How to Make Delicious Thai Sticky Rice Without a Steamer or Rice Cooker If you're a fan of Thai food, I'm sure you're familiar with sticky rice. There is something so special about its chewy texture and sweet flavor. If you have a desire to make it in your own kitchen but don't have the proper tools such as a traditional bamboo basket or stackable steamer, there are several other methods that work just as well. Once you try these alternative methods, I'm sure you'll be "sticking" to them for a while. What Makes Sticky Rice So Sticky?Sticky rice is a different type of grain from other types of cooking rice. Steaming, not boiling it, is also crucial for creating its unique texture. You want to use long-grain Thai sticky rice (or Thai glutinous rice), which should be available at your local grocery store or Asian specialty market.If the Thai variety isn't available, you can use almost any type of glutinous rice (which, by the way, is gluten-free, so don't be confused by the name).

The results will be good, although not identical to what you get at your favorite Thai restaurant.Food Republic points out that glutinous rice gets its sticky texture from its high amylopectin (a type of starch) content. When activated by hot water, amylopectin breaks down easily. This is why sticky rice has to be steamed, not boiled.Thai Food and Travel breaks down sticky rice science: "If steamed or boiled the same way as regular rice, the grains will break down and become soft and mushy in consistency. Instead, Thai people like to cook it in such a way that the rice grains remain whole and have a firm, chewy texture. To accomplish this, the rice is soaked for several hours (four hours or more) until the grains have absorbed enough water to cook."As Fine Cooking describes the process, rice cooking consists of two things: the rice absorbing water, and the heat breaking down the starch. So, another key to creating great sticky rice is soaking, which cuts down on the amount of heat required.

Alternative #1: Use a Splatter ScreenA splatter guard makes a convenient (and space-saving) alternative to the traditional sticky rice steamers. The process for making the rice is pretty easy:Soak one cup of rice for 2-3 hours or longer and drain it. Fill a large pot or deep pan with water and bring to a boil. Place the splatter guard over the pot. Once the water is boiling, turn down the heat to a simmer. Place the rice on the middle of the screen in an even layer. Try to keep the rice no higher than 3 inches for best cooking. Image via Food Canon Next, cover the rice with a bowl or heavy lid. The higher/more domed it is, the better—it'll trap steam more effectively. Steam rice for 30-35 minutes. It's good to turn the rice over halfway through to guarantee proper cooking. Image via Food Canon Gently remove the splatter guard and place the rice into a bowl. The splatter guard method has been approved by the amazing Thai food blog, She Simmers, so be sure to check out her complete instructions on this process.

If it's a good enough hack for her, it's good enough for us.She also points out that, structurally, this hack is very similar to cooking in a Moroccon tagine. If you happen to have one handy, why not give that a try, too? Alternative #2: Use TinfoilHere, the steps are essentially the same as with the splatter guard, only you have to do a little more leg work to create a faux steamer using a sheet of aluminum foil instead.To make your faux steamer, tear off a large enough sheet of foil to cover the surface and also wrap around the sides of your boiling water pot. yo sushi menu and pricesOnce the sheet is wrapped around the pot, use a toothpick to puncture holes over the entire circumference. sushi online las condesYou want enough steam to get through to cook the rice! buy japanese obi sydney

And that's not all you can do with foil. There are plenty more tinfoil cooking tricks to discover! Alternative #3: Use a StrainerNo splatter guard or out of foil? A regular, large-sized strainer works just fine. Again, the cooking process is the same as with the splatter guard, but there are a couple of extra tricks you should know.Turn the strainer upside down so it doesn't touch the boiling water. Next, push down the mesh so it creates a shallow bowl and place your rice in the pocket. sushi grade fish staten islandIt's probably best to stick with a mesh metal strainer rather than a plastic one in this case—you don't want to deal with melted plastic or the chemicals it might release.sushi new york meatpacking district Alternative #4: Use a PotTablespoon has a super easy method of cooking sticky rice with a pot and lid alone! yo sushi plate prices

