How to Make Delicious, Soft, and Vibrantly Red-Orange Gac Sticky Rice

Prepare the Sticky Rice and Mung Beans

Rinse the sticky rice thoroughly (about 2-3 times), then place it in a large bowl and cover with water. Soak for 8-10 hours, ensuring the water level is about 10cm above the rice.

After soaking, rinse the sticky rice again gently, drain, and cover with a damp cloth to maintain moisture.

Rinse the split mung beans thoroughly. Like the sticky rice, soak the beans for 8-10 hours, changing the water 2-3 times during soaking to prevent the beans from souring.

Prepare the Gac Fruit

Cut the Gac fruit in half and scoop out the pulp into a bowl. Add a small amount of white wine and coarse salt, then mash the Gac pulp with chopsticks. The wine and salt help enhance the Gac's bright red color and preserve it longer.

Choose Gac fruits that are heavy, with a deep red-orange color, round shape, few spikes, and small stems. The surface should feel slightly bumpy, indicating the fruit has a thin skin, plenty of seeds, and is fully ripe.

To achieve a vibrant color for the sticky rice, you’ll need about 800g-1kg of Gac pulp (including seeds) for the specified amount of sticky rice.

Prepare the Other Ingredients

Shred the coconut meat into thin strips.

Dry-roast the white sesame seeds until fragrant.

Cook the Gac Sticky Rice

Mix the sticky rice, mung beans, and Gac pulp together until well combined. Since salt was added when mashing the Gac pulp, there’s no need to add more salt at this stage. You can also add some shredded coconut if you want a richer coconut flavor in the sticky rice.

Add water to the steamer pot, filling it halfway between the bottom and the steamer basket. For extra caution, place a small spoon at the bottom of the pot; if the water level gets too low, the spoon will make a sound, alerting you to add more water.

Initially, turn the heat up a bit to bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, place the sticky rice, Gac, and mung bean mixture into the steamer basket. Avoid adding the rice too early, as the bottom layer may cook too quickly and become mushy while the top layer remains undercooked. Reduce the heat to medium-low for steaming.

To make cleaning the steamer basket easier, you can place the sticky rice in a cloth bag (such as a muslin or cheesecloth).

For the best results, Cookbeo recommends a tip shared by artisans from renowned traditional villages: When placing the rice in the steamer, initially pile it into a cone shape to retain moisture in the inner layers. When the sticky rice is about 70-80% cooked, gently stir and spread it out evenly.

For the best texture, steam the sticky rice twice. For the first steaming, steam the rice for 30-40 minutes over medium-low heat from the time it’s placed in the steamer. Then, remove the rice bag or steamer basket and let the sticky rice 'rest' for 10-15 minutes. Fluff the rice gently to ensure even cooking.

At this stage, you can add a tablespoon of cooking oil and mix well before covering again. If you have chicken fat, place a piece on top of the sticky rice. The heat will melt the chicken fat, making the sticky rice more flavorful and glossy.

Next, bring the water to a boil again and steam the sticky rice for a second time. Steam for about 15 minutes over medium-low heat.

Once the sticky rice is fully cooked, transfer it to a bowl and mix in 50-70g of white sugar, depending on your preference for sweetness, and a tablespoon of cooking oil. Finally, transfer the sticky rice to a plate, sprinkle with roasted white sesame seeds, and top with shredded coconut. And there you have it—delicious Gac sticky rice with mung beans, sesame, and coconut is ready to enjoy.

Gac sticky rice is best enjoyed hot, savoring each bite to appreciate the soft, fragrant sticky rice, rich coconut, and roasted sesame. Eating it hot also helps prevent the heavy feeling that can come with eating cold sticky rice.