[singlepic id=184 w=270 h=190 float=center]Sande, Me, Sande’s son-Al and my mama
Too many cooks in the kitchen!
Every single time Sandy and my mom are visiting me in Los Angeles we are either exploring new Asian grocery stores, downtown LA or in the kitchen trying out recipes. Food brings people together! And having them hand down their recipes is priceless and cheaper than going to Asia! The last time I went home to Washington I fell in love with this soft moist coconut flavored green rice that Sandy had made so when she and my mom came to LA this last go around they taught me how to make Thai Sticky Pandan rice. Let me just tell you … having the right ingredients matters. When it comes to cooking try really hard to not skimp or take shortcuts because it will compromise the flavor. When you are learning for the first time you want to try to stay as true to the authentic ingredients as possible.
My adventure started before the two of them landed in LA. I needed to get a big bag of sticky rice and learn to cook it before they got here. I took a drive to Pratunum Thai market in North Hollywood. The Asian lady at the register rang up my rice, looked up at me, started laughing out loud and said…You no know how to cook? (Let me translate for non Asians…she thought it was funny that I was buying the rice and even funnier to her that I thought I could cook it). I had to hold back spewing off in rapid speed a list of all the authentic Asian dishes that I know how to cook and know how to cook pretty well. I just looked at her, nodded and said “oh yes-I no know how to cook”. I’ll admit the first time I tried cooking sticky rice it was a mess and I couldn’t get the sarcastic image of the ladys face at the market, who knew in her head that I wasn’t going to get it right the first time, out of my head! I swear…they just know things!!!! My first batch came out mushy and undercooked. 2nd batch…overcooked! 3rd time was a charm! Sticky rice is also known as sweet rice or glutinous rice and is a main staple for Thai folks. It is also used for the base of many desserts; Mango sticky rice, sticky pandan rice, coconut rice, etc.,
All right…Lets do this! STICKY PANDAN RICE
1. First step is to clean the rice. DO NOT CRUSH the rice by grabbing it with your hand, swirling it inside your palm and squeezing. You want to gently run the rice under water for just a bit to rinse it off.
2. Once you’ve rinced fill the bowl back up with water covering the rice completely. Let the rice soak for a few hours.
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3. When the rice is done soaking pour it into the bamboo steamer-Make sure to fill the bottom container with water, put your basket on top, fill with rice and put the lid on. Let the rice steam for about 30 minutes. (be patient…this does take a bit of time)
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4. While the rice is steaming grab a non stick pot and add the coconut milk (let simmer for a bit), then add a teaspoon salt and a can of pandan leaf juice.
3 c. of sugar and 1 teaspoon pandan extract
5. Let all the ingredients cook together. Give it a few stirs to make sure all ingredients are mixed together. Bring to a boil and then simmer.
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6. Next you want to combine the cooked rice with the coconut mixture. Combine evenly. You want to make sure the color is consistent and there is no white rice left. (The presentation of your rice is just as important as the taste of your rice.)
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7. You can either plate the rice on a fabulous platter or spoon into serving pans to be cut up into squares.
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8. The final step is the topping. Toast up raw sesame seeds (you are going for a golden brown color). Be very careful not to overcook the sesame seeds because it will ruin the taste of the sticky pandan rice instead of compliment it.
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WALLAH!! NOM NOM