We are excited to use a fresh gac fruit to make this traditional Vietnamese red sticky rice with a few ingredients and a Tiger rice cooker.

Ingredients:

1 whole gac fruit or 3/4 cup of (frozen) gac arils

2 cups uncooked sweet rice

100 mL or 1/2 cup coconut milk

1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup water +

1 Tbsp white cooking wine + 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.  Rinse the sweet rice at least three times or until water is clear. Strain rice in colander and set aside.

2.  Cut the gac fruit open.  Place the red seeds into a bowl with the 1 Tbsp white cooking wine and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

3.  Wearing latex gloves, separate the arils and the seeds. The arils is the thick red flesh or appendage surrounding the gac seeds.  We use the arils as a natural red food coloring extract to make this red sticky rice.

Note:  The seeds are hard and black.  You can crack it open and soak it in water to germinate it.  To plant gac fruit, you’ll need full some and a strong sturdy trellis.  You’ll need to grow a male and female gac plant for it to fruit.

3.  Measure out the coconut milk, sugar, and salt.

4.   In a medium bowl, pour in the strained sweet rice, gac arils, coconut milk, sugar, and salt. Mix the ingredients up well.

4.  Pour the rice mixture into a rice cooker pot.  (I have a 4-cup Tiger rice cooker and recommend buying a Tiger brand if you ever planned on buying a rice cooker.)

5.  Add one cup of water into the rice pot or until liquid is about half an inch above rice.  Mix ingredients well.

6.  Cook the sweet rice on the Tiger rice cooker two times.  After the first time, take a spoon and stir the rice up well.  Note:  Make sure to wipe the bottom of the rice pot dry. Any food residue sticking to the bottom will get burnt and the Tiger rice cooker will switch over to “Keep Warm” instead of “Cook” automatically.

7.  Then press button to cook again.  After the second time, stir the sticky rice once again. Close the lid and keep warm for about 15 minutes before taking the rice out.

8.  Transfer sticky rice to plate or press the sticky rice into silicon moldings like I did.   Enjoy!