Sticky Rice
I love sticky rice. It is so unbelievably easy to make. Sticky rice, also known as glutinous rice, has to be steamed. It can not be boiled or you will get mush. You can prepare it in an electric rice steamer, but the best way is to steam it in a traditional Thai rice steamer bamboo basket. The basket gives the rice a particular flavor that you won't get from an electric rice steamer. To make the sticky rice, wash and rinse the rice 3 times. Then soak in cold water for at least 4 hours. Overnight is even better. Fill your sticky rice steamer with 2 inches of water. Making sure that the steamer basket isn't touching the water. Bring to a boil. I like to line the basket with cheese cloth to make clean up a little easier, but this step isn't necessary. Add the rice. Fold the cheese cloth over the rice. Cover the basket with a lid. Steam for 20 minutes. Uncover and pull the rice from the sides to the center, kinda giving the rice a flip. Cover again and steam for another 10 minutes. Then it's ready to serve.So now the truth about sticky rice. While you eat it at the Thai restaurants in America with red and green curries and you make it at home with your curry; sticky rice is not actually eaten with these curries in Thailand. Why? Sticky rice is grown in Northern and Northeastern Thailand where these curries aren't part of the culture. Green and red curry are from Central and Southern Thailand, where they eat the curry with regular steamed rice. They still eat sticky rice in these regions, just not as a main staple and usually as a sweet dessert. So what foods do you eat sticky rice with? All Northern Thai cuisine, papaya salad, meat salads such as laab, grilled meats, and many sweetened desserts.What foods do you not eat sticky rice with: stir fried dishes, most coconut milk based Thai curries, soups like tom yum.How is sticky rice eaten? Because of how sticky it is, the rice is usually rolled into little balls and dipped into whatever sauce of whatever you're eating. The only downside to eating sticky rice is that it is double the calories of regular rice. Oh well.With all of this being said, eat sticky rice with whatever you damn well please! I still eat curries with sticky rice and don't plan to stop any time soon. While I like to try and cook everything as traditional as possible, sometimes I say fuck it and do what tastes good to me.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Thai glutenous rice
Instructions
- Rinse the sticky rice in cold water 3 times. Soak the sticky rice in water for at least 4 hours. Overnight is even better.
- This is a traditional Thai sticky rice steamer. Fill the bottom with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. You can use any type of rice steamer, but the the flavor will be different not steaming it in a bamboo basket.
- I like to have a layer of cheese cloth in the basket. This allows for easy cleanup.
- Add the sticky rice to the steamer.
- Fold the cheese cloth over the rice and cover with a lid over the basket. Steam for 20 minutes.
- At the 20 minute mark take off the lid. With a fork, fold the rice in from the sides to the middle. I kind of flip the rice to ensure even cooking. Fold the cheese cloth back over the rice and cover with the lid. Steam for another 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Take off the lid. Open the cheese cloth. Put the serving bowl over the rice. Give it a flip. It's sticky time.
