thai sticky rice

Longing to make the Thai mango sticky rice you love at home, but don't know how to make Thai sticky rice? Here are the answers to all your sticky rice questions my friend!

Thai Sticky Rice Recipe &amp; Steamer Tips

sweet rice (aka glutinous rice)

Water rice and steaming the rice

Traditional Bamboo Steamer Pot

Rinse the rice a few times by running water over it, swishing it around, and draining out the water as much as you can, and repeating it, until the water looks more clear.

Soak the sweet rice in water with a few inches above it (make sure you have room above it cuz the rice will expand as it soaks) for at least 4 hours to overnight. 

Soaking the Thai Sticky Rice

Fill a saute pan, or pot with a few inches of water. Bring it to a boil.

Place the splatter guard on top of the pot, and spread out the rice in a thin layer.

Place another pot or bowl on top of the splatter guard, so it covers the rice, but doesn’t touch it (see in pic above).

Let the rice cook for about 12-18 minutes or so, depending on your stove top, until it’s sticking together and cooked through.

Using a spatula, flip the rice over in sections, so the other side of the rice cooks for about 3 minutes or so. I like to taste it to see if it’s reached the sticky, chewy texture.

Sticky Rice Pan and Splatter Guard Method

If you have a steamer pot, you can follow the same steps as above, but make sure you put a cheesecloth, or something in the steaming area, so your rice doesn&#8217;t fall through the large steamer holes.

Sticky Rice with a Steamer Pot

Fill the aluminum pot with a few inches of water, and bring it to a boil. 

Wet the bamboo part of the steamer until it is damp to the touch. 

Add the sticky rice to the basket, and press it down. 

Find a lid that covers the sticky rice, but doesn&#8217;t touch it. It doesn&#8217;t have to fit perfectly. As long as the rice is covered and the lid isn&#8217;t touching the rice.

Let the rice cook for about 18-20 minutes, depending on your stove top. Then gently flip the rice over by taking off the basket and gently jiggling the basket until the rice shifts, and it flips over, so the other side of the rice can cook.

Cook the rice for another 5 minutes or so, until all the rice is sticky, and cooked through.

Traditional Thai Sticky Rice Bamboo Pot Steamer

For the quickest method of cooking sticky rice that is almost as good as the best method you should try this microwave sticky rice recipe. The results are fantastically better than expected.

Microwave Sticky Rice Recipe

Glutinous Rice

Fresh Drinking Water

Place sticky rice in a large bowl and cover with fresh water. Agitate with your fingers swirling the rice around and watch the water go cloudy. Drain out the cloudy water, refill with fresh water, agitate again and drain.

Repeat the drain, refill, wiggle around steps until the water is reasonably clear.

Washing the Sticky Rice

Place the washed sticky rice in a heatproof &amp; microwave-safe bowl and cover with boiling water - just enough water to cover.

Leave to soak for 15 minutes.

Soaking the Sticky Rice

Place your heatproof, microwave-safe bowl with the rice and enough drinking water to be level with the top of the rice, into an 850W microwave.

Cover the bowl with a microwave-safe lid to restrict steam escaping but not to seal it entirely otherwise pressure will build up in the container which is bad.

Microwave on full power for 7 minutes non-stop.

Remove bowl from microwave whilst wearing protectors as the bowl will be very hot as will the steam escaping from around the lid.

Carefully remove the lid by tilting it so that the opening edge faces away from you to avoid the steam rising into your face.

Using a fork, fluff up and mix the rice together thoroughly and replace the lid.

Put the covered bowl and rice back into the microwave and wave at full power for another 3 minutes.

Microwaving the Sticky Rice

Remove the bowl from the microwave and take off the lid in the same way as before. Tip the rice out onto a clean, flat surface and spread out to allow the steam to escape.

Gather the rice together loosely with your fingers as soon as the rice has cooled just enough to handle and place into your serving bowl or individual sticky rice baskets and serve.

Finish &amp; Serve

Learn how to make sticky rice (without a bamboo basket steamer). This stovetop method of making Thai sticky rice is easy, using kitchen tools you will likely already have at home.

How to make sticky rice (without a bamboo basket steamer)

rice,

Salt. Optional. For sprinkling some to season the cooked rice.

Wash the sticky rice. Wash and rinse the sticky rice in a large bowl with cold water. Use your fingers to swoosh around the rice grains in the water. Drain the water and repeat the process 3-5 times until the water is mostly clear and not cloudy white. We do this to rinse off the rice's starch and help give the rice a soft and chewy texture once cooked. Use a strainer or splatter guard to catch the rice grains when pouring if you don't want to lose rice grains. 

Soak the rice in cold water for a minimum of 5 hours at room temperature for up to overnight for best results. No longer than 24 hours, the rice will get too soft, the grains will start breaking, and you'll get mushy rice. 

Steam the rice. Fill the bottom of the steamer pot with enough water to steam rice for up to 20-25 minutes without the water drying out. You'll need anywhere from4-6 cups of water, depending on the size of your pot. The water level should be low enough not to let the bottom of the bamboo basket touch it. Allow 1-2 inches of space between the water and the pot. 

Wash, drain, and rinse the soaked rice last time to remove any excess starch before steaming. Then line the steamer with cheesecloth, and place the rinsed rice over the cloth. 

Wrap the cheesecloth around the rice, cover it, and we'll start steaming! Turn the stovetop to high heat and steam the rice for 15-20 minutes. 

 Check your rice 10-15 minutes into the steaming. (It's helpful to set the timer.) If the rice looks translucent and shiny, carefully take a small piece of cooked rice with a long fork or wooden spoon to see how it tastes. The steam is hot with boiling water, be careful.

The rice should be cooked on the el dente side but not crunchy. If you love it as it is, it's done! If not, cook for another 5-10 minutes. Carefully open the cheesecloth, then use a wooden spatula to stir the rice around to get it cooked evenly. Cover it back with the lid and return to cooking for a few more minutes until done. 

Turn the heat off, and remove the steamer from the stove. Fluff the rice again, and leave the cheesecloth open. Let it cool for a few minutes. Sprinkle a little salt on the rice if you prefer some. Discard the excess water in the pot.  

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Top 4 thai sticky rice recipes from across the web

The most viewed thai sticky rice recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

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Microwave Sticky Rice Recipe

How to make sticky rice (without a ...

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The most viewed thai sticky rice recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Thai Sticky Rice Recipe & Steam...