Sticky rice: rice cooked in milk and sugar. A dish as ordinary, and as extra-ordinary as vanilla ice-cream.
Sticky rice pudding is all about your current mood.
So if you don't want to customize and just want some sweet rice, go for it. If you want to add more toppings than on an ice-cream sunday, do that too. Sticky rice turns out to be an inexpensive, easy, but impressive sweet to make when you're not in the mood for taking out the baking pan, and measuring cups.
Recently I discovered my sister's very proficient at rice pudding. She's proficient with anything cooking related, but her sticky rice was coveted by all in the family. We made it together, and it turned out just as I remembered it as a child.
Soft, sticking to the palate, sweet to the point you run across your teeth with your tongue to catch each rice grain. Bubbly and happy, like a spring day. Defining a dish as bubbly, unless it's something champagne related, is outside the norm but sticky rice really is bubbly.
Just have a look at it and you'll notice it too.
P.S. For other unconventional desserts check out fruit compote, apple and carrot salad and 3-ingredient orange jam.
Sticky Rice Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 cup round grain rice use an Italian brand
- 3 cups milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 7 tablespoons sugar
- Optional Cinnamon or raisins
Instructions
- Wash rice thoroughly and take out any debris. Place in a pot, and add one cup of water. Cook on medium to lowest for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add one cup of milk, bring temperature down to low and continue cooking for another 5-6 minutes.
- Add the second cup of milk, vanilla extract and stir. Cook another 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the third cup of milk, and sugar and stir well. Cook for the final 4-5 minutes. You want the combination of rice and milk to be smooth and on a runny side.
- Once it's finished pour into serving bowls and leave in the fridge until ready to consume. Add cinnamon or raisins on top.
Marwah says
Hi Aida! I made this a few weeks back and have been meaning to post about it since then. First of all, I was so happy to see this recipe. It was delicious, but I think I need to try making it again (I have always had trouble with 2 things: anything requiring a water bath, and rice pudding :-)). I used Italian arborio rice, but by the end, it was still kind of hard, which made me have to cook it longer, which made the pudding too thick at the end. I added in some more milk to thin it down but essentially I overcooked the rice. I think the mistake I made was at the beginning - I put the rice into the water and turned the heat to low and just continued with the recipe. So by the end the rice wasn't cooked. Should the water have been simmering before I added the rice?
Aida says
Marwah,
I just noticed this one went unanswered. No, the water should be cold when you put the rice in. Maybe try cooking on medium until you put the milk in, instead of low?
I consulted with my sister. This may be one of those where you have to play around with the amount of milk. She uses even more milk sometimes, to make the sticky rice more runny. She said not to worry about adding more milk, it won't change the recipe too much, but to make sure to stir frequently.
Valentina says
Hi. This esssentialy same as my rice pudding recipe. Trick to creaminess is to use italian rice and simmer really low temperature in milk with the sugar and dash of salt stirring frequently for about an hour. No need for precooking in water. Full fat milk recommended. It will thicken moore as it cools. Then stir in vanilla. And of course serve cooled with cinnamon. Half cup rice. Third cup sugar. 4 cups milk. Dash of salt. 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Aida says
Thanks for the tips.