Monday, October 26, 2009

How to make thai sticky rice

Sticky Rice, also sold as sweet rice or glutinous rice, is actually a completely different variety of rice, not rice prepared in a different manner. (like I had always just assumed for some reason.) So if your gonna take the leap, you'll probably have to go out of your way to find some, it should be available at any Asian market. By the way, sticky rice doesn't actually contain gluten, "glutenous" simply refers to the properties of the rice.

Take a second too read all the labels on this bag . . . it's kinda funny.

Sticky rice had always been an anomaly to me, something I had always thoroughly enjoyed, but never taken on in my own kitchen. Until I went to Thailand, where it just seemed to make sense all of the sudden. There, it is soaked overnight, placed in a cone shaped basket, covered with a cloth and steamed, suspended over simmering water. The shape of the basket actually seems to be very advantageous in preparing sticky rice, as it provides a lot more surface area for the rice to absorb the steam. Unlike with most rice preparations, sticky rice doesn't actually come into contact with the cooking liquid. Once ready, it's usually mixed well, (presumably to redistribute moisture) and then placed in a small serving basket with a lid. (which would also serve to absorb/release moisture as needed)
{{{there was a paragraph here about incorporating used sticky rice, but I misremembered parts of it, so I removed it}}}

In the middle is the rice cooker, with the serving basket to the right.

However, if you don't have these specialty tools, it can successfully be made in rice cooker. You just have to keep a few things in mind: There is no real recipe for this, you make as much as you need (1/2 cup per person is plenty). A good soak is key, at least 12 hours is needed, any less and the rice just doesn't cook evenly.

Most rice cookers come with a steam basket, simply place the pre-soaked rice in the basket, cover either with the lid or a tea towel, I don't find that one works better than the other. Press the button and once the water boils, time it for about 25 minutes, once you can nibble some rice off the top and it is cooked through, it's done.

No here's the key, you HAVE to remove it from the cooker when it's done, and ideally you have a wooden bowel to put it in covered with a tea towel, if not maybe just wrap it completely in the towel (anything but terrycloth). If it's ready and leave it over the water, it will continue to absorb water and turn to an unpleasent mush.
I love sticky rice with curry, and it's a great addition to any Thai salad like som tum (green papaya)or a larb gai (ground chicken). It's also enjoyed as a desert, mixed with coconut milk and palm sugar, it is the perfect compliment to a ripe mango and a squeeze of lime.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Creative Commons License
Grill-a-Chef by Joshua Stokes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.