Whole grain sticky rice?

[Hassouni]

I've cut back my white carb consumption drastically over the last year or so, which is especially painful given that I grew up with Iraqi style rice (yeah, the one that's like Persian, with the tahdig, AKA the Best Stuff In The Universe). When I make rice now, it's most often brown rice - brown Koshihikari, brown Basmati, etc.

 

I'm curious about whole grain glutinous rice, primarily for when I make Lao or NE Thai food, and because I LOVE sticky rice. I know that there's brown mochi-style rice, and also I know about Lao/Thai black/purple rice. DC's Lao restaurant duo pulls out the purple rice on special occasions as an alternative to the standard white stuff, so clearly it's not just eaten as a dessert, despite what googling tells me. 

 

My question is this: is the brown/purple sticky rice actually sticky when steamed, or does the bran inhibit that? I heard something on the Cooking Issues radio show that some white rice has to be mixed in, but I'm wondering if anybody else has any experience with it, either in a Thai/Lao or a Japanese context?

[Shel_B]

A few days ago I went to one of my favorite Korean restaurants for lunch.  I get their rice bowl, which is made with whole grains and rice.  It sure seemed sticky to me.  Here's the ingredients in their rice bowl: barley, sweet brown rice, wild sweet rice, wild red rice and wild black rice.

 

I hope this is at least somewhat helpful.

[Deryn]

There is such a thing as brown (which is just unhulled/unmilled) glutinous rice. I don't have any so I can't cook any up to see if it gets as sticky as white (sticky, sweet, glutinous) rice so I can't test it for you. Sorry. Glutinous rice is probably always going to be higher on the GI index than other rices, but, perhaps in its unhulled form it would have a better number.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutinous_rice

[Naftal]

Are you familiar with the Bob's Red Mill brand? I think they may carry what you are looking for...

 

 

http://www.bobsredmill.com/shop/grains-beans-seeds/rice/sweet-brown-rice.html

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Hassouni,

 

I have a bag of rice in the fridge I've cooked a couple of times. The only English on the bag (thus all I can decipher) is "Thai Sweet Rice" plus nutrition label and "Product of Thailand." It's distributed by the Korean company Rhee Bros.

 

I cook it by soaking first according to instructions I found online, then use the pasta method in a lot of water with salt, then drain. It comes out non-sticky, nutty, chewy with a texture and flavor similar to wild rice, but a rich deep purple color. I highly recommend it for savory applications which are the only ones I've tried it in. It may cook up a lot stickier with another cooking method, but I have no experience with that. It does have substantial bran, so I expect it could never be as cohesive as say white sushi rice.

 

It looks like the second image (in the round white bowl) in this Google link for "Forbidden Rice" before cooking:

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=forbidden+rice&espv=2&biw=1097&bih=546&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=thJcVdqPFMmlyASL5oPICQ&ved=0CI0BEIke&dpr=1.75

 

It looks like Naftal may well have found a product that has the characteristics you desire.

 

PS

Just noticed that there's an image of sushi that appears on the link in the first row of images before you get to the second row that actually pertain to Forbidden Rice per se. It may cook up sticky enough for that application with a method aimed at it. That sushi looks a bit spiky to me, though. Apparently this rice is used for it though.

Edited May 20, 2015 by Thanks for the Crepes (log)

[liuzhou]

The problem is that white/brown rice, black rice and red rice all come in glutinous and regular forms. They pretty much look identical, so you are dependent on the labelling. If this is poorly translated, as it often is, you can end up with something you weren't after. I've been careless in the past and come home with the wrong one.

 

Glutinous Rice:

 

Chinese       = 糯米 nuò mǐ

Thai             = ข้าวเหนียว  khao niao

Vietnamese = gạo nếp

Edited May 20, 2015 by liuzhou (log)

[Hassouni]

Yeah, khao niao (or in Japanese, mochigome)  is what I want. I have the white version, that I've used so far the few times I've made Lao food at home. I'm just wondering if the whole grain (brown or black) version cooks up sticky, or with separate grains. I LOVE the sticky texture. When I've had it in the restaurant, it's sticky, but it may have been mixed with the white version, as Dave Arnold suggests on his show.

 

I've seen the Bob's version, and many more varieties at the Vietnamese, Thai, and Korean supermarkets, so access is not a problem. 

[Hassouni]

Well, I found some, "sweet brown rice" from Lundberg, in the bulk section of my nearby Whole Foods. Gonna give it a shot, will post my results

[Hassouni]

Update: 7 hours of soaking and 45 minutes of steaming later, these grains are the most separate things I've ever seen. I might try one more time in my Zojirushi (not sure whether to use the brown or the sweet setting), but this was greatly disappointing.

[pastrygirl]

I like the short grain Lundberg, it has more of a sushi rice texture, slightly sticky.  I have some Korean black rice that is pretty sticky when cooked alone.  Not exactly like white sticky rice, but pretty good.  I could swear I've had steamed black sticky rice at Thai restaurants, but when I checked my local favorite's menu was reminded they do a black rice pudding/porridge. 

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Mostly the bran on whole-grain rices will inhibit the formation of stickiness….  

 

Hassouni, on your behalf I so wish that Ecuador was exporting Conejo Viejo del Oro this year.  It's a gold whole-grain rice that comes out of my cooker beautifully sticky with only a short pre-soak.  But this year the blah-danged snails have seriously damaged the yields, so it's all being kept in-country.

[Hassouni]

I like the short grain Lundberg, it has more of a sushi rice texture, slightly sticky.  I have some Korean black rice that is pretty sticky when cooked alone.  Not exactly like white sticky rice, but pretty good.  I could swear I've had steamed black sticky rice at Thai restaurants, but when I checked my local favorite's menu was reminded they do a black rice pudding/porridge. 

 

I have brown koshihikari which I make in my zojirushi - the grains do NOT come out separate. Not sticky rice sticky, but certainly cohesive enough to make onigiri or something if I wanted to. I will try the Lundberg that way and see what happens.

 

I've had steamed black/purple sticky rice at the Lao place, not in porridge form, but in eat-it-with-your-food form. It was quite sticky. However, I'm starting to think that maybe it really was mixed with white sticky rice - apparently the whole thing gets strained purple.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Hassouni (log)

[Hassouni]

Mostly the bran on whole-grain rices will inhibit the formation of stickiness….  

 

Hassouni, on your behalf I so wish that Ecuador was exporting Conejo Viejo del Oro this year.  It's a gold whole-grain rice that comes out of my cooker beautifully sticky with only a short pre-soak.  But this year the blah-danged snails have seriously damaged the yields, so it's all being kept in-country.

 

Old gold rabbit?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Old gold rabbit?

 

Old Rabbit Gold.  Old Rabbit is a particular brand of rice here, primarily from the provinces of El Oro and upper Guayas; it's a naturally gold-branned rice (as opposed to the GMO "Golden" rice varieties, which are illegal to grow or possess in Ecuador).  Old Rabbit Silver (Conejo Viejo de Plata) is a polished version of the same cultivar - mud stickier, but not as tasty.