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Khao niao, steamed sticky rice
Khao niao is sticky rice, the everyday rice of Isan, soaked and then steamed rather than boiled so each grain turns chewy and glossy. It comes to the table in a kratip (a little woven bamboo basket) and is eaten with your fingers, rolled into small balls to scoop up everything else.
- 35 minutes, plus at least 4 hours soaking
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 25 minutes
- Serves 4
Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.
Ingredients
- 400g Thai glutinous rice (sticky rice, also sold as sweet rice), from a Thai or world food shop
- Cold water, for soaking and steaming
Let's cook
- Rinse the rice in a bowl of cold water, swirling it with your hand, then pour the cloudy water away. Repeat 3 or 4 times until the water is almost clear.
- Cover the rice with plenty of fresh cold water and leave it to soak for at least 4 hours, or overnight. The grains turn opaque white and break easily between your fingers when ready.
- Drain the rice well. Line a steamer basket, or a metal sieve that sits over a pan, with a damp clean muslin cloth or tea towel. Spread the rice over it in an even layer, no more than 4cm deep, and fold the cloth over the top.
- Bring 5cm of water to the boil in the pan below, making sure it does not touch the rice. Set the rice over it, cover with a lid and steam on a medium high heat for 15 minutes.
- Lift the cloth and flip the whole slab of rice over so the top goes to the bottom. Cover and steam for 10 minutes more, until every grain is soft, chewy and see-through at the edges, with no hard white centre. Top up the boiling water if it runs low.
- Tip the rice into a bowl or basket and cover it with the cloth so it stays warm and soft. To eat, pinch off a little with your fingers and roll it into a ball.
Tips
- Do not try to boil sticky rice like ordinary rice: without the soak and the steam it turns to paste.
- Keep it covered at the table, or the outside dries hard. If you have leftovers, cool them within an hour, keep them in the fridge for 1 day at most, and steam or microwave covered with a damp paper towel until steaming hot all the way through.
Swaps
- Less time: soak the rice in warm, not hot, water for 2 hours instead.
- No steamer: use a large metal sieve over a saucepan with a lid or plate on top.
Tags
None of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written. Glutinous rice is named for its stickiness and contains no gluten.
Check every packet for allergens.