Khao Niao
Thailand's sticky rice: glutinous grains steamed in a bamboo cone until they cling together. Pinched into balls and dipped in everything.
Overview
Sticky rice must be the right variety: Thai glutinous rice (also called sweet rice, sticky rice, or kao niao, looks the same as ordinary white rice but opaque white when raw, not translucent). Soak the rice 4-12 hours in cold water until grains can be crushed easily between fingers. Drain. Steam over (not in) boiling water for 20-25 minutes in a traditional bamboo cone, banana leaves, or a steamer lined with muslin. Test by tasting a grain, fully cooked, chewy, slightly translucent. Transfer to a covered bamboo basket or wooden bowl for serving.
Ingredients
- 400 g Thai glutinous (or sticky rice, sold as "Thai sweet rice", "sticky rice" or labeled "ข้าวเหนียว" at Asian shops)
- Cold water (enough to cover by 5 cm for soaking)
- Boiling water (in the steamer base)
Optional: for dessert version (khao niao mamuang)
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 100 g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 ripe mangoes (peeled, sliced)
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon mung beans (toasted, optional)
Method
Stage 1 - Soak
- Place the rice in a deep bowl.
- Cover with cold water by 5 cm.
- Soak at least 4 hours, ideally 6-12 hours (overnight is convenient). The grains should be opaque white and crushable between fingertips.
Stage 2 - Drain
- Drain the rice through a sieve.
- Rinse briefly under cold water until the water runs almost clear.
Stage 3 - Set up steamer
- Traditional bamboo cone: line the inside with a damp muslin if it has wide gaps; fill with rice; cover with the lid.
- Bamboo or metal steamer: line with a single layer of damp muslin or banana leaves; mound the rice in the centre, leaving steam channels at the edges.
- Improvised: line a sieve with muslin and set over a pan of simmering water - works fine.
Stage 4 - Steam
- Bring water to a boil in the steamer base - don't let the water touch the rice.
- Place the rice-loaded steamer on top.
- Cover.
- Steam 20-25 minutes over medium heat.
- At the 15-minute mark, gently flip the rice cake over (lift it as a single mass with the muslin) so the bottom layer steams from above. This ensures even cooking.
- Taste a grain - fully cooked rice is fully tender with a slightly translucent quality; if still chalky at the centre, steam another 5 minutes.
Stage 5 - Rest and serve
- Transfer to a wooden bowl or bamboo serving basket (kratip).
- Cover with a damp cloth or the basket lid.
- Rest 5 minutes - the rice firms up slightly.
Stage 6 - Eat
- Pinch off a small ball with the right hand fingers; press into a small loose ball.
- Dip into curry, larb, grilled meats, or chilli sauce.
- Eat the ball whole; repeat.
Optional - Khao Niao Mamuang (mango sticky rice)
- In a saucepan, combine 350 ml of the coconut milk, the sugar and salt.
- Heat gently over low heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is just warm (do not boil).
- Pour the warm coconut sauce over the freshly steamed rice; toss gently with a spoon to coat.
- Cover; rest 15 minutes - the rice absorbs the coconut and becomes glossy.
- Plate: a mound of coconut-rice; sliced mango fanned alongside.
- Drizzle with the remaining 50 ml of plain coconut milk; sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and (if using) toasted mung beans.
Notes
- Sticky rice is a different variety: Regular jasmine or basmati rice will not work - the starch makeup is wrong. Look for "Thai glutinous rice" or "sweet rice" or "kao niao" (sometimes labeled in Lao or Thai script).
- Soak first, always: Unsoaked sticky rice steamed straight from the bag gives chalky, hard, unevenly cooked rice. The 6-12 hour soak is the difference between a fail and a success.
- Steam, never boil: Boiling water touching the rice gives porridge. Steam is what produces the distinctive chewy-pearly texture.
Storage
- Best eaten the same day, while still warm.
- Refrigerate 3 days in an airtight container. To reheat, place in a steamer for 5 minutes (microwaving dries it out badly; if you must, sprinkle with water first).
- Sticky rice freezes 2 months in portion-sized packs.
Recipes mentioned here
Mango Sticky Rice
Glutinous (sticky) rice is soaked at least 6 hours, then steamed for 20-25 minutes over boiling water until pearly and chewy. While the rice steams, a coconut sauce is warmed gently, coconut milk, palm sugar, salt, and (optionally) a pandan leaf for fragrance, until just dissolved, never boiled. Most of this sauce is poured over the freshly steamed rice while still hot; the rice absorbs over 15 minutes covered. The remaining sauce, plus a separate pour of plain coconut cream, dresses the plated dish. Ripe mango is sliced; toasted sesame and (optionally) toasted mung beans top.
Larb
Sticky rice toasts in a dry pan to a deep gold, ground to a coarse powder (khao khua). Mince fries hot with a splash of stock until just cooked. Off heat, fish sauce, lime juice, chilli powder, sliced shallot, spring onion and rice powder toss through. Lots of fresh herbs fold in at the end. Served with sticky rice and raw vegetable plate.
More like this
Thai Green Curry (Vegetarian)
A spice paste of green chillies and aromatics blends fresh (or starts from a good Thai paste with fresh additions). Coconut cream from the top of the can is cracked in the wok until oil splits out; paste fries; coconut milk loosens; vegetables, Thai aubergine, pea aubergine, bamboo shoots, broccoli, baby corn, go in by cook time. Tofu joins; the curry simmers briefly. Soy sauce (instead of fish sauce), palm sugar, lime leaves, Thai basil to finish.
Coconut Rice
Coconut rice represents the intersection of technique and flavor in Indian cooking. The tempering of mustard and cumin seeds in hot oil releases their volatile aromatics, which then permeate the rice as it cooks. Curry leaves contribute herbaceous depth without overwhelming the dish. Coconut cream adds richness and subtle sweetness, creating a rice that's inherently interesting yet supportive of spiced dishes. The final resting period is crucial, steam completes the cooking while the flavors meld. This rice should taste aromatic with individual grains remaining separate.
Green Curry BBQ Aubergine
This is a BBQ side built on the flavour profile of Thai green curry rather than a Thai curry itself. The marinade is essentially a small batch of green curry sauce reduced down until thick and clinging, then cooled and rubbed into wedges of aubergine that sit in it overnight. By morning the cut surfaces have drunk in coconut, paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, lime leaf and basil; by the time they hit the grill, the flesh has half-pickled and the surface is coated in a paste that caramelises beautifully over hot coals. The grill does the rest. Direct high heat blackens the marinade into sticky-black patches while the inside steams under its own glaze and softens to spoon-tender. Difficulty is low. The only patience involved is overnight in the fridge. Serve as a centrepiece on a BBQ platter alongside grilled meats, or as a vegetarian main with sticky rice, a wedge of lime and a scatter of Thai basil. It is rich, smoky, gently sweet, salty and herbaceous all at once, with the unmistakable green-curry note running through every bite.
Chuối Nướng
Sticky rice is soaked, steamed and pressed around small Asian bananas (Chuối sứ), wrapped in banana leaves and grilled until the rice forms a chewy crust. A coconut cream sauce thickened with a little cornflour and salt is spooned over the split-open bundles, and toasted peanuts and sesame finish the top. The contrast of crisp-burnt outside, soft hot banana, and cool coconut sauce is the whole point.