Halmoni’s Sticky Rice Stuffing
Chef and restaurateur Esther Choi, a member of the Williams Sonoma 2023 Chefs’ Collective, says the age-old cooking techniques of her Korean grandmother have been her biggest influence. Esther enjoys Friendsgiving dinners on Thanksgiving because they’re potlucks—and having everyone lend a hand makes it a true gathering. This sticky rice stuffing is the dish she would bring to the meal. It came from her grandmother, and Esther’s family has been making it every year since she can remember. When her grandmother immigrated over from Korea and had her first Thanksgiving dinner, she came up with the recipe, inspired by a classic Korean-style chicken soup called samgyetang.
You can make the stuffing separately as a side, Esther says, or you can stuff your turkey with the sticky rice. Feel free to change it up by adding whatever you like. Sometimes her grandmother included chestnuts, ginseng or gingko. Esther has made versions with apples, dried cranberries or other seasonal ingredients. Herbs like sage, parsley or thyme would also be great.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (7 oz./220 g) sweet glutinous rice
- Vegetable oil for the cheesecloth
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 cup (4 oz./125 g) thinly sliced celery
- 1/4 cup (1 1/4 oz./40 g) roughly chopped nuts, such as pistachios, pine nuts or almonds
- 1/4 cup (1 1/2 oz./45 g) dried jujube or other dried fruit, pitted and roughly chopped
- Thumb-size piece of ginger, thinly sliced
- 2 Tbs. toasted sesame oil
- 1 Tbs. kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) (2 oz./60 g) unsalted butter, plus more as needed
- Chopped scallions for garnish
Directions:
Soak the rice: In a medium bowl, cover the glutinous rice with water and let it soak for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Steam the rice: Set up a steamer with boiling water and line the steamer basket with cheesecloth. Lightly brush or rub some vegetable oil on the cheesecloth to prevent the rice from sticking. Wash the rice well in a few changes of water and drain through a sieve.
Return the rice to the bowl and stir in the shallot, garlic, celery, nuts, jujube, ginger, sesame oil and salt.
Transfer the rice mixture to the lined steamer basket and cover. Steam until the rice is cooked, about 20 minutes. Check the seasoning at this point and add more salt if needed.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the steamed rice mixture and spread it evenly in the skillet. Cook until the bottom gets super-crispy. Add more butter on the sides if necessary; the rice should get crunchy. Garnish with the chopped scallions and serve. Serves 4.
Courtesy of Esther Choi, Chef/Owner of Mokbar and Chef/Partner of Ms. Yoo, New York
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