Sticky rice is a versatile ingredient used in many forms of Asian cooking. In addition to many savory dishes you may be familiar with, like zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) or shumai, sticky rice (also called sweet rice or glutinous rice) is also used in dessert recipes.
Our family loves sticky rice. Near or far, we have not met one person who does not love its chewy texture.
But in order to use it in certain recipes, you have to pre-cook it. Which brings us to the question, how do you cook sticky rice?
In this quick recipe, we’ll show you how to make glutinous rice without a rice cooker or any special equipment.
A Foolproof Method for Cooking Sticky Rice
Cooking sweet rice or glutinous rice is somewhat different than cooking regular rice. You need less water to cook it, which makes steaming a better option than a pot of simmering water.
Some more high end Chinese and Japanese rice cookers have special settings for it, but most don’t have that feature. More importantly, those rice cookers can be expensive!
We prefer to cook glutinous rice with a foolproof soaking and steaming method. Not only does the rice come out perfectly every time, each kernel stays relatively separate (rather than having the grains meld into one big sticky block, which can sometimes happen in a rice cooker).
No more mushy, soggy or undercooked sticky rice. And no special equipment required! All you need is a large, deep pot with a lid, an empty tuna can (or a steaming rack if you have it), and a heat-proof dish. If you have a bamboo steamer (my favorite steaming tool) or a metal steamer, that works too.
Check out my other article on steaming food for more info on how to set up a steaming apparatus without special equipment!
Tips for Preparing Glutinous Rice
Before we get to the recipe instructions, here are some important tips for cooking sticky rice:
- Beware, it really is sticky! When handling cooked glutinous rice, it’s best to wet the serving tools and your hands to prevent sticking.
- It’s also not a bad idea to line the steaming plate or dish with parchment paper or a natural steamer liner.
- Another important tip is that glutinous rice dries out and hardens quickly at room temperature. Make sure it stays warm and covered before serving or adding to a recipe.
- It’s best to serve it hot, since cold, hardened glutinous rice can be hard to digest.
How to Make Sticky Rice: Instructions
Add the sticky rice to a mixing bowl or other deep container. Fill it with water so that the water level is at least 3 inches above the rice, as the rice will expand when soaking.
Soak for 6 to 24 hours. Soak it longer if you want your sticky rice to have a softer texture.
Drain the water (no need to shake off the excess water), and evenly arrange the soaked rice on a heat-proof, rimmed plate or bamboo steamer lined with natural steamer liners or parchment paper.
If using the heatproof plate, place on an empty tuna can or metal rack at the base of a deep pot with a lid, filled with a couple inches of water.
For more instruction, check out our post on how to set up a steamer. Otherwise, place the bamboo steamer in a wok with water or in a tiered metal steamer (which is what we used).
Cover and steam for 30-45 minutes.
When making larger batch, steam in two batches or steam longer. You can check the rice and increase the steaming time if need be.
Keep the sticky rice in the steamer or covered to prevent drying out until you serve it or use it in a recipe (see below!)
Recipes Using (Pre-Cooked) Sticky Rice
- Sticky Rice Shumai
- Sticky Rice Stuffing
- Sticky Rice Stuffed Chicken
- Pork Chop Sticky Rice Bake
- Sticky Rice Hashbrowns
- Sticky Rice with Chinese Sausage
How to Make Sticky Rice (Foolproof Method!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups sweet rice/sticky rice/glutinous rice
- Water
Instructions
- Add the sticky rice to a mixing bowl or other deep container. Fill it with water so that the water level is at least 3 inches above the rice, as the rice will expand when soaking.
- Soak for 6 to 24 hours. Soak it longer if you want your sticky rice to have a softer texture.
- Drain the water (no need to shake off the excess water), and evenly arrange the soaked sticky rice on a heat-proof, rimmed plate or bamboo steamer lined with natural steamer liners or parchment paper.
- Cover and steam for 30-45 minutes. When making larger batch of rice, steam in two batches or steam longer. You can check the rice and increase the steaming time if need be.
