How To Cook Sticky Rice In A Bamboo Steamer - Thai Traditional Method (2024)

If you haven’t yet checked out our comparison of cooking methods for sticky rice, then you might like to visit that article and then come back here. We found that cooking sticky rice in a bamboo steamer gave us the best results as well as being the traditional way. This is the best way to cook sticky rice on a stove.

Sticky rice is used in such a lot of recipes in Thailand that you cannot walk down the road without seeing someone either selling it to eat with barbecued pork or chicken, roasting it on the BBQ for an instant buttery snack, molding it into little Thai desserts, wrapping it in leaves for steaming or sticking in bamboo for cooking on the BBQ.

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It is a super versatile and very delicious form of rice that perfectly absorbs the spicy sauces that accompany dishes like Moo Yang or Barbecued Pork Sticks as well as delicious sweet mango when soaked in coconut sauce and served together in paradise-like harmony.

The thing is you have to cook it first so if you have time and are all prepared then cook it this way. If you want to explore cooking over a saucepan or with an electric steamer then check out our later post.

Equipment Needed to Cook with a Bamboo Steamer

It will come as no surprise that you need a bamboo steamer.

There are a few types but the best type is undoubtedly the traditional version that has extended sides that look a bit like ears. The reason this type is the best is that you can grab hold of those ears to flip the rice when the time comes and do so without steaming your fingers!

To satisfy all those requirements you are best just buying the pot and steamer that are made for each other. Unlike most marriages, these two tools go very well together. The alternative is rummaging around testing pots that are too narrow for the steamer, too shallow so the rice gets all wet or cook unevenly.

Given the cost it is really better just to get the right stuff in the first place since it is not very expensive anyway. Check out the tools I use over at kit.com too!

We’re assuming here that you will be cooking this rice fairly often, which you will once you have tasted it!

The other thing you will need is a pot large enough and with a suitably sized opening to allow the bamboo steamer to fit and accommodate enough water for steaming. Your pot also needs to be tall enough to hold sufficient water without letting the bottom of the bamboo steamer to touch it. If it does the rice will all glob together as a lump in the bottom.

You’ll also need a large enough bowl to wash the starch off the rice before you start.

One optional thing is a bunch of pandanus leaves if you can get hold of some. It’s optional but totally worth it.

And water and rice and a flame of course!

Method for Traditionally Steaming Sticky Rice

Step 1 Washing and Soaking the Glutinous Rice

Get your large bowl and scoop out the quantity of rice you want to cook. 1 cup of dry rice is enough for 2-3 people if using it as a meal accompaniment.

Cover the rice with plenty of water and swish it around with your fingers to release the starch attached to the outside of the grains. The water will turn a milky color and after 30 seconds or so of swishing it is time to drain that off and replace with clean water.

You will need to repeat this process three or four times until the water is reasonably clear after swishing.

Then drain off the rice and rinse under a running tap for a few seconds before transferring to a bowl and covering with water – about 1 inch above the top of the rice is enough.

Leave the rice to stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours to soften. A little longer is fine but not too long as eventually, the rice will deteriorate, especially if you are using brown or black glutinous rice.

Step 2 Drain and Start Steaming

About 5 minutes before you are ready to cook the rice (just before the soaking time is up) fill your steaming pot about one third or so full with clean water. Drop-in a small bunch of pandanus leaves if you have available – they add a bit of aroma which gives a clean smell whilst cooking and augments the aroma from the rice cooking.

Put it on the stove to bring to a boil.

When the water is boiling already, drain off the rice from the water used to soak it in. Transfer the rice to your bamboo steamer and shake the rice down to the bottom so the rice is even across the top surface.

Put the rice steamer with the rice into the mouth of the steamer pot making sure that the water is well clear of the bottom of the steamer.

Cover the top of the rice with a saucepan lid or bamboo cover. Set a timer for 10 minutes.

Step 3 Steaming Part 1 and The Flip

When the timer goes off, remove the lid from the rice and grab the ears of the bamboo steamer, lifting it out of the boiling pot.

Press the bottom of the bamboo steamer against a flat surface, a clean worktop surface, for example, to loosen the rice in the bottom and then flip the rice so that which was on the top now sits at the bottom and vice verse. No vice in flipping my mum used to say!

Jiggle your bamboo steamer until the rice all settles together again and the grains loosely hug each other in the bottom.

Check the water in the steamer is enough for another 5 minutes. If not add a small amount of boiling water to top up. If you have the right sized pot then your boiling water should still be enough.

Step 4 Steaming Part 2

Replace the bamboo steamer on the boiling water pot and cover.

Set a timer for another 5 minutes.

Step 5 Finishing Up

When the timer goes off, remove the cover from the rice and use a fork to break a little rice away. Taste to ensure the rice is cooked – it should be sticky but have a little bite.

If you want it softer then you can steam a little longer but I don’t advise it because soft, wet sticky rice is just not so nice. You can use a rice cooker if you want that!

You can also see if the rice is cooked as it will look a little translucent and be a consistent color throughout.

Tip out the rice immediately onto a clean surface and spread it out whilst fluffing it to release the steam. Then gather together and transfer to a bowl for serving.

Sticky rice done to perfection!

How to Cook Sticky Rice in a Bamboo Steamer (Traditional Thai Method)

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