Khao Niao

Laos's sticky rice: soaked overnight, steamed in a conical bamboo basket, and eaten by hand in balls pressed against the palm

Origin: Luang Prabang, Vientiane & the Middle Mekong

From the journey of Rice.

Laos eats more glutinous rice per person than any country on earth, and it is the only nation where it is the staple rather than a speciality. Khao niao is not a side dish or a sweet: it is the meal, three times a day, and Lao people describe themselves as luk khao niao, children of sticky rice. Everything else on a Lao table is arranged around it and is designed to be picked up with it. It is not boiled, and this is the thing most people get wrong. Glutinous rice has almost no amylose, so it will not absorb water in the way ordinary rice does; boiled, it turns to glue. Instead it is soaked for at least four hours and preferably overnight, drained completely, and steamed dry over water in a huad, a conical bamboo basket set on a narrow-necked pot. The steam passes through it, and the grains cook whole, separate, and firm. The basket is flipped rather than stirred. Halfway through, the whole mass is thrown up and caught so it turns over in the air, which lets the grains that were nearest the steam swap places with those on top. Watching someone do it well is a large part of the pleasure of a Lao kitchen. It is eaten with the right hand from a tip khao, a lidded basket set on the table, and there is a technique: a small ball is taken, pressed and rolled against the fingers until the surface compacts slightly, then dipped or used to pinch up a mouthful of laap, jeow, or grilled fish. The compressed ball holds together and does not shed grains, and getting that wrong is the immediate tell of a visitor. The tip khao is kept closed between mouthfuls, since sticky rice dries hard in minutes.

Ingredients

Rice

  • 500 g Thai or Lao glutinous rice (sticky rice)
  • 2 litres cold water, for soaking

Equipment

  • 1 bamboo steaming basket and narrow-necked pot, or a steamer lined with muslin

Method

  1. Rinse the rice in two or three changes of water until the water runs less cloudy, then cover it generously with cold water.
  2. Soak for at least four hours and preferably overnight. Under-soaked rice steams to a chalky centre and no amount of extra time in the basket will fix it.
  3. Drain the rice completely in a sieve and shake it dry. It should go into the basket damp, not wet.
  4. Bring a few inches of water to a rolling boil in the pot, then set the bamboo basket into the neck so it sits above the water and never touches it.
  5. Tip the rice into the basket, spread it into an even layer, and cover it with a lid or a folded cloth.
  6. Steam for twelve to fifteen minutes over a strong boil.
  7. Now flip it. Take the basket off the heat, give it a sharp upward jerk so the whole mass turns over in the air, and catch it. If that seems ambitious, turn it with a spatula instead.
  8. Return it and steam for a further eight to twelve minutes until the grains are translucent, glossy, and tender all the way through with no white core.
  9. Test by pressing a grain flat between finger and thumb; it should squash smoothly rather than crumbling.
  10. Tip the hot rice onto a board or a wide tray and turn it over on itself a few times with a wooden paddle to let steam escape, which stops it going wet and claggy.
  11. Pack it into a lidded basket or a covered bowl and keep it closed. Serve warm, and eat by pinching off a ball with the right hand and pressing it against the fingers before dipping.

Notes

Use rice sold as glutinous, sticky, or sweet rice; ordinary long-grain will not work and neither will Japanese short-grain, which is a different kind of stickiness. The overnight soak and the dry steam are the whole method, and boiling it in water gives paste. A bamboo huad and a narrow pot are cheap from any Southeast Asian grocer and make a real difference, but a metal steamer lined with damp muslin does the job. Do not salt it or add anything to it: khao niao is unseasoned by design, because everything it is eaten with is strongly flavoured. Leftovers reheat well in the steamer and are also grilled in balls or fried.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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