Fusion Sticky Rice With Star Anise Chicken, Shiitake, Edamame, And Sunchokes

• 2 cups Japanese sticky/sweet rice (soaked in water to cover by 2 inches, 4 hours or overnight, then drained)
• 2 T. canola oil
• 3 T. minced peeled ginger
• 6 T. minced light green and white scallion parts
• 3/4- 1 cup sliced fresh shiitake mushroom caps
• 5 ou. Sweet Italian sausage(pierced with fork a few places to keep from exploding)
• 1 cup chopped unpeeled Jerusalem artichoke , alone or combined with julienned sweet fried tofu skin (aburaage) and julienned Japanese flat omelet
• 1 cup cooked shelled edamame
• 13 ou. coconut milk (I prefer Nuoc Cot Dua) )
• 1 cup +heated chicken stock (that 1 tsp. Lapsang Souchong has steeped in 30-60 minutes, then strained)
• 3 T. oyster sauce ( Hop Ling Sung is excellent)
• 1 T. soy sauce
• 3 T. dry cocktail sherry or sake or Chinese rice wine
• 2/3 tsp. Kosher salt
• Add chili paste to taste if you wish, but I don't use it here
• STAR ANISE CHICKEN (optional)
• 4 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/8 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon dry sherry (not "cooking sherry")
• 4 thin quarter sized peeled slices fresh ginger, smashed with side of knife and chopped
• 3 whole star anise or equivalent pieces
• 1/2 Tablespoon chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/3 cup o.j. or 3 T. frozen OJ concentrate plus 2 T. water

1. Heat oil til hot, add ginger, then scallion, and stir fry a few minutes. Add shiitakes and saute 5 minutes til soft.
2. Remove ginger- shiitakes. Over medium heat, saute sausages til done. cool and cut lengthwise into quarters and then slice across in 1/3 inch slices.
3. Return shiitakes, scallions and ginger to sausage pan. Mix well. Add Jerusalem artichoke and edamame and mix well. Pour coconut milk and stock over rice, then soy sauce through salt, stirring to coat well. Bring to boil.
4. Turn heat to simmer, cover, til liquid is absorbed. Taste (rice should be chewy)but if not ready, add more coconut milk, stock, or water;cover and let cook til rice is chewy/al dente.) Add shredded cooked chicken to taste, somewhere near the end of the rice cooking.
5. Taste and add more seasonings as needed. Serve as is or stuffed into Inari (fried tofu skin pockets.)
6. CHICKEN: In a saucepan just big enough to fit four bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, heat a little canola oil to hot. For ~ 4 minutes, sear chicken thighs, skin side down..Turn over and sear 3 minutes. Remove from pan. Add to pan soy through o.j.. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, turn to simmer. Return thighs to pan, turn to coat with sauce., cover on low simmer for 20-30 minutes, turning once more, til meat easily pulls away from bone.rnTurn off, remove thighs from pot and let cool ~ 5-10 minutes. Discard skin and bones and put into upright narrow container. Top with sauce and refrigerate overnight. The next day, remove and discard the layer of solid fat that has settled on the top. Shred the chicken into small pieces. Reheat the chicken with sauce, remove the chicken from the sauce (reserve to cook with later) and fold the chicken into the completed sticky rice. Serve.
7. **When reheating sticky rice, you need water or liquid to create steam; otherwise the rice will be hard.

sweet rice, canola oil, peeled ginger, light green, fresh shiitake mushroom caps, sweet italian, jerusalem artichoke, edamame, coconut milk, oyster sauce, soy sauce, cocktail sherry, kosher salt, chili paste, anise chicken, chicken, soy sauce, brown sugar, sherry, quarter, star anise, chili flakes, garlic, frozen oj concentrate

Taken from food52.com/recipes/40088-fusion-sticky-rice-with-star-anise-chicken-shiitake-edamame-and-sunchokes (may not work)