Shanghai Cifan Tuan

Ingredients

• 180g short-grain white rice
• 180g glutinous rice
• 360ml water
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 2 youtiao (Chinese fried dough sticks)
• 80g pork floss
• 60g zha cai preserved mustard stem, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
• 3 tbsp chopped coriander (optional)

Before you cook

• Rinse both kinds of rice together under cold water until the water runs almost clear, then drain them well.
• Chop the preserved mustard stem finely and squeeze out any excess brine.
• Lay a sushi rolling mat on the worktop and cover it with a sheet of cling film.

Steps

1. Tip the drained rice into a rice cooker with the measured water and cook it on the standard setting.
2. If you have no rice cooker, simmer the rice covered in a heavy pan for eighteen minutes, then rest it off the heat for ten.
3. Warm the youtiao in a dry frying pan over medium heat for two minutes a side, until they crackle and turn crisp again.
4. Fluff the hot rice with a wooden spoon and stir the salt through it.
5. Wet your hands and spread half the rice over the lined mat in a rectangle about 20cm by 15cm and one centimetre thick.
6. Lay one youtiao along the centre of the rice, snapping it to fit.
7. Scatter half the pork floss, half the mustard stem, half the sesame seeds and half the coriander along the dough stick.
8. Lift the near edge of the cling film and roll the rice over the filling, pressing firmly through the mat to compact it into a tight cylinder.
9. Twist the ends of the cling film to seal the roll.
10. Repeat with the remaining rice and filling to make a second roll.
11. Cut each roll in half and serve them warm, still in the wrapper so they hold together in the hand.