Sticky Rice

Sticky rice, otherwise known as glutinous rice or sweet rice, is a very popular variety of rice all across Asia and shouldn’t be confused with what we know as “white rice” (a term that can be used for anything in between Jasmine rice to short grain non-glutinous white rice and more). It’s a delicious, sticky type rice that’s used very commonly in both dessert and savory dishes. Luckily, it’s super easy to cook perfect sticky rice at home! It’s important to note that this rice does not contain any gluten. It’s called glutinous rice because of its sticky, glue-like texture. This really sticky texture is what sets glutinous rice apart from other types of white rice. Most rice contains up to two types of starches that determine the texture of the rice once it’s fully cooked: amylose and amylopectin. The more amylose starches a type of rice contains, the more separated the grains will be after cooking. The more amylopectin starches the rice contains, the stickier and more gelatinous the grains will be. For example, Jasmine rice has higher amounts of amylose and has separate granules when cooked. Sticky rice is special because it doesn’t have any amylose and contains the highest amount of amylopectin; This is what makes it great for super sticky desserts and recipes.