Microwave sticky rice recipe
Microwave sticky rice is a cooking hack from start to finish in 30 minutes. The sticky rice turns out soft, sticky, and chewy every time. Makes about 2.25 cups.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups sticky rice also known as sweet rice or glutinous rice, 300 gram
- Hot boiling water
- ¼ tsp coarse sea salt
Tools:
- 1 Large fine-mesh strainer
- 1 Measuring cup
- 1 Food weight scale
- 1 Large microwave safe bowl with a wide flat bottom 7.25-inch (18 cm) wide
- 1 Microwave safe plate or lid to cover the bowl
Instructions
- Boil: Bring a pot of water to a hot rolling boil.
- Clean: In the meantime, wash and rinse the rice with your hands in a swishing motion, using a fine-mesh strainer 3-4 times until the water runs mostly clear. This removes the excess starch so that the cooked rice grains will be clean, clear, and not clump into a chunk. After rinsing, drain well and shake off excess water.
- Soak: Transfer the rice into a large microwave safe bowl with a wide flat bottom. Use your hands to level the rice then pour the hot boiling water over the rice to about 1 inch above. Immediately cover the bowl with a lid tightly and steam for 20 minutes.
- Drain: After 20 minutes, drain the rice through a sieve and discard the water. A small amount of water left inside of the bowl is totally okay as long as the majority of the soaking water is removed.
- Microwave: Transfer the rice back to the microwave safe bowl. Quickly level the rice grains with the back of a spoon so they cook evenly. Cover it with a microwave-safe lid with a slight gap to allow steam to escape during cooking. Microwave on medium-high powder (700W) for 5 minutes.
- Fluff and microwave again: Use an oven mitts to carefully transfer the bowl out. It will be hot. The rice at the bottom will cook faster than the top so use a spoon to stir the rice from the bottom up and level the rice again. Cover the bowl and send it back to the microwave on medium-high powder (700 W) for 5 additional minutes.
- Serve: Carefully transfer the bowl out. Keep the lid closed and let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before opening the lid. To keep the rice perfectly sticky, soft, and chewy, keep the lid closed during serving to maintain the moisture and temperature.
Video
Notes
- How to tell if the rice is cooked? Fluff the rice with a rice paddle and taste the rice. There should still be some bites to the rice that’s not overly mushy and you can see the individual rice grains clearly. The texture should be perfectly sticky, soft, yet chewy.
- If some of the rice grains seem not fully cooked or if you prefer the rice with a softer texture, cover the bowl with the lid while the rice is still hot and let it sit for 10-15 more minutes.
- If the majority of the rice grains aren’t fully cooked (i.e. hard in the center), level the rice, pour a little hot water over the rice, cover the bowl and send it back to the microwave for 4-5 minutes and check again.
- Microwave bowl size - it’s important to use a large microwave safe bowl with a wide flat surface so that the rice grains are cooked evenly and fast. If the bowl is too small, the heat is hard to pass through the middle and top portion of the rice.
- Rice quantity: You can adjust the rice quantity with more or less. But ensure to adjust the soaking time and cooking time accordingly. More rice = longer soaking time (add 10 more minutes) and cooking time and vice versa.
- Microwave power setting: Medium-high is typically around 700W. A typical microwave on a high power setting is between 800W and 1200W. If your microwave settings are different, find a setting close to 700W. If you're unsure, err on the side of lower power and increase cooking time slightly.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 171kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 0.3g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 100mg | Potassium: 36mg | Fiber: 1g | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg