Coconut Pandan Sticky Rice Recipe

The hubby wanted me to make one of his favourite Vietnamese desserts, coconut pandan sticky rice. It’s not something I’ve had before but after I made it, it’s become a favorite with mostly everyone except M2.

I used pandan extract which is made from pandan leaves which can be found at your local asian supermarket. I’m told that pandan extract to asian dessert is what vanilla is to western bakers. I’ve had deserts made with pandan extract before but never thought to make it myself, since it looked complicated, but this recipe is quite easy.

Here is the recipe:

2 cups of sticky or glutinous rice
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 can of coconut milk
3 drops of pandan extract
1/4 cup shredded coconut
3 tbsp of sesame seeds or crushed peanuts

Soak the sticky rice in water for at least 4 hours or overnight. Rinse the rice and drain, then add it to a large bowl along with the sugar, salt, coconut milk, 3 tbsp shredded coconut and pandan extract. You’ll get a large green soup. The coconut milk should just cover the rice.

Steam it in a bamboo steamer for 30 minutes or until the rice is cooked to your desired consistency. You want to make sure to stir it every 10 minutes because the rice at the bottom of the bowl gets cooked more quickly than the rest.

You can also cook it in a rice cooker but don’t expect it to be cooked after one time, you may need to try it 2 or 3 times to get it cooked. You can also cover the rice with a piece of parchment paper in the rice cooker to help trap the steam even more.

I toasted the sesame seeds myself since I had some on hand until they were a nice golden colour. When it’s cool add it to a bowl and add one or two tbsp of sugar. When the rice has cooled you serve it with the remaining shredded coconut and toasted sesame seeds/sugar mixture. You can used crushed peanuts instead of sesame seeds if you like or both even. You can find shredded coconut in the freezer section of the asian supermarket. It’s super easy and delicious.

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