Real Food: Sticky Rice
Thursday November 19 2009
Get stuck into glutinous rice — you don’t have to use chopsticks, writes Leslie Williams
NOT ALL RICE is meant to be nonstick. Most of the Asian world eats sticky rice every day and it is a habit worth forming.Glutinous or sticky rice needs to be cooked in a very different way to regular rice. You will probably need to go to a specialist shop to find glutinous rice, so you might as well pick up a sticky-rice steamer while you are there.
The rice cooker consists of a conical bamboo-shaped hat and a tall boiler, but you can also simply use the bamboo hat in a regular deep saucepan. Alternatively use any metal steamer you happen to have in the house.
Sticky Rice
Soak for 5-6 hours in plenty of water — one mug of rice per person. Gently pour the rice into the bamboo or metal steamer allowing the soaking water to drain away. Place the steamer over boiling water in a saucepan, cover the rice with a saucepan lid and try to ensure that all the steam flows directly through the rice by blocking out the top of the pot with a cloth. Steam for about 20 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the heat and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes. To serve, add to a warmed dish or traditional wicker baskets. Eat with your hands by rolling clumps of rice into cylinders and dipping them in the sauce.
Dipping Sauce
Pour 2 tbsp boiling water onto 2 tsp sugar and dissolve. Add a chopped chilli, a smashed and chopped garlic clove, the juice of a lime, 1 tbs fish sauce, a finely grated carrot, taste and adjust with more fish sauce or sugar. Vary the sauce by adding any of the following: orange flower water, soy sauce, rice vinegar, ketjap manis or anchovy sauce.
