Laotian recipe
How to make Sticky rice
ເຂົ້າໜຽວ (khao niao)
Laos, where it has been grown for thousands of years
Glutinous rice, soaked for hours and then steamed in a cone-shaped bamboo basket over a pot of boiling water. It is kept warm in a small lidded basket, the tip khao, and eaten with the fingers: you pinch off a little, roll it into a ball and dip it into sauces and dishes.
Ingredients
- 400 g Thai or Lao glutinous (sticky) rice
- Plenty of cold water for soaking
- A bamboo sticky rice steamer, or an ordinary steamer lined with a damp clean cloth or muslin
Method
- Rinse the rice in cold water until the water runs almost clear. Cover it with plenty of fresh water and leave it to soak for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Drain the rice well and spread it in the bamboo basket or in the cloth-lined steamer.
- Steam over boiling water, covered, for about 20 to 25 minutes. Halfway through, flip the whole mass of rice over so it cooks evenly. It is ready when the grains are soft, shiny and chewy.
- Tip the rice onto a clean tray and spread it out with a wooden spoon for a minute to let the steam escape, then gather it back into a ball.
- Keep it in a covered basket or wrapped in a cloth so it stays warm and soft. Eat with your fingers, pinching off small pieces.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
Sticky rice is so central to Lao life that Lao people often call themselves luk khao niao, 'children of sticky rice'. Most of the rice grown in Laos is sticky rice.
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