About this recipe
Khao niaw — sticky rice — is the staple at the centre of most Lao meals and a food with real cultural weight. Glutinous rice is soaked for several hours, then steamed (not boiled) in a conical bamboo basket set over a pot until it turns glossy, translucent and chewy, and it is served warm in a small woven basket to be eaten by hand: pinched off, rolled into a small ball, and used to scoop up salads, dips and grilled foods. It is quite different from ordinary steamed jasmine rice, and getting the soak and steam right is the whole craft. This is the plain everyday version that anchors the rest of this chapter.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- 4 servings (about 4 cups cooked)
- Prep
- 10 minutes (plus 4 hours or overnight soaking)
- Cook
- 25 minutes
- Total
- 275 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- None
Allergens Contains only glutinous rice and water. Naturally vegan, dairy-free, nut-free and gluten-free (glutinous rice contains no gluten despite the name). Halal.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
The rice
- 2 cups (about 370 g) Thai/Lao glutinous (sticky) rice
- Water, for soaking and steaming
Equipment
- Bowl for soaking
- Conical bamboo sticky-rice steaming basket (huad) and a matching pot, or a steamer lined with cheesecloth
- Woven serving basket (tip khao), or a covered bowl
Method
- Rinse the glutinous rice in a few changes of water until the water runs fairly clear.
- Soak the rice in plenty of cool water for at least 4 hours, or overnight. It should swell and a grain should crush easily between your fingers.
- Drain the rice well and tip it into a dampened bamboo steaming basket (or a cheesecloth-lined steamer), spreading it into an even layer.
- Bring a few inches of water to a boil in the matching pot, set the basket over it so the rice is above the water, cover with a lid or an inverted bowl, and steam over medium-high heat for 15 minutes.
- Flip the mound of rice over in the basket (turn it so the top comes to the bottom) and steam another 5 to 10 minutes, until every grain is glossy, translucent and tender-chewy with no hard core.
- Tip the hot rice out onto a clean surface or into a wide bowl and turn it a few times to release steam, then pack it into a woven serving basket or a covered bowl to keep it soft and warm.
- Serve warm, pinching off small amounts and rolling them into balls to eat by hand.
From the foundations
The book pairs this recipe with the following, from the sauces, sambals and pastes that open the collection.
The Complete Edition
Khao Niaw (Sticky Rice) sits in the Laos chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Laos chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.