- Keep the sticky rice in the steamer or covered to prevent drying out until you serve it or use it in a recipe.
Tips & Notes:
nutrition facts
Followed the recipe and the rice took way longer than written. Even then it was not done enough
Hi Janine, did you soak it long enough? What kind of vessel did you use to steam the rice? The other question is whether the rice was regular white sticky rice or whether it’s a different type, like black sticky rice?
Hi Janine, what did you make the sticky rice for? what kind of texture were you looking for?
Very good
Thank you.
First try, perfect! Made the roasted chicken and sticky rice! Yummy!
So glad that you had a lovely meal :-)
If I soak the rice and want to steam cook it in the rice cooker, what is the rice to water ratio? Thank you
Can you tell me if the sticky rice is for dessert or not?
Not for dessert. It’s for the sticky rice and Chinese sausage recipe
Hi Karen, if your rice cooker takes less than 30 minutes to cook rice, then this method is not doable. It’s best to follow this recipe by steaming the sweet rice.
Can I just cook the soaked sweet rice in a regular rice cooker or instant pot (what setting)? If I do that, do I need to add any water?
Does your rice cooker have a setting for sweet rice? If not, to cook sweet rice in a rice cooker, the rice to water ratio should be around 1 : 3/4 without pre-soaking the rice.
Hi Judy. I tried steaming washed and pre-soaked sweet rice, but it seems to take at least 2 hours. Would you know why it takes so long for me? Thanks.
Hi Michael, I don’t know why either…usually 30 minutes is enough. What kind of steamer setup did you use?
I had a similar experience. I used a single layer metal steamer, with parchment paper and 2 cups of uncooked rice soaked for 24h.
After 30 min, the bottom was cooked, but the top was still very aldente. Another 20 min yielded only minor improvement. I did try mixing up the rice a little.
I wonder if the paper parchment blocked the water vapour access. Or do you simpy flip over the rice halfway?
I still used it for the sticky rice fried rice (with chinese sausage). It turned out well. The addition of the sauce help softened the rice a bit.
Hi Sebastien, I usually line a plate with parchment to steam the rice in my metal steamer, and I have not noticed this issue. Try increasing the steaming time to 35 minutes. Or if you have a bamboo steamer, line it with wet cheesecloth instead of parchment.
I read on another page to flip the rice halfway through the cooking time with a spatular as if you were flipping a pancake. Try that next time. I’m dying to make sticky rice. I’ve had it before, but never made it. Can’t wait to try it.
Just wondering. I want to make sticky rice, but don’t know what kind of rice? I have Jasmine rice. Could I use it?
Hi Judy, please use this steamed rice recipe to cook Jasmine rice.
Hi Judy, sticky rice is a specific type of rice, called glutinous rice or sweet rice. You can’t make sticky rice with jasmine. You can find sticky rice in Asian grocery stores. You can also find it online!
Happy new year! Thank you SO MUCH for this “recipe” and for the wonderfully detailed tutorial you wrote on how to set up a steamer. I just made some sticky rice in preparation of making Bill’s Sticky Rice with Chinese Sausage recipe, and the rice came out PERFECT. I soaked the rice for 24 hours, drained and steamed it for 45 minutes following your directions. The results really couldn’t be any better! The rice is appropriately sticky but not at all mushy, and definitely not the big gooey glob I was worried it might become. The rice also has the same wonderful texture as all the sticky rice dishes I loved eating growing up – soft but still a little chewy. This was actually the first time I’ve tried steaming something other than vegetables. I was pretty apprehensive about it, but now I feel confident enough to try other recipes (most of them yours :)) that call for steaming. All thanks to you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
You are very welcome, Tiffany! Happy wokking ;-)
Great tip! The last time I cooked glutinous rice I was literally covered in it. Like a rice magnet. This method kept everything under control!
I am glad you found it helpful, Lee.
u mean when u steam the sticky rice, u don’t put any water with the rice, but just steam it?
Yes, Jasmine. Just know that the sticky rice must be soaked and wet (from soaking).