Black Sticky Rice Pudding ข้าวเหนียวดำ (kao niew dum)

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4-6

The Pudding

• ½ cup black glutinous rice
• 2 Tbsp white glutinous rice
• 2 cups cold water
• 1 pandan leaf, optional
• 1/3 cup taro root, cut in 1 cm cube *
• ¼ cup young coconut meat, cut into short strips, optional
• ½ cup finely chopped palm sugar **
• heaping ¼ tsp salt
• Sweet corn kernels for garnish, optional

Coconut Sauce

• ½ cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp rice flour, or ½ tsp corn starch.
• ¼ tsp salt

Recipe Notes:

* If you don’t like taro roots, you can substitute with corn kernels or just omit it.
** You can substitute with regular granulated sugar, however, I have not tested the amount needed, so start out with 1/4 cup and taste and adjust from there.

 INSTRUCTIONS

Soak both types of rice together in cold water for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Drain off the soaking water and add the rice to a small pot. Add 2 cups of fresh cold water to the rice and bring to a boil. