Sticky Rice
Kow Neuw
Thai people in the northern and northeastern regions eat sticky rice (also known as sweet rice) in place of long grain rice. It is eaten with your hands by making a little ball and dipping it into other dishes.
While most people used to make it with a steamer, the microwave seems much easier. The grains come out a little stickier, but unless you are eating with your hands, you barely notice.
When you choose your rice, make sure you buy and use Sticky Rice. Sticky rice is not jasmine rice. If you try to cook jasmine rice this way, it will cook, but it will not taste or feel like sticky rice.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sticky rice
Method
The Traditional Method Using a Steamer: Soak the sticky rice in enough water to cover the rice for at least an hour and even overnight. Take your steamer, put water in the bottom and cover the steam section with cheese cloth or muslin cloth. Pour the sticky rice on the cheesecloth, cover with the lid and put it on the stove on medium to high heat. The sticky rice should take about a 20 minutes of steaming to cook and will become translucent when done.
The Microwave Method: I learned this method from my friend who has mastered microwave cooking to such a high level of proficiency that she has earned the title 'the microwave queen'.
Soak the sticky rice for 10 minutes in warm water in a bowl. Soaking the rice is very important. I have tried this method without soaking the rice first and it was disastrous. The rice was undercooked and inedible. The water level should be just above the rice, which comes out to be 1 cup of rice and a little over 1 cup of water (about 10% more). I recommend using a non-plastic container because you may melt the plastic in the microwave. Cover the bowl with a dish and cook in microwave for at full power 3 minutes. Stir the rice around to move the rice from the top to the bottom. You will notice that some of the rice is translucent or cooked and some still has white center or the uncooked portion.
Heat it up again for another 3 minutes. Check and see if it is done. When cooked, all the rice should be translucent. If it needs more cooking, I recommend heating up and checking every 3 minutes or so. How long it takes to cook really depends on your microwave.
Sticky rice is frequently eaten with a meat dish and then a broad variety of vegetables.
Tips and Shortcuts
There is a special bamboo steamer that people in northeastern Thailand use, but you don't really need one. All you need is a western steamer or a bowl you can set in a larger pot and some cheesecloth.
The microwave method is perfect for Mango on Sticky Rice.
Step by Step
