Xôi Gấc: Vietnamese Red Sticky Rice Colored with Gac Fruit

Steps

1. 1Wash the rice

   Put the glutinous rice in a bowl and cover it with cold water. Swish it gently with your fingers, then pour off the milky water and refill. Repeat a few times, keeping your hand light so the grains do not crack. Stop when the water runs clear.

2. 2Soak overnight in the refrigerator and thaw the gac

   Cover the washed rice with plenty of fresh water, wrap the bowl, and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. A long soak on the counter is a poor idea, especially in warm weather. The same evening, move the frozen gac from the freezer to the refrigerator so it thaws slowly. By morning the grains have swelled and turned opaque, and the gac is soft enough to spread with a spoon.

3. 3Loosen the gac with the spirit

   Put the thawed gac in a small bowl and add the 1 tbsp of white spirit or wine. Squeeze the pulp gently between your fingers so the spirit soaks in and the flesh comes away into a loose purée. If you are using pulp from a fresh fruit, pick out every seed now. The gac is ready when it is a smooth, glossy red purée with no firm lumps.

   Alcohol

   Some of the spirit evaporates in the steamer, but do not count on all of it leaving. When cooking for children, during pregnancy or for anyone avoiding alcohol, leave it out and mix the gac in plain; the rice comes out paler.

4. 4Colour the rice

   Tip the soaked rice into a strainer and let it drain well; leftover water dilutes the colour and makes the grains soft. Move the rice to a large bowl, sprinkle over the pinch of salt, and add the gac purée. Fold with your fingers or a spoon, lifting from the bottom, without squeezing the grains. Keep going until every grain is coated and no white grains remain.

5. 5Let the colour settle

   Level the rice with the back of a spoon and leave it alone so the grains drink in the colour. Do not stir it during this time. Meanwhile, line up the steamer and the lining for the next step. Move on when the red looks even and slightly deeper than when you finished mixing.

6. 6Prepare the steamer and load the rice

   Pour water into the pot to about one-third full and bring it to a boil. Line the steamer basket with banana leaf (or cloth or parchment) and poke several holes through it with a chopstick. Spread the rice over the lining in an even layer, then poke holes down through the rice as well so steam can rise through and cook it faster. The basket is ready when you can see the holes run straight down to the lining.

   Give the steam somewhere to go

   The holes through the lining and the rice keep the steam moving instead of pooling, and that is what keeps the grains separate. A layer packed flat and solid steams slowly and turns gummy at the bottom.

7. 7Steam on high heat

   Set the basket over the boiling water. Wrap the lid in a clean kitchen cloth so condensation cannot drip back onto the rice, cover, and steam over high heat for 30 minutes. Strong, steady steam is what gives separate grains; keep an eye on the water level. When the time is up, lift the lid away from you and taste a few grains: they should be translucent with no hard core and crush easily between your fingers. If they are still firm, steam 10 minutes more at a time.

   Steam

   Steam from an open steamer burns quickly. Tilt the lid away from your face and arms as you lift it, and use a cloth or oven gloves to handle the basket.

8. 8Fold in the sesame oil

   Tip the steamed rice into a wide bowl while it is hot. Drizzle over the 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Fold it through with a wooden spoon, lifting from the bottom rather than pressing down, so the grains stay whole. Stop when every grain looks glossy and separate.

9. 9Add the sugar and steam again

   Sprinkle the 1 tbsp of sugar over the rice and fold it through the same way. Return the rice to the lined steamer, check the pot still has water, cover with the cloth-wrapped lid, and steam for 10–15 minutes more. Sugar goes in only now because added at the start it keeps the rice from cooking through; this second steaming melts it in and leaves the grains soft and springy. It is done when no sugar crystals remain and the rice shines.

   Sweeten in small steps

   One tablespoon of sugar keeps this lightly sweet. If you like it sweeter, add a little more before the second steaming, fold, and taste once it has melted, rather than adding a large amount at once.

10. 10Shape and serve while warm

    Serve the rice straight from the steamer, heaped on plates. To shape it, press it into a small mould while it is still warm, since it firms as it cools and stops holding together. Pack it firmly enough to hold, then turn it out onto a plate. A good mould releases cleanly and the shape stands with sharp edges.