The sticky

Whenever we go to Pok Pok, which is not often enough, Iris eats approximately her weight in sticky rice. Unfortunately, all-you-can-eat rice has to be a special treat because is tends to cause her negative digestive consequences (I can hear the smirks all over Asia now), but she gave a me a guilt trip last time I made a small amount of rice, so tonight I’m making sticky and I’m making a bunch of it.

Long-grain Thai sticky rice still seems to be little-known among non-Southeast Asian home cooks in the US. But it’s very easy to make and fun to eat. Head to an Asian grocery and look for a bag marked “sweet rice” or “glutinous rice,” both of which are misnomers. The rice itself looks just like jasmine rice except that it’s opaque white, rather than the slightly translucent grains of jasmine.

Cooking sticky rice is in some ways trickier and in a key way simpler than jasmine rice. It’s trickier because:

* You have to soak it, at least two hours in advance. On the bag of rice I just bought, there was a chart showing that I should soak for two hours in December, five hours in April, and some larger amount of hours in fall, because the rice dries out. This was cool. You can’t really oversoak it, though, so just start soaking in the morning.

* You have to wrap the rice in cheesecloth and steam it, rather than cooking it directly in water, which would turn it into a congealed sponge. So you have to find some cheesecloth. There’s a particular pot used for cooking sticky rice in northern Thailand and Laos. I had one of these, but I got rid of it because a regular stockpot with steamer insert works fine.

But it’s easier because:

* You can’t overcook it. You need to steam it for at least twenty minutes or so, but you could leave it in there for an hour or two and it would be fine. There’s none of this worrying about whether you put in the right amount of water or opened the pot too soon.

Eat sticky rice with your hands, using it to scoop up bits of larb, green papaya salad, or whatever else you have. Tonight I’m making cucumber salad and stir-fried chicken with mushrooms.

Bandito de puerco

Yesterday Iris invented a new game called “I’m takin’ your bacon.” The idea is that I hold some imaginary bacon and walk down the hall, and she sneaks up behind me and snatches it.

Today, as always, we were playing with the kitty dollhouse and the pirate ship, and Iris said, “I know! We’re playing I’m takin’ your bacon, level two: I’m divin’ your bacon underwater.”

Malt-o-meal

Iris planted herself behind the end of the couch with a pad of paper and announced that we were playing a game where she worked at a restaurant and we should order things.

> **Iris:** We’ve got beef, burgers, jalapeños, mustard, pork, onions, onion rings, and burgers.

> **Me:** I’d like a burger with jalapeños and some onion rings. Do you have HP sauce?

> **Iris:** Oh yeah, we have that.

> **Me:** Then I’d like some HP sauce on my burger. Do you have chocolate malts?

> **Iris:** Yes. I’m making many squiggles for many chocolate malts because I know you love them. You won’t get a tummyache.

Free sample

Like everyone else, Iris loves free samples. She also loves the term “free samples.” The other night I tried to give her a kiss at bedtime and she said, “No free samples!”

They often have free samples at the meat department at QFC around lunchtime, whatever’s on sale this week. Iris will try *anything* they’re sampling. I am thinking of slipping them a twenty to offer things I want to make at home, or possibly decorating our dining room to look more like QFC.

A couple days ago it was sirloin steak, seasoned with lemon pepper, $5 a pound. Iris demanded some, and then she said, “I need another sample, because I love it.”

I asked her if she’d like steak for dinner, and she agreed. I like steak, but I like it best as an ingredient rather than the main event. Unless I’m getting a serious grass-fed or dry-aged (or both) steak, I’d take chipotle rubbed steak tacos or Thai beef salad over a big hunk of meat any day.

So I turned to a Cook’s Illustrated recipe I’d long been eyeing: Tuscan-style steak with arugula and parmesan. It’s a steak salad, and it couldn’t be simpler. While the steak cooks, you make a vinaigrette with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, S&P, and fresh herbs (I used thyme). Make some Parmigiano curls with a potato peeler and line dinner plates with a big handful of arugula. After the steak has rested, slice it, distribute the slices atop the arugula, and top with the dressing, cheese, and any accumulated meat juices from the resting of the steak.

Iris, of course, only wanted to cram as many bites of steak into her mouth as possible. In any case, this one is going into permanent rotation. Now, if QFC would feature free samples of sauteed fennel and radicchio, we’d be all set.