Xoi Chien Recipe (Vietnamese Fried Sticky Rice Cake)
Vietnamese people love sticky rice; there are many dishes made from sticky rice in Vietnamese cuisine. Among them, Xoi Chien (fried sticky rice) is a popular street food, especially in Saigon. Each piece of Xoi Chien contains the crispiness and chewiness of fried sticky rice, combined with savory, flavorful fillings. Here’s an easy Xoi Chien recipe that you can follow at home.
Table of Contents
What is Xoi Chien?
Xoi Chien (Vietnamese: Xôi chiên), or Fried Sticky Rice Cake, is a Vietnamese dish made from glutinous rice that is fried until crispy. It’s often served as a snack or street food in Vietnam, especially in Ho Chi Minh City. You can easily find food stalls selling this dish everywhere in the city. Xoi Chien is enjoyed because it’s a tasty street food, ideal for breakfast or an afternoon snack, yet very affordable. A portion of Xoi Chien in Saigon often costs below 1 USD (24,000 VND).
The sticky rice, after being cooked, is fried on the stove until the surface becomes crispy, but the inside remains soft and chewy. Xôi chiên can be found with different toppings or fillings, but the most popular topping is stir-fried ground pork with wood ear mushrooms and onions. It’s served with chili sauce to enhance the flavor of the fillings, as well as to balance the fatty content in fried sticky rice.
Xoi Chien Recipe
The Xoi Chien recipe is quite simple and can be prepared in around 45-55 minutes. Here are the ingredients you will need:
- 500g (17.6 oz) sticky rice
- 200g (7 oz) ground pork
- 10g (1/2 cup) dried wood ear mushrooms
- 1/2 onion
- 1 shallot
- 2/3 tsp salt or 1 tsp fish sauce
- (Optional) 1 tbsp Mei Kuei Lu Chiew Wine (Mai Que Lo Wine)
How To Make Xoi Chien
Step 1. Cooking Sticky Rice
In my detailed guide on how to cook sticky rice, I introduced three common methods: using a rice cooker, an Instant Pot, or a steamer. Among these methods, cooking sticky rice in a rice cooker or Instant Pot is the quickest, taking around 20-25 minutes. Here’s a summary of the steps for cooking sticky rice in a rice cooker or Instant Pot:
- Preparation: Rinse the sticky rice 2-3 times until the water runs clear. No soaking is required.
- Add water to the cooking pot: Unlike cooking jasmine rice, sticky rice requires very little water. Add water until it just covers the rice. The water level should be slightly higher than the level of the sticky rice when you touch it with a fingertip. If desired, you can mix the sticky rice with cooked mung beans for added flavor, this is optional.
- Cooking in a Rice Cooker: With a rice cooker, turn on the cooking function. After 10 minutes, you can stir it once for even cooking (optional). Leave it until the light turns to the “warm” function. Wait for an additional 10 minutes before opening and stirring the cooked rice.
- Cooking in an Instant Pot: Select the high-pressure cooking mode for 15 minutes. Allow it to naturally release pressure for about 5 minutes, or for 18 minutes and release pressure quickly by moving the pressure release valve to the open position.
Following these steps will help you achieve perfectly cooked sticky rice for your Xoi Chien recipe.
Step 2. Shaping and Frying Sticky Rice into Cakes
- Take approximately ½ cup of sticky rice for each cake. Roll it into a ball, then gently flatten it to form a round sticky rice cake. Adjust the shape as needed to achieve the best round shape.
- Once you’ve shaped the rice cakes, fry them over medium heat. Flip them over when one side turns golden brown and continue to fry until both sides become crispy.
- After frying, place your Xoi Chien on paper tissue to absorb excess cooking oil.
Step 3. Cooking the Fillings
- Begin by soaking the dried wood ear mushrooms in hot water for about 10 minutes. Once they have softened, finely chop the wood ear mushrooms, shallots, and onions.
- Mix these chopped ingredients with the ground pork and add seasonings according to your preference. It should be ~2/3 tsp salt or 1 tsp fish sauce.
- Heat a pan or skillet over medium heat and stir-fry the mixture until it is well cooked.
