A vegan version of Taiwanese Sticky Rice (台式油飯). A plant-based but no less flavorful take on the traditional round-table style dish.

Taiwanese sticky rice is quite literally the ultimate comfort food. I mean, its name “油飯” translates to “oily rice” — am I the only one who’s drooling from just hearing its name?! At the same time, sticky rice cooked like this makes for a painful reminder of those family gatherings that I could no longer have, being thousands of kilometers away from home.

This recipe was sponsored by Gardein, a meat-free food company that aims to make a meat-less lifestyle easy. They have recently released a hardwood smoked plant-based jerky, and when I tasted it, I knew it would be a great addition to my vegan Taiwanese Sticky Rice recipe. The jerky itself is very chewy, meaty, and smoky — very similar to real beef jerky.

Traditionally you add pork, dried shrimp, and/or sausage to Taiwanese Sticky Rice to give it that meaty texture and extra umami & slightly smoky flavor. These are aspects of the original dish I believe I nearly achieved with my original plant-based version, but I still felt like a tiny bit was missing. Although I would say they are an optional addition for this recipe, they are definitely worth a try (especially if you like jerky!).
Congrats on the sponsor!
Thanks for including meat substitutes!
thank you Liz!! no problem =))
Hey George, thank you so much for your recipes, I’m so happy I found you on ig. I’ve latey been craving traditional Taiwanese foods, especially since I couldn’t fly back to Taipei to visit family due to the pandemic. I’ve also been wanting to cook more Taiwanese for my mom who misses her home country a lot. So thanks to you I can just follow your recipes, for once not having to worry about how to replace pork fat, dried shrimps, etc. Looking forward to trying out your 油飯 recipe! Hope I’ll find some vegan sausages at an Asian grocery store… Read more »
Loved this so much! I made it for my family tonight. I only had Arborio rice so I used that but it didn’t get as sticky as I hoped. I also didn’t soak the rice for the full time. I will just have to make again and get the soaking and variety of rice right. But this was very very delicious, thank you!
Damn! That’s all I can say. I love your recipes. You WILL definitely make non Vegan people to ACTUALLY become Vegans. Keep up that creative and enthusiasm you have on you, as well as that spark!