FoundationsPantry study 01 of 27
Rice Varieties (Jasmine, Glutinous, Broken)
All eleven; sticky rice is the everyday staple of Laos, northern & northeastern Thailand
About this ingredient
Draft reference. This study is part of the cookbook’s foundations and is still being checked. Local names and cultural notes in particular are the author’s working text, pending verification, rather than settled fact.
- Where it is used
- All eleven; sticky rice is the everyday staple of Laos, northern & northeastern Thailand
- Flavour and aroma
- Long-grain jasmine is floral and softly clinging; glutinous (sticky) rice is chewy and sweet-starchy; broken rice is nutty and quick-cooking.
- How it is used
- Steamed jasmine is the default table rice. Glutinous rice is soaked and steamed for the hand-eaten meals of Laos and Isan and for sweets. Broken rice defines Vietnamese cơm tấm.
- How to select
- Buy fresh-season rice from a shop with high turnover; jasmine should smell faintly of pandan and popcorn. Glutinous rice grains look chalky-opaque.
- Storage
- Airtight, cool, dark, away from humidity. Use within a year; older rice cooks drier and needs slightly more water.
- Substitutions
- Basmati is a weak stand-in for jasmine (less clingy). No true substitute for glutinous rice; sushi rice is the closest texture.
- Allergens
- Gluten-free (note: 'glutinous' refers to stickiness, not gluten).
Names and contextPending verification
The two fields below are drafted and not yet confirmed. They are shown because they are useful, and labelled because they are not final.
- Local names
- Thai: khao hom mali (jasmine), khao niao (sticky); Lao: khao niaw; Viet: gạo
- Cultural notes
- Rice is not a side in most of the region but the meal itself; sticky-rice cultures eat by hand. Distinguish steamed long-grain from soaked-and-steamed sticky rice.
The Complete Edition
Rice Varieties (Jasmine, Glutinous, Broken) in the book
This study is one of twenty-seven that open The Southeast Asian Table, before the eleven country chapters and the hundred recipes they carry.
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