Learn how to make sticky rice with a steamer or a traditional aluminum pot and bamboo basket. I’m sharing all my best tips to help it turn out perfectly chewy and fragrant, just like we make it in my family!
🤔 What is sticky rice?
Sticky rice is a type of glutinous rice with a chewy, slightly sweet, and nutty flavor. In stores, it’s labeled as glutinous rice, sweet rice, or Thai sticky rice. It’s not necessarily healthier than regular white rice, but it digests more slowly, which can help with feeling full longer.
🍚 Ingredients & tools
Don’t have a steamer? Try making sticky rice in a rice cooker!
- Glutinous rice The grains of glutinous rice are opaque white and rounder than regular rice. Don’t use regular white rice, it won’t turn out sticky!
- Water Plain room temperature water for soaking and steaming.
- Steaming pot or basket Use a traditional sticky rice steaming pot and basket if you have it, but any steamer with a steam tray works. Just make sure the rice doesn’t sit in the water.
- Cheesecloth For steaming in a steamer.
Serve your Thai / Lao sticky rice as a side dish, use it to make desserts, or dip it into sauces. If you try it, don’t forget to leave a star rating and let me know how it turned out! Follow me on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for more!
Thai/Lao Sticky Rice Recipe
Equipment
- Large bowl for rinsing and soaking the rice
- Steaming pot with lid
- Cheesecloth
Ingredients
- 3 cups sticky rice also called glutinous rice or sweet rice
- water as needed for rinsing, soaking, and steaming
Instructions
With a steamer
- Rinse sticky rice under running water, swirling gently with your hand. Drain and repeat until the water is mostly clear.
- Soak the rinsed rice in clean water for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Wet a clean cheesecloth and line the steamer with it.
- Drain the rice and place it in the cloth-lined steamer. Use your hands to create a hole in the center.
- Fold the cloth loosely over the rice and cover with the steamer lid.
- Add water to the bottom of your steamer. Steam over medium-high heat for 20–25 minutes, or until sticky and fully cooked.
- Fluff gently and serve warm.
With a bamboo steamer
- Rinse sticky rice under running water, swirling gently with your hand. Drain and repeat until water runs mostly clear.
- Soak the rice in clean water for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Fill your steaming pot with water, keeping the level below the bottom of the bamboo basket.
- Drain the rice and place it in the bamboo basket. Wet the basket and sprinkle water over the rice.
- Place the basket over the pot, cover with a lid, and steam over medium-high heat for 20–25 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, shake or flip the rice in the basket to cook evenly.
- Once fully cooked, gently fluff the rice to release steam and serve warm.
Video
Notes
- Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and should be considered approximate.
👩🍳 How to make sticky rice
With a steamer
- Rinse the sticky rice in a large bowl under running water. Swirl it gently with your hand, then drain. Repeat several times until the water runs mostly clear. This removes excess starch for better texture. Cover the rinsed rice with water and soak at room temperature for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Once ready, wet a clean cheesecloth or thin cotton cloth and line your steamer with it.
- Drain the soaked rice and add it to the cloth-lined steamer. Use your hands to create a small hole in the center, this allows steam to circulate and cook the rice evenly from the inside out.
- Fold the cloth loosely over the rice. This helps trap the moisture while still letting steam rise through the rice.
- Add water to the bottom of your steamer. Cover with the steamer lid and steam over medium-high heat for about 20–25 minutes, or until the rice is sticky, tender, and fully cooked.
- Once done, uncover and fluff the rice gently with a spatula or spoon. Serve warm in a bamboo rice basket or with your favorite Thai dishes.
With a bamboo steamer
- Rinse the sticky rice under running water in a large bowl. Gently swirl the grains with your hand, then drain. Repeat until the water runs mostly clear.
- Soak the rinsed rice in clean water for at least 4 hours or overnight. This step softens the grains and helps them steam evenly.
- Fill your aluminum steaming pot with water. Make sure the water level stays below the bottom of the bamboo basket so the rice steams, not boils.
- Drain the soaked rice and place it in the bamboo steamer basket. Sprinkle water over the bamboo basket and make sure it’s wet.
- Set the basket over the pot and cover with a lid. Steam over medium-high heat for 20–25 minutes. Halfway through, carefully shake or flip the rice to ensure even cooking.
- Flip the rice by shaking the basket after about 15 minutes. This ensures even cooking.
- Once the rice is done, gently flip it with a spoon or spatula to release steam. The grains should be soft, sticky, and fully cooked. Serve warm!
❓Frequently asked questions
Can you make sticky rice with normal rice? Sticky rice is made from glutinous rice, which has a higher starch content that gives it its signature chewy, sticky texture. Regular rice lacks this starch and won’t turn out the same when steamed.
Is sushi rice the same? Sushi rice is not the same as sticky rice. While both are short-grain and slightly sticky when cooked, sushi rice is seasoned with vinegar and has a different starch composition. Glutinous rice becomes much stickier and is traditionally steamed, not boiled like sushi rice.
