Glutinous rice isn't called sticky rice for no reason. It is so sticky that it was used to glue the brickwork of the Great Wall 2,000 years ago.
The saying goes: "One who fails to reach the Great Wall is not a hero." That perhaps explains the unending throngs of tourists from around the world who come to view this architectural wonder of walls, fortresses and beacon towers. This complicated defense system was built from the Qin (221-206 BC) to Ming (1368-1644) dynasties.
One ingredient in the construction materials was glutinous rice porridge, something Chinese families across the nation still commonly eat today.
The porridge was used in the mortar, according to chemical tests in Shaanxi Province about a decade ago.
The Great Wall isn't the only structure of ancient China where glutinous rice was used with slaked lime and gravel in brickwork. This early compound of organic and inorganic materials was strong and very water resistant.
Fortunately, we humans can eat glutinous rice without worrying about our innards turning to cement. Glutinous rice is actually a gluten-free food. It gets sticky when cooked because the composition of its starch content has no amylose but high levels of amylopectin, which contributes to the glue-like texture.
Some people who feel queasy after eating hairy crab or cold food say that a small helping of hot glutinous rice porridge eases digestion.
Glutinous rice does contain more sugar. People with high blood sugar and cholesterol levels are always advised to be moderate about the amount of glutinous rice they eat.
Rice is a main staple of Chinese cuisine, especially in southern China, where it is served at every meal. Glutinous rice is versatile in cooking. It is used in classic dishes, including niangao, or rice cake, and nuomi ji, sticky rice and chicken wrapped in lotus leaf.
Glutinous rice plays a prominent role in traditional Chinese holidays. For the Lunar New Year, the Lantern Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival, symbolic dishes made with glutinous rice are invariably served.
The Year of Rooster, which begins on January 28, will be no exception. Sticky rice cakes will be prominent during the Spring Festival in provinces south of the Yangtze River. The cake, whose Chinese name niangao translates as "higher year," symbolizes the hope of higher achievement, year by year.
In Guangdong Province, sticky rice cake is traditionally made in the shape of a carp and tinged with red coloring because the fish symbolizes surplus.
The most popular variety of sticky rice cake made with glutinous rice flour is jujube and red beans.
In the Yangtze Delta region, lard is often used in making sticky rice cakes, giving them a richer flavor.
In Beijing, traditional niangao was actually made with yellow rice flour rather than glutinous rice, but it had the same sticky texture when cooked. Glutinous rice rolls with sweet bean flour are a special favorite. This famous old Beijing snack is made by rolling the cakes in soybean flour as the last step, evoking the scene of dust kicked up by the wild donkeys who lived on the outskirts of the city. Today, the yellow rice flour is often replaced by glutinous rice flour, which is more accessible.
Though also named niangao, the thin, oval-shaped and less sticky rice cake slices commonly used in stir-fries or soups in Shanghai cuisine are actually made with non-glutinous rice, the same as for the famous Ningbo rice cakes.
In both northern and southern China, yuanxiao or tangyuan, or glutinous rice dumplings, with or without various fillings, are served for the Lantern Festival, which falls on February 11 next year.
The dough for making the wrapper of the dumplings mixes glutinous rice flour with a little bit of water. Then the wrapper is filled red bean paste, black sesame paste or even chocolate before being boiled in water. The sweet dumplings can be served on their own or in red bean soup, ginger-flavored sweet soup or fermented glutinous rice soup with sweet osmanthus and rock sugar.
