Black sticky rice

Breakfast serial part xiv
September 21-22, 2011

I've ended up with a bag of glutinous black rice larger than I could ever hope to use up in icecream. The obvious solution is to make sweetened black sticky rice, something I've only eaten once or twice before. The idea of it called to mind my brown rice porridge so I marked this as another breakfast project.

I referred to Carla's recipe as a guide then kinda did my own thing. Since I was going for breakfast more than dessert I kept the base mixture unsweetened, using coconut milk and palm sugar syrup to taste at the table. And while I'm sure it's far from authentic, I plonked some forest berries (found in the freezer and thawed) on top and liked them very much. I guess mango's a more typical accompaniment, right? What other fruits should I try with this? While I usually love some dried fruit with porridge I can't quite see it working here, as the black rice has more than enough chewiness itself.

This was certainly at its best on the first morning, and anyone with a microwave could no doubt easily revive it for subsequent breakfasts. I ate it cool thereafter and found that the rice acquired a slightly bitter edge - no problem, though, as the coconut milk tones it right down.

That I liked this so much is a relief - there's at least a month's worth of black rice breakfasts still sitting in the pantry, waiting to be made.

Black sticky rice
(inspired by a recipe at easy as vegan pie)

300g black glutinous rice
50g block palm sugar
1/4 cup water
400mL can coconut milk
fruit to serve

Cover the rice in lots of water (it will expand) and leave it to soak overnight.

In the morning, drain the rice and transfer it to a large saucepan. Add 5 cups fresh water, cover with a lid and bring the rice to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer the rice for up to 90 minutes, until most of the water is absorbed and the rice has formed a thick porridge.

While the rice is simmering, get out your smallest saucepan. Place the palm sugar and water in it over medium heat to dissolve the sugar. Allow the syrup to simmer for 5 minutes as the block dissolves, then take it off the heat. As it cools the syrup will thicken up so that it's similar to (or perhaps a bit thinner than) maple syrup.

When the rice porridge is ready, spoon each serving into a bowl, top with fruit, drizzle with the palm sugar syrup and pour over some coconut milk. I've stored leftover ingredients in separate containers in the fridge.