Stellaire: Kitchen Diaries: Sticky Rice with Corn and Sago

What is the one food item that you must have in every meal? A lot of Filipinos would say a meal without rice would be incomplete and would probably leave them still hungry. Rice is a staple food in the Philippines and it shows from the many things we can make from rice.

This dish, also known as ginataang mais in Filipino, is usually eaten as an afternoon snack or merienda. Since it's sweet it can also serve as dessert. If you make a big batch, like I did, you can just eat it whenever you want. It's kind of addicting.

The recipe involves only a few ingredients and very easy to make. Sticky rice, corn, coconut cream, sugar, and sago -- five ingredients! You don't even need the sago if you don't want it, since it's just a topping.

Special, sticky (malagkit) rice

Sticky rice grains look so much prettier than regular short-grain rice

The most important ingredient is the rice. Sticky or glutinous rice must be used for making this dish. I haven't tried using other types of rice, but I think it just won't come out the same. Sticky rice can easily be found in supermarkets in the Philippines. If you're outside Asia then I think your best bet would be the nearest Asian market.

Some recipes call for a can of coconut milk plus a can of coconut cream. My sister only bought coconut cream so I didn't really have any choice. Using coconut milk plus coconut cream would probably just be less creamy, but still good.

Coco (coconut) sugar

Usually, white sugar is used to sweeten ginataang mais. We don't have and keep a big stock of white sugar in the house because my parents have stopped using it for their coffee. And the stock of white sugar I use for baking is running out. So, the only sweetener I could use was coco sugar, which is what my parents now use for their coffee. It worked really well because the dish wasn't too sweet, unlike a lot of the ginataang mais I've tried before.

Tiny sago pearls

Putting sago in the ginataang mais wasn't my idea, but my sister's. She was supposed to be the one to make this whole dish but she wasn't able to before she left for Singapore. I cooked the sago anyway. There are directions on the packet, which I eventually didn't follow because it was too tedious and was taking too long. I ended up cooking the sago according to the instructions I found in Noob Cook.

Sticky Rice with Corn and Sago (Ginataang Mais)

Makes about 3-4 servings

Sticky rice (glutinous rice), uncooked	1 cup
Water	2 1/2 cups
Water (for rinsing and soaking rice)	As needed
Coco (coconut) sugar / white sugar	3/4 cup
Coconut cream	1 tetra pak (200 ml)
Corn kernels	1 can (11 ounces)
Topping: (optional)
Sago	Half pack (125 grams)

Rinse the rice around 2-3 times (not until the water becomes clear) in a large bowl or pot.
After rinsing add water to the pot, covering the rice about 2-3 inches above, and let it soak for 30 minutes to an hour.
While the rice is soaking you can cook the sago. Follow instructions over at Noob Cook (How to cook sago). Set aside.
After soaking the rice, discard the water and place rice and 2 1/2 cups of water in a pot. Cook this over medium-high heat, uncovered, until the water boils.
Once the water boils set the heat to low and add in the coconut cream, corn, and sugar. Let the mixture simmer while stirring constantly.
The rice will still absorb some more of the liquid even after removing the pot from the heat. So, if you want your ginataang mais to have a bit of soup/sauce then remove the pot from the heat while the mixture is still loose and soupy. If you want it to be just sticky rice without the sauce then remove from the heat when the mixture is thick.
All done! Add sago topping if desired.

I actually made twice as much as the recipe above calls for so we have a lot of leftovers. My dad said it's okay because, at least, he already has breakfast for tomorrow, haha. We just kept the leftovers in glass, airtight containers. I made a simple syrup for the sago before I put it in the fridge. The sago must be kept in some water or syrup so that they won't clump together and form one massive sago. It makes the sago taste good, too!