs, butter and an egg yolk, and baked in its own dish until crisp on top.
Chestnut and Pork Stuffing (Farce aux Marrons)
Whole chestnuts simmered in broth until just tender, folded into seasoned ground pork with shallots, thyme and a splash of Cognac, and baked in its own dish: the classic French stuffing for a Christmas turkey.
Artusi's Roast Chicken with Sausage and Chestnut Stuffing (1891)
Pellegrino Artusi's family stuffing of Italian sausage, chicken liver, roasted chestnuts, dried mushrooms and nutmeg, bound with egg and a little bread soaked in broth, packed into a whole chicken and roasted until the stuffing itself reads 165°F.
Lebanese Hashweh (Spiced Rice and Beef Stuffing)
Ground beef and onion browned in olive oil, seasoned with Lebanese seven-spice, cooked with basmati rice in chicken broth and finished with toasted pine nuts and parsley: served on its own or as a stuffing for turkey.
Italian-American Sausage and Fennel Stuffing
Oven-dried white bread cubes tossed with browned sweet Italian sausage, onion and fennel cooked in butter, fresh thyme, marjoram and sage, chicken broth and eggs, baked covered and then uncovered until golden.
New England Sage Bread Stuffing
Dried French bread cubes tossed with onion and celery cooked in butter, sage, thyme, marjoram and parsley, chicken broth and eggs, baked covered until fragrant and then uncovered until a golden crust forms.
Southern Cornbread Dressing
A pan of cornbread baked, crumbled while hot and mixed with sausage, onion, bell pepper and celery, poultry seasoning, broth, milk and eggs, then baked in ridges with butter brushed on top until crisp outside and almost creamy inside.
New Orleans Oyster Dressing (Leah Chase)
Leah Chase's holiday dressing: day-old bread soaked in oyster liquor, browned ground beef and the Creole trinity cooked in butter, chopped Gulf oysters, thyme and cayenne, bound with egg and baked under seasoned bread crumbs.
Wild Rice Dressing (Minnesota)
Nutty wild rice cooked in broth, mixed with toasted bread crumbs, onion, celery, garlic, sage and thyme and a light custard of cream, eggs and the rice's own cooking liquid, baked covered until set.
Pennsylvania Dutch Potato Filling
Half mashed potatoes, half stuffing: boiled potatoes beaten with milk, eggs and parsley, mixed with onion and celery cooked in butter and buttery toasted bread cubes, and baked until crusty on top.
Weeknight Crispy Skillet Stuffing
A half-size, one-skillet stuffing for any night: baguette cubes toasted in a hot oven, soaked in broth and egg with browned onion, celery, sage and thyme, crisped on the stove and finished in the oven with a golden crust on top and bottom.
Stovetop-Style Stuffing, Inspired by Stove Top
The boxed classic made from scratch: white and whole wheat bread cut into eraser-size crumbs and dried in the oven, then stirred into a simmering pot of broth, butter, dried onion, celery and poultry seasoning, covered and left to stand 5 minutes. Inspired by, not official.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.