Step 4. Assembling Xoi Chien
- If you have made thick sticky rice cakes (about 1 inch thick), use a knife to carefully slice a cake horizontally into two, but keep them slightly attached to each other. In case you have made thin sticky rice cakes, fold one in half to create a pocket. Add the prepared fillings into the middle of the sticky rice cake and gently press the cake together to seal it.
- To enhance the flavor, spray or drizzle chili sauce on top of the fillings. Serve your Xoi Chien warm to enjoy the best crispiness and flavors. It’s ready to delight your taste buds!
How to Store Xoi Chien
Because the dish can be quite fatty after frying, you might want to save some for future meals. To do so, store the fried sticky rice and the fillings separately in the fridge for no more than 3 days.When you’re ready to enjoy your leftover Xoi Chien, you can reheat it by either frying it again or baking it in the oven for approximately 10-15 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them to prevent over-frying or over-baking.
It’s important to note that Xoi Chien should always be enjoyed hot or warm, as cooled-down Xoi Chien can become very hard to chew. If you prefer a less spicy flavor, you can try Xoi Chien with ketchup instead of chili sauce.
Do you like this recipe? Brighten my day by rating the recipe and clicking the “save” button to have this recipe right on your Pinterest board. Also, let’s be friends on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok!
Xoi Chien Recipe (Vietnamese Fried Sticky Rice Cake)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500g (17.6 oz) sticky rice
- 200g (7 oz) ground pork
- 10g (1/2 cup) dried wood ear mushrooms
- 1/2 onion
- 1 shallot
- 2/3 tsp salt or 1 tsp fish sauce
- Optional 1 tbsp Mei Kuei Lu Chiew Wine (Mai Que Lo Wine)
Instructions
Step 1. Cooking Sticky Rice
- Preparation: Rinse the sticky rice 2-3 times until the water runs clear. No soaking is required.
- Add water to the cooking pot: Unlike cooking jasmine rice, sticky rice requires very little water. Add water until it just covers the rice. The water level should be slightly higher than the level of the sticky rice when you touch it with a fingertip. If desired, you can mix the sticky rice with cooked mung beans for added flavor, this is optional.
- Cooking in a Rice Cooker: With a rice cooker, turn on the cooking function. After 10 minutes, you can stir it once for even cooking (optional). Leave it until the light turns to the "warm" function. Wait for an additional 10 minutes before opening and stirring the cooked rice.
- Cooking in an Instant Pot: Select the high-pressure cooking mode for 15 minutes. Allow it to naturally release pressure for about 5 minutes, or for 18 minutes and release pressure quickly by moving the pressure release valve to the open position.
- Following these steps will help you achieve perfectly cooked sticky rice for your Xoi Chien recipe.
Step 2. Shaping and Frying Sticky Rice into Cakes
- Take approximately ½ cup of sticky rice for each cake. Roll it into a ball, then gently flatten it to form a round sticky rice cake. Adjust the shape as needed to achieve the best round shape.
- Once you've shaped the rice cakes, fry them over medium heat. Flip them over when one side turns golden brown and continue to fry until both sides become crispy.
- After frying, place your Xoi Chien on paper tissue to absorb excess cooking oil.
Step 3. Cooking the Fillings
- Begin by soaking the dried wood ear mushrooms in hot water for about 10 minutes. Once they have softened, finely chop the wood ear mushrooms, shallots, and onions. Mix these chopped ingredients with the ground pork and add seasonings like salt or fish sauce.
- Heat a pan or skillet over medium heat and stir-fry the mixture until it is well cooked.
Step 4. Assembling Xoi Chien
- If you have made thick sticky rice cakes (about 1 inch thick), use a knife to carefully slice a cake horizontally into two, but keep them slightly attached to each other. In case you have made thin sticky rice cakes, fold one in half to create a pocket. Add the prepared fillings into the middle of the sticky rice cake and gently press the cake together to seal it.
- To enhance the flavor, spray or drizzle chili sauce on top of the fillings. Serve your Xoi Chien warm to enjoy the best crispiness and flavors. It's ready to delight your taste buds!
