By David Tanis
- Total Time
- 30 to 40 minutes, plus at least 2 hours’ soaking time
- Rating
- 4(245)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Also known as “sweet rice” or glutinous rice (though it’s gluten free), sticky rice is a large white grain that becomes translucent, shiny and extremely sticky when steamed. Sticky rice is a staple in Laos, where it is especially beloved, but it has ardent fans throughout Asia. Traditionally, it’s cooked over steam in a conical woven basket. If you don’t have such a steamer, you can use a standard stacking steamer, a colander lined with muslin or cheesecloth, or a fine mesh strainer that fits over a saucepan. For the best texture, cooking sticky rice over hot steam is ideal, but it is possible to pull it off in an electric rice cooker, using less water than usual, or in a pot on the stove. What follows are the basic instructions for success.
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 1cup glutinous (sweet) rice, preferably long-grain
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
176 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 39 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Step
1
Put rice in a bowl and rinse several times in cold water until water is clear, not milky, then drain. Cover rice with cold water and let soak for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
Step
2
Drain rice using a fine-meshed sieve or colander (line with cheesecloth if colander holes are too large). Place rice over a pot of rapidly simmering water (don’t allow water to touch sieve) and steam, covered, for 15 minutes.
Step
3
Remove lid and flip rice over. Continue steaming, covered, for 10 minutes, until rice is translucent and glossy. Taste to make sure rice is completely cooked; it may take up to 10 minutes more. Turn off heat. Fluff rice with a wooden spoon, then cover and let rest for 5 minutes.
Ratings
4
out of 5
245
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Cooking Notes
Alice Howe
What does it mean to 'flip rixe?'
KenR
I used a steamer insert that came with my sauce pan and these instructions worked perfectly. I think it's important to note that the sticky rice does not expand very much like regular rice. So double the recipe if you're making for a big crowd.
Lee
This recipe is missing the most important 2 parts, how to eat it by forming it into little balls and the dipping sauce.Take tablespoon or more of the cooked rice and shape into a small ball.Now dip into peanut sauce:1 5oz can coconut milk 2 tsp curry paste red2 Tbs peanut butter2 tsp sugar1 Tbs Fish Sauce2 tsp tamarind pasteHeat all sauce ingredients together for a few minutes and you are good to go.There are many other good sauces for stick rice out there.heat all ingredients
kbspr1
Use food 52 cooking method with colander over water cover d with foil and a top. Cook 15 minutes then flip and cook another 15.
J Boyce
The instruction in Step 3 and in one reader's comment ("flip" rice over) is incredibly mysterious. Maybe because they use a conical bamboo basket (?) I've never seen a Thai flip anything but cigarette butts while cooking sticky rice.What does this mean?
lorin
I used the instant pot with a steamer basket. I rinsed and soaked two cups of sticky rice overnight, then cooked for 25 minutes on high pressure with a quick release after five minutes of natural release. It was perfect, with no flipping needed. I used a short grain California sweet rice, Koda Farms Sho-Chiku-Bai, and am going to try it next with longer grain Thai sticky rice. I’d love to know other cooks’ favorite brands of rice.
Christine
This recipe worked great! Here's how I flipped the rice. I steam it in a wire mesh colander in a saucepan:-Turn the colander upside down over a plate-Carefully use a spatula to slide the rice back into the colander.The rice (mostly) sticks together and holds the shape of the colander. You're just flipping the whole thing upside down. You could probably also flip it with a large spatula (or 2 spatulas) and no plate.I'll try not flipping it next time since that seemed to work for some people.
Taro
Great to roll into balls with red bean paste!
Scanmike
If you have an Instant Pot use it. I swear it was made for sticky rice. No soaking necessary.
Scanmike
For me there is only one way to make sticky rice and that is in a Instant Pot. You put the rice in a stainless steel bowl that fits into you IP bowl with water surrounding it. There is no need for the overnight soaking. Look it up. I don't think I ever had better.
Tim Boone
After you rinse the rice put it in a bowl and add water to about 1/4-1/2 inch above the rice. Let it sit 10 minutes. Cover the bowl with a plate and microwave for 3 minutes. uncover and stir with a fork, recover and microwave for 3 more minutes. Take it out, uncover, stir with a fork, make rice balls if you want. So Simple... try it! I lived in Thailand in the mountains where this rice is grown and love the real thing.Believe it or not, the microwave does the trick!
liz o
Recipe is good, but the serving size of 4 is wildly inaccurate unless you want everyone to have a quarter cup of rice. I made this for myself and ate half of it (though I probably could’ve eaten all of it).
lenore
My mother is Thai. Agree with J.Boyce's comment regarding flipping. I have never witnessed this. That said the top of the sticky rice is always a little dryer than the bottom but this is easily remedied when it is fluffed & allowed to rest which allows the moisture to distribute evenly.
Micayla
If I cook sweet rice in the rice cooker, using the mixed/sweet setting, will it result in the same end-product through this steaming process?
Tiffany
People in the comments are asking how to “flip” the rice:The rice sticks together in one mass by the halfway point. If you pick up and jerk the basket/sieve a bit, you can manage to make it flip. A rice paddle (like the one you get with rice cookers) can help it along if your rice is being stubborn. Don’t stress if the mass breaks. You’re just trying to get the rice more evenly exposed to the steam.
Charlo
Delicious with savory dishes or sweetened and eaten with coconut milk and mango. It worked fine in my metal steamer.
Christine
This recipe worked great! Here's how I flipped the rice. I steam it in a wire mesh colander in a saucepan:-Turn the colander upside down over a plate-Carefully use a spatula to slide the rice back into the colander.The rice (mostly) sticks together and holds the shape of the colander. You're just flipping the whole thing upside down. You could probably also flip it with a large spatula (or 2 spatulas) and no plate.I'll try not flipping it next time since that seemed to work for some people.
Lyn
Been wanting to make sticky rice for years and now with the extra time to concentrate on it, this has fulfilled my wish! We confirmed that refrigerated tightly wrapped leftover (2-day old) rice can be put in on a dish covered with a wet paper towel and microwaved 1 minute on high. We tested against a few batch and it was just as good. Yes! Thanks!
Mariale
Although it was harder than I thought to find the actual rice in the grocery store it was fairly easy to make in the first attempt. I did not have a steam basket that could hold the rice (nor do I know what a cheesecloth is), so I just used a colander inside of a sauce pan. I had to add some more water in the middle of the process cause I thought it was drying out, but rice was perfectly cooked in the 25 min of this recipe.
rice boi
No idea what “flip rice” means. I’ll probably use a different recipe.
lorin
I used the instant pot with a steamer basket. I rinsed and soaked two cups of sticky rice overnight, then cooked for 25 minutes on high pressure with a quick release after five minutes of natural release. It was perfect, with no flipping needed. I used a short grain California sweet rice, Koda Farms Sho-Chiku-Bai, and am going to try it next with longer grain Thai sticky rice. I’d love to know other cooks’ favorite brands of rice.
J Boyce
The instruction in Step 3 and in one reader's comment ("flip" rice over) is incredibly mysterious. Maybe because they use a conical bamboo basket (?) I've never seen a Thai flip anything but cigarette butts while cooking sticky rice.What does this mean?
kbspr1
Use food 52 cooking method with colander over water cover d with foil and a top. Cook 15 minutes then flip and cook another 15.
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