Corn & Sticky Rice with Mung Beans (Xôi Bắp)

Bắp is one of my favorite breakfasts of the Vietnamese cuisine because of the sweetness of corn, beans, and the crunchiness of fried shallots that no one can resist. My mom used to make this rice when it was a lot harder without the many modern gadgets that we can now use in the kitchen. After the beans were cooked, my mom used a mortal and pestle to pound the cooked beans into a fine paste. Now, a food processor or blender is a big help to complete this step in a flash. I like to use hominy, the white corn in a can, which Mexicans use in a lot in their cooking. I find that this corn is perfect when making this dish and saves quite a lot of time cooking dried corn. We all want to have a good healthy meal but not take all day creating it. A few shortcuts will make our lives much easier.

Ingredients:
2 cups sweet rice, soaked overnight
1 1/2 cups mung beans, soaked overnight
Two 15.5 oz. cans of white hominy corn
1 tbs baking soda
2 tsp salt
Topping:
1 cup coconut flakes
Roasted sesame seeds
Mung beans
Crispy fried shallots – reserve the oil

Directions:
Open cans of hominy corn, then wash and drain the contents. Bring a pot of water to boil and add the washed corn, baking soda, and 1 tsp salt. Cook for 5 minutes and then drain.

 

Mix soaked rice and corn together. Add 1 tsp salt to the mixture.

Over high heat, place a steamer and steam the soaked mung beans for 20 minutes or until the beans are soft. Let cool (you can do this step ahead of time) and place in a food processor and blend well or until all the beans look like a course grain.

Place mixture of corn and rice into a steamer; make a small hole in the middle of the steamer so that the steam escapes and then the rice will cook evenly.

 Cover with lid and let it steam for 15 to 20 minutes.

Use about 1 tablespoon of the shallots oil to the cooked rice-corn mixture. Add half of the mashed beans to the cooked rice-corn and then cover and steam for about 5 minutes.

To serve:
Place the rice-corn on a serving plate, top with the remaining beans, roasted sesame seeds, some sugar (if desired), and the crispy shallots.