College Cuisine: Stove Top Sticky Rice

By Koby Parry

As someone who grew up in a half-Japanese household, I value good rice, and I have had a rice cooker wherever I’ve gone. Many of the recipes posted here in The Herald are served with rice, and to save you from having soggy, dry, burnt, or uncooked rice, I’m going to post the instructions for making short-grain sticky rice in a regular pot on a stove. My parents’ rice cooker (after more than twenty years) finally broke, but they found a way to make do without one for the time being, and it is just as good as rice cooker-made rice.

Stove Top Sticky Rice

• 2 cups Short-grain rice ~$5.97 ($0.08/oz)
• 3 cups Water

Grand total: ~$5.97

Recipe total: ~$1.28

(Prices are estimates based off of Walmart.com)

Note:

You will need a pot with an accompanying lid. If you don’t have a lid that fits on your pot, I can’t guarantee the quality of your rice.

Also, sushi rice is not a thing — it’s just a scam to try to upsell rice. Sushi rice in a restaurant setting is different because they add sugar, rice vinegar, and sometimes other ingredients to flavor the rice. Medium grain and long grain rice can be cooked the same way, but the rice this recipe is intended for uses short grain rice. If you can’t find any (or if the other options are cheaper), then medium or long-grain rice will be fine.

Photo Credit: Koby Parry

Stove Top Sticky Rice

1. Wash your rice. Place your rice into a large bowl (or the pot you intend to cook your rice in), rinse it in water, then drain the liquid. Repeat this process until the water runs mostly clear (about 2–3 times).
2. Once your rice is clean, add your water, then set your pot over high heat until it begins to boil.
3. Once boiling is achieved, turn your burner to low, cover it with a lid, and let it cook for 20 minutes.
4. Afterward, remove the pot from the heat and let the pot rest for 5 minutes with the lid on.
5. Once the five minutes are up, use a fork to fluff up your rice, then serve immediately.

Note:

If you know your stove runs hot, even at low, reduce the time on low from 20 minutes to 18 minutes. This may take some experimenting to get the perfect time for your stove.

If you enjoyed this recipe, be sure to check out the other ones we already have posted! Be sure to check back regularly for our new weekly recipes!