The rice should be cold, not warm. As mentioned earlier, if you’re not using sticky rice steam cook the rice till soft and mash it a bit. Then let it cool. Start by mixing together the rice, grated cheese and seasoning and spices of choice. Shape into small balls using your palm and fingers. Refrigerate for about 2 hours at least.

To make the Panko style bread crumbs, tear a few slices of day old white bread into small pieces. Run them in your blender jar or food processor till they look like Panko (flaky Japanese style) bread crumbs.

When ready to make the fritters, heat oil in a wok or pot. Mix together in a bowl some flour and enough water to make a thin slurry of coating consistency. You do not want a very thick coating of batter but thick enough that the bread crumbs stick.

Dip each rice ball in the slurry and then roll in the bread crumbs. Fry, three or four at a time, till they become a uniform golden brown and are crisp. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm or at room temperature, plain or with a sauce.