Long-grain glutinous rice washed, soaked for hours and steamed — not boiled — until translucent and tender enough to pinch into a ball with the fingers.
Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is here for the Rice section’s regional pages and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.
Ingredients
- Thai glutinous rice (“Thai sweet rice”), about ⅓ to ½ cup uncooked per person
- Water, for washing, soaking and steaming
Directions
- Wash the rice in room-temperature water several times, until the water runs mostly clear. This is necessary whatever the method, or the rice will be gummy.
- Soak in plenty of room-temperature water at least 3 hours, preferably 4 (especially for old rice), and up to 12 hours. Drain.
- Steam in a bamboo cone. Bring about 2 inches of water to a boil in the pot and soak the basket. Steam the rice 15 minutes, toss to flip the whole mass, and steam about 10 minutes more.
- Or on a steamer rack. Line it with damp muslin, spread the rice with a hole in the middle, fold the cloth over, and steam 25–30 minutes.
- Serve at once in a covered basket or container, and eat with the hand.
Notes
Source Adapted from Pailin Chongchitnant, “7 Ways to Make Thai Sticky Rice,” Hot Thai Kitchen (read through the Wayback Machine). The source also gives hot-soak, rice-cooker (1 : ⅔ rice to water) and microwave methods, and does not recommend an Instant Pot.
On the times Its summary gives 20–25 minutes of steaming, but its rack and sieve methods say 25–30; allow 20–30 minutes depending on the steamer.
Which rice Thailand uses long-grain sticky rice — the source says to check that it is a product of Thailand. Short-grain sticky rice “is used in China and Japan, not in Southeast Asia.” Glutinous rice contains no gluten.
The Rice section’s Southeast Asia page (/rice/southeast-asia/) covers the history and technique behind this dish.