What is XO Sauce?
Ever since we discovered XO Sauce and created our own XO Sauce recipe, we’ve been enamored with the stuff. It’s a mixture of fried garlic, shallots, dried scallops, dried shrimp, Chinese ham, and chili peppers. In short, it’s an incredible umami bomb. I think perhaps we’ve been a little too content to just have a jar of it in the fridge to enjoy it as we like, putting it on everything from eggs and wok-fuls of veggies to rice and noodles! It can be easy to forget that it can be used as a cooking ingredient. We have a Water Spinach (Ong Choy) with XO Sauce recipe, and an XO Sauce Fried Rice (using regular jasmine rice), but we thought it was high time that we offer some more ways to use XO Sauce.
XO Sauce & Fried Rice: A Perfect Match
One of the best ways to enjoy XO Sauce is with fried rice. The other day, when my mom was recording her video on How to Cook Sticky Rice, we had one too many batches left at the end of the day. I had been tinkering with the idea of an XO Sauce Fried Sticky Rice, so I grabbed a jar out of the refrigerator, and we turned my mom’s batch of sticky rice into something truly delicious. (It occurs to me now that you could make this even more insane by adding a little bit of white truffle oil. We haven’t tested that just yet, so you’ll have to see for yourself whether my hunch is a good one.) The idea of making fried rice using sticky rice isn’t all that common, but it IS delicious. We have one other fried sticky rice recipe on the blog: my dad’s Lobster Sticky Fried Rice. This recipe gives you a similar umami seafood hit, but with a jarred condiment—no live lobsters needed! While Lobster Sticky Fried Rice might be a Chinese New Year or other special occasion recipe, this recipe is simple enough to make anytime.
But I’ve never cooked sticky rice before!
Lucky for you, we’ve just updated our post on how to make sticky rice in a steamer and a basic rice cooker. See that recipe over here. The main thing to keep in mind is that you want to keep your rice covered before cooking, or it could dry out. You want this sticky rice to have some chew to it, but not be too hard and give yourself a tired jaw eating it. We give instructions on how to cook it right here in this recipe, so just follow them, and your rice will turn out great!
Can I Add Proteins to This?
The simple answer is yes. There is no protein in this recipe outside of the small amount in the XO sauce, so feel free to follow our instructions for velveting any protein you like—beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp—then pre-cook it before adding it along with the frozen peas in the recipe. If you want to use cooked proteins, you can simply add them in and let them warm through. But this version here is great for flexitarians or anyone looking to eat mostly plant-based more often. (Obviously, there is seafood and ham in the XO sauce, but no additional meat in the recipe.)
XO Sauce Fried Sticky Rice Recipe Instructions
First, make the sticky rice. Add the raw sticky rice to a mixing bowl or other deep container. Fill it with water so that the water level is at least 3 inches above the rice (as the rice will expand when soaking). Soak for 6 to 24 hours. Soak it longer if you want your sticky rice to have a softer texture. Drain in a colander. There are two methods for making the sticky rice: in a steamer or in a rice cooker.
To make the sticky rice in a steamer:
Evenly arrange the soaked sticky rice on a heat-proof, rimmed dish set on a rack or in a bamboo steamer lined with natural steamer liners or cheesecloth. Place in a covered wok or pot to steam. (See our post on how to steam food for more details.) Cover and steam for 30-45 minutes. When making a larger batch of rice, steam in two batches or steam longer. You can check the rice and increase the steaming time if need be.
To make the sticky rice in a rice cooker:
Drain the soaked rice and add it to your rice cooker pot. Add water so it barely covers the rice. (Basically, the water level should be about the same as the height of the rice in the pot.) Cover, and press the “cook” or “start” button. If you find the rice is a bit undercooked after the rice cooker finishes, sprinkle in a bit more water, and turn it back on. Overly wet rice is harder to salvage, which is why we prefer the steamer method, which is much more foolproof! Once cooked, keep the sticky rice covered until you’re ready to use it in the recipe. This will prevent it from drying out.
To make the fried sticky rice:
Add oil to a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Cook the onion and garlic for 3 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and starting to lightly brown around the edges. Add mushrooms, and cook them for another 3 minutes, until softened. Now add the sticky rice, along with the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, and white pepper, putting the seasoning ingredients directly onto the rice. (The liquid seasonings will help the rice break up.) Break up the rice clumps and stir to coat the rice in the sauce. Add the frozen peas, and mix everything well so the peas are evenly distributed throughout the rice. Finally, add the XO sauce and scallions. Stir-fry thoroughly. Salt to taste, and serve.
