Rice - Thai Long Grain

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rice - thai long grain

Kow   ข้าว

Rice or 'kow' is the main stable in Thailand and my other Asian countries. There are so many varieties of rice that never made it to the US market. The most well known variety is Jasmine rice, a long-grain, flowery smelling rice.

When you go out to restaurants, the quality of the restaurant is normally reflected in the rice that they choose. Jasmine rice from Thailand seems to have a different texture and taste from rice I've had from California. In general, Thai Jasmine rice is softer, creamier, smells much better and not as starchy tasting.

Good rice also keeps its form and stays soft, even when it is cold or reheated. Rice is sorted and the highest quality have consistently long and unbroken grains.

Selecting good rice here in the US is difficult because you can't tell the quality of the rice until you have opened the bag and you can't open the bag until you've purchased it. For Jasmine rice, good rice is new rice and the rice that will have the fastest turnover are the 25 or 50 lb bags that you see in high-volume Asian markets.

For most other kinds of rice, it is better to have aged rice, since it improves with time. When cooking "new crop" rice (rice that was recently harvested), discount the amount of water you add by 10% because new rice still has some of its moisture from when it was growing. Detailed information on cooking rice is below:

Recipes made with rice - Thai long grain

  • rice

    Rice

    Kow Su-ay

    Simple rice, cooked in water. Successfully!

Jasmine Rice

kow hom mali   ข้าวหอมมะลิ

There are many varieties of rice that are available in Thailand. However, in the US, jasmine rice seems to be the only variety that is exported here. Fortunately, jasmine rice tastes great and is one of the most popular varieties. When cooked, jasmine rice gives out jasmine fragrance. Having a good rice to go along with your Thai dishes is so important. Good rice can help bring out the flavors of your dishes. I highly recommend jasmine rice for Thai food. Choose new crop of rice because it retains more of the jasmine fragrance than older crops.

Recipes made with Jasmine Rice

Sticky Rice

Kow Neow   ข้าวเหนียว

'Kow' means rice and 'neow' means sticky. Sticky rice is a staple in Northern and Northeastern Thailand where people eat it instead of long grain rice. Sticky rice is eaten with hands.

Sticky rice is traditionally soaked overnight and steamed, not boiled. When long grain rice is cooked, it turns from opaque to white; when sticky rice is cooked, it turns from white to translucent.

I often use leftover sticky rice to make sticky rice pudding. Left over sticky rice can also be heated and let soak in coconut milk and topped with fruit, such as mango, for a dessert.

Recipes made with Sticky Rice

  • bamboo shoot yum

    Bamboo Shoot Yum

    Soop Naw Mai

    Shredded bamboo shoots boiled in wild Thai leaves with hot lime sauce.

  • mango on sticky rice

    Mango on Sticky Rice

    Kow Neuw Mamuang

    Ripe mango served on a bed of coconut milk soaked sticky rice.

  • coconut milk sticky rice

    Coconut Milk Sticky Rice

    Kow Neuw Moon

    Sticky rice cooked in sweetened conut milk.

  • green papaya salad

    Green Papaya Salad

    Som Tum

    Shreded green papaya, cherry tomatoes, green beans with lime dressing

  • grilled pork

    Grilled Pork

    Moo Ping

    Grilled pork on skewers

  • grilled steak with spicy shallot sauce

    Grilled Steak with Spicy Shallot Sauce

    Nua Yang

    Medium rare grilled steak, served with spicy shallot and lime sauce.

  • laab

    Laab

    Larb

    Spicy ground pork or chicken salad cooked in lime juice, chili pepper and fish sauce

  • steak salad

    Steak Salad

    Yum Nua

    Spicy beef salad in lime juice, hot pepper and fish sauce

  • sticky rice

    Sticky Rice

    Kow Neuw

    Steamed sticky rice -- an essential part of regional Thai cuisine

  • nam prig noom

    Nam Prig Noom

    ์์์Nam Prig Noom

    Popular northern meal; green chili sauce, pork rinds and sticky rice

  • grilled chicken with turmeric

    Grilled Chicken with Turmeric

    Gai Yang Kamin

    Turmeric and lemongrass marinated grilled chicken.

  • northern thai eggplant salad

    Northern Thai Eggplant Salad

    Yum Makua Praw

    Spicy northern Thai raw eggplant salad with minced pork.

  • nam tok

    Nam Tok

    Spicy grilled beef salad with toasted rice.

  • heavenly beef

    Heavenly Beef

    Nua Sawan

    Beef jerky spiced with peppercorns, cumin and coriander.

  • fried chicken wings

    Fried Chicken Wings

    Peek Gai Tod Gluea

    Fried chicken wings with crispy skin, seasoned lightly with Thai herbs

  • iced triangles in syrup

    Iced Triangles in Syrup

    Nam Cheum

    Chewy sticky rice dumplings served in ice and fragrant syrup

black sticky rice

kow neow dum  

Black sticky rice is traditionally cooked as snacks and desserts, never main course. The grains are long and plump. The colors on the grain are ranging from black, purple to brown with some white. When the rice is cooked, it looks more purple than black. And the grains stick to one another unlike jasmine or other long grain rice.

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