The road journal · the rice that sticks
An opaque grain that holds together, rolled between the fingers and steamed rather than boiled: here is what sticky rice really is.
Contents
The definition
Sticky rice is a rice variety in its own right: opaque white when raw, soft and elastic once cooked, holding together in a mass you can shape by hand.
It comes in long and short grains, white, black or purple, and is found in every Southeast Asian market.
The science of the grain
It all comes down to the starch inside the grain.
Nothing is added: the stickiness is the very nature of the grain.
The same grain changes name from one country to the next. A few landmarks:
Sticky rice is never boiled like white rice. The traditional method takes four steps.
Soaking does most of the work: poorly soaked rice stays hard at the core.
On the road
In Southeast Asia, sticky rice follows the whole day.
Cooked before dawn and sold in small portions to take away.
It holds well at room temperature and travels in a leaf or a bag.
Coconut sticky rice, leaf-wrapped cakes, black rice desserts.
Taste the road味わう道
The gesture
In Laos, you roll a small ball of rice with your right hand and use it to pick up food from the shared dishes.
The basket stays closed between bites to keep the rice warm and soft.
Tip: slightly wet your fingertips so the rice sticks less to your skin.
Savoury or sweet
The same grain moves easily from one register to another.
Sticky rice absorbs flavours without losing its hold.
Mango sticky rice, of Thai origin, is the best-known version: rice soaked in sweet, lightly salted coconut milk with ripe mango.
Across the region it is also tinted naturally, green with pandan, blue with butterfly pea, purple with black rice, and best eaten warm.
The pitfalls are always the same:
At the end of the road
The sticky rice of our Laos stop, as the last leg of the trip.
In Aix-en-Provence, Asian Road serves sticky rice as its only dessert: the Golden Sticky Rice, on the Sweet Road.
Its colour follows the seasons, with sweet coconut milk or grated coconut and touches of gold. Eat in or take away at 9 rue Laurent Fauchier.
To learn more about this dessert, read the page on the Golden Sticky Rice.
FAQ
Going further
Sticky rice is just one stop: read more about Laos, Southeast Asian specialities and street food.
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