They're pretty specific about soaking and cooking times, so be sure to check out their video below.Please enjoy your new cooking tricks and eat all the sticky rice you can handle. Want More Rice Tricks?Yes, it's absolutely necessary to rinse your rice beforehand: here's why. Want to make risotto but feel kind of lazy? There is an easier way. And if you're tired of spilling rice, beans, and other food staples, you need to make this DIY resealable grain dispenser.sushi new york meatpacking districtI'll probably be banned from Japan if this blogpost reaches their radiation-splashed shores. For the first stop motion video of my Cheap$kate Sushi Recipe Series I prepare Sushi Rice made with regular inexpensive rice - not official short-grain "sushi rice." And upcoming outre entrees include: wine steamed Carrot Sushi;  Portabella Mushroom Nigiri Sushi topped with chopped scallions;

plus a fake-crab California Roll. I think that's enough right there to to cause any master sushi chef who watches my videos to commit hara-kiri. But I do use real locally caught fresh tuna for my upcoming video recipes of Tuna Nigiri Sushi and Spicy Tuna Handroll. And the only reason I can justify these expensive fresh fish recipes is because of the generosity of my deep sea fishing neighbor, Don. As you saw on the video post from a couple weeks ago (click here,) once or twice a year he goes out on a group fishing expedition and brings back a couple ice coolers filled with fresh caught yellowtail and bluefin tuna steaks. He likes to eat it fresh and can't store all of it....so, a few choice neighbors (me included) get a few pounds of the most delicious fresh sushi grade fish filets -- for free! Well, I manage once again to make you a slew of recipes for little or no money. Now I realize some of you are landlocked, and everyone is not well-connected for fresh fish. So I include a couple of cheap$kate sushi recipes anyone can afford, using inexpensive fake crab for a California Roll, a Spicy Krab Roll, and some nigiri-style Veggie Sushi using inexpensive veggies like carrots, and sometimes-on-sale portabella mushrooms. 

So make sure to check back because I have a fish tank full of delicious cheap$kate sushi recipes for you. For sushi you must start with Sushi Rice. Here's my rap on using cheap rice. For rice it just needs to be seasoned right and sticky. I guess sushi masters can tell the difference between regular long-grains of rice and short-grained sushi rice. It's said that American long grain rice doesn't get sticky like short-grain Japanese rice -- that's BS, because I've done it many times and look how it sticks to my hand! And the grains do not turn to mush, as so many experts opine. Cooked rice is just the platform -- it's what's put on the rice that's paramount. (For another outrageous rice preparation, Italian-style, just click here to see my Mushroom Risotto recipe using more cheap long-grain rice; not more expensive traditional short-grained Arborio rice.) And at the end of this post, under Hindsight, I give you a brown rice recipe as well.) Any rice you find on sale will work for my cheap$kate recipe.

I get mine for 69 cents to 99.99 cents per pound at Latin markets and my local 99c only Store. Sushi Rice is first rinsed 3 to 4 times. For steaming, the water to rice ratio is 1:1, that is, 1 cup of rice is cooked in one cup of water. Sushi Rice is slightly sweet and tart with the addition of rice vinegar and sugar. If you don't have rice vinegar, use apple cider vinegar -- it's milder than white vinegar. A little salt is also added. For Sushi Rice it's all about the timing, just low-steam for 15 minutes; keep covered 15 minutes more with the heat turned off. Remove rice, but make sure not to loosen any dried-out rice that's stuck to the bottom of the pot; this will later cause your formed rice ovals to crumble apart. Finally mix in vinegar, sugar and salt; let rest a few minutes more, then get to making some sushi. You will use my Sushi Rice for traditional Nigiri Tuna Sushi, which is just a ping pong ball-sized oval of rice that you top with a slice of raw tuna. For my next video you will get easy-to-follow steps using dried seaweed to make a Spicy Tuna Hand Roll, probably the simplest sushi recipe for beginners to make.