Glutinous Sticky Rice (Nuomi Fan)

Thank God for our 4-day weekend! After preparing for a cumulative physiology/microanatomy final that covered literally almost 1000 pages of material (914 to be exact), it feels nice to just sit around and have FUN. I was invited to two potlucks (I made an ice cream cake in the first, which you can see in my last post), which gave me an opportunity to try my hand at Chinese-style glutinous sticky rice. I've made it once before during a Thanksgiving potluck in undergraduate school, but I haven't touched it since then, mainly because it is so unhealthy. Sticky rice has a very high Glycemic Index, which means that you won't get full as easily from it as you would from something more fiber-rich (like brown rice). But man, it does taste good!



But aside from the great food, the weekend really gave me a chance to THINK about something other than school. I had determined recently that I needed to go out and become more extroverted - and that included giving Philadelphia a chance. I had been so critical of Philly this whole year, which is definitely not a healthy attitude to take. Last Easter, despite having a final coming up, I decided to attend service at a church on the UPenn campus.And it was amazing. For the first time in a very long time, I felt like I belonged in a community. There was a place in Philadelphia for me! And that was when I regretted finding a summer job back home in California. Not only that, I regretted all the months I wasted pining over California when my new home was right here. It was an interesting moment; I felt like I was closing a metaphoric door at last, hearing the soft click of the lock turn in place. Goodbye past.

On a side note, I have decided that I need to start weight training in addition to my running. Sometimes, after my long runs, I get knee and ankle injuries (I got a shin splint the last time I ran 13 miles), and I think it's mostly because my muscles are imbalanced. Plus, muscle mass is more expensive to maintain than fat - meaning that the body must burn more calories per amount of muscle than it would for the same amount of fat.

I've also bought a big pack of whey protein powder isolate. It'll be good because I have always have a problem, to some degree, with getting enough protein intake. And then (sniff) I have to face the challenge of cutting down on my fruit and carb intake now. We'll see how things go...

Glutinous Sticky Rice (Nuomi Fan)

Ingredients:

-3 cups glutinous rice
-Handful of dried shrimp
-2-3 Chinese sausages, sliced
-6-10 dried mushrooms
-4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
-1 tsp oyster sauce (or more, to taste)
-2 tsp light soy
-1 tsp dark soy
-2 tsp ABC sweet soy
-Water
-spring onions, chopped, for garnish

1. Soak the glutinous rice overnight in water.
2. Rehydrate the mushrooms and shrimp (separately) in hot water. Then dice both. Save the mushroom stock.
3. Saute the garlic in oil until fragrant. Go easy on the oil, because the sausage will release its own fat. Then add the mushrooms and shrimp.
4. Add the sausage to the pan. Cook for about 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the seasoning and rice. Cook briefly to coat the rice.
6. Transfer everything to a slow cooker and add the mushroom stock. To that add enough water to barely cover the surface. It's better to add too little water than too much because you can always add more later.
7. Leave until the rice is cooked. Garnish with spring onions and/or cilantro and enjoy!