Looks fancy, eh?.. yup.. it looks it and tastes divine too. I started making this dish because I was craving dim sum sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves, lo mai gai.
By the time I finished, the dish had turned into a rich, indulgent Japanese-like risotto, and it was soooo lush it exceeded my craving!
Ok, it does have a fair bit of butter that gives it the rich, velvety texture but hey.. save it for a special occasion, maybe?.. like a lockdown date night! 
Ingredients
- 200g Thai Taste sticky rice @thaitasteuk, soaked 2 hrs
- Oil
- 2 trumpet mushrooms (optional garnish)
- 400g asparagus cut into 2mm rounds (tips reserved for garnish)
- 125 fresh shiitake mushrooms sliced thin
- 25g dried shiitake mushrooms
- 3 echalion minced shallots
- 6 garlic cloves crushed
- 200ml vegetable stock, hot
- 15g chives finely chopped
- 75g butter
- 4 tbsp soya sauce
- 3 tbsp mirin
- 3 tbsp sake
- Pepper
- Lee Kum Kee Guilin style chilli sauce
Instructions
1. Soak dried mushrooms in boiling water for 20 minutes, drain, squeeze, reserve liquid, set aside
2. Blitz mushrooms
3. Sauté shallots and blitzed mushrooms in a pan on med heat with a little oil & butter, set aside
4. In the same pan, sauté mushrooms and asparagus with a little butter and oil and 1 tbsp soya sauce, set aside
5. Add rice, rest of butter, mirin, sake, and garlic to the pan, sauté 2-3 mins
6. Add hot stock, chives, and soya, cover, simmer gently for 10-15 minutes
7. Check if rice is cooked. If it needs more liquid, heat mushroom stock, add until the rice has a wet sticky consistency like risotto
8. Mix in mushrooms and asparagus, excluding tips
9. Taste, add pepper or more soya if needed
10. Garnish with asparagus tips & trumpet mushrooms (optional)
11. Serve with chilli sauce