Sticky rice (khao niao)

Essential Ingredients pad thai

Sticky or glutinous rice is the staple diet of northern and northeastern Thailand. Yet some dishes from these two regions like papaya salad, grilled chicken and spicy minced pork salad which always served with sticky rice, are famous throughout the country and becoming more and more popular around the world.

Sticky rice (khao niao)

Sticky rice (khao niao)

The opaque white grains need to be soaked for four hours or more before steaming. In Thailand it is usually cooked for about one-half hour in a traditional bamboo steamer above a special aluminum pot. Alternatively you can steam in a dry dish on the rack of a stacked steamer. Once steamed, the rice needs to be turned over on a wooden platform with a wooden paddle, to allow it to breath. In other words, allow the steam to escape, to prevent an overly sticky or soggy rice. Also a special bamboo basket allowing the rice to breath, is used for storing and serving sticky rice. Use medium to long-grain glutinous rice for best results.

Essential Ingredients pad thai Sticky rice (khao niao)