Easy Thai Sticky Rice
Thai Sticky rice is a staple side dish in Northern Thai cuisine, and I’ll show you how to make it perfectly every time, using common cookware.
Reader Sarah says: “Excellent and easy recipe. Perfect 2 portions if for main dish without appetizer. This will be my go-to from here on out. Better than my local restaurant.”
Traditionally, Thai sticky rice is made in a tall round pot with a large bamboo insert in the pot. The rice is then cooked by steaming instead of boiling it like traditional rice. While this method isn’t complicated, sourcing the bamboo steamer and storage can be challenging. Cleaning the bamboo insert is also difficult, since grains of rice get stuck on during cooking.
My goal is to provide my readers with recipes that are easy enough to execute in your own home. So I was very excited when I learned a new way to cook Thai sticky rice without a bamboo steamer.
And the sticky rice was perfect!! Best of all, none of the rice sticks, and cleanup is seriously so much easier. I wish I could take credit for this, but it’s actually from another blogger, She Simmers.
Since I’ve published this recipe, I’ve now made sticky rice using a skillet steamer combo like this one from Our Place.
Items you will need to make Thai Sticky Rice:
How to make Thai Sticky Rice
- Rinse rice well in a bowl and drain until water runs clear. Usually 3 or 4 rinses is needed.
- Soak 1 cup of Thai Sweet Rice or Glutinous Rice in a bowl with 2 cups of water for about 4 hours or overnight. Alternatively, soak rinsed rice in a bowl with boiling water, enough to cover it by more than an inch, for 20 minutes.
- Drain the rice over a splatter guard and place it over a skillet filled with water more than halfway. For the steamer method, add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan, making sure it doesn’t touch the steamer insert when you place it in.
- Be sure the rice is mounded, then flattened, to cook evenly.
Use the same bowl you soaked the rice in and dome it over the splatter guard. For the skillet, just cover the pan with the lid. Bring water to a roaring boil, then lower to a gentle boil.
After 10 minutes, flip the rice over and cook for an additional 7-10 minutes or until the rice is soft and sticky. Watch the video below to see how I flipped the rice.
If using more than 1 cup of rice, you will need a longer cooking time. Check the grains every few minutes to see if they are fully cooked.
How to Serve and Store
Thai sticky rice pairs well with dishes like Larb, Som Tum, and Nam Tok.
Sticky rice is meant to be eaten right away. Keep the sticky rice warm by storing it in a container with a lid or add plastic wrap on top. Or use these traditional bamboo containers.
If you have leftovers, store the rice in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Re-heat in the microwave with a damp paper towel on top until warmed through. Or use the leftover sticky rice to make Thai Mango Sticky Rice Dessert, it’s one of my favorites!
Recipes to serve with sticky rice
Thai Sticky Rice Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 Cup Thai Sweet or Glutinous Rice Do Not use Jasmine or long grain rice.
- Water For soaking rice and to fill pan more than halfway.
Instructions
- Rinse rice well in a bowl and drain until water runs clear. Usually 3 or 4 rinses is needed.
- Soak 1 cup of sweet/glutinous rice in a bowl with 2 cups of room temperature water for about 4 hours. Alternatively, soak rinsed rice in a bowl with boiling water, enough to cover it by more than an inch, for 20 minutes.
- Drain rice over splatter guard or steamer insert. For the splatter guard method, add water to a skillet until it comes up halfway. For the skillet and steamer basket method, add just enough water to cover the pan, making sure it doesn't reach the bottom of the steamer insert.
- Shape the rice into a circular mound, then flatten it so it cooks evenly. Use the same bowl you soaked the rice in and dome it over the splatter guard, or use the lid to the pan for the steamer method.
- Bring water to a rapid boil, then lower to a gentle boil. After 10 minutes, flip the rice over and cook for an additional 7-10 minutes, or until the rice is soft and sticky. If using more than 1 cup of rice, you will need a longer cooking time, check the grains every few minutes. The rice is done when it's soft and slightly sticky. The grains should not be hard.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and depends on ingredients and amounts used. Thai Caliente makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
First I haven’t tried this yet but I am anxious to make it. I’m trying to wrap my head around the “flip the rice” and I’m getting it. If it’s on a splatter guard domed with a bowl and you flip it then the rice is in the bowl not the splatter guard? What am I missing here? Sorry if this is a dumb question. 🙁
Hi Janey, great question! You would flip the rice on the splatter guard so the other side can cook evenly. You should be able to do this in chunks as the rice will start sticking together. I’ve added my YouTube video to the recipe card to give you a visual of the process. Let me know if this helps!
11/9/23 Excellent and easy recipe. Perfect 2 portions if for main dish without appetizer. This will be my go-to from here on out. Better than my local restaurant.
In place of a splatter guard to cook rice, I used a bamboo steamer + lid over a wok. To avoid rice sticking I added parchment paper with holes poked in. 1c/8oz/250mL of rice perfectly cooked after 10 minutes steaming per side. Parchment (+ a plate) also made it easy to flip. I turned off heat but left wok/steamer in place to stay warm.
Also, I had my rice soaking for close to 24 hours, on the counter.
To make it a complete meal: served with Thai Caliente’s “Crying Tiger” sauce (a must make!), chopped lettuce, sliced cucumber, and reheated steak & pork leftovers sliced 1/4″ thin.
So glad to have found this Thai/Mexican recipe resource. Thank you Renee.
Thank you again, Sarah! I love the tip about using the bamboo steamer and holed parchment paper! That’ a great idea 🙂
Simply out of necessity, couldn’t find the splatter guard!
Excellent substitute, I’m going to try it out 🙂
Can it be cooked in a rice cooker with more water for a longer time to make it become sticky rice?
Hi Patricia- It’s not the cooking method that makes the rice ‘sticky’. You need to use glutinous rice, this is what makes it sticky. I have not tried cooking it in a rice cooker, but I have seen some people do it. Let me know if you try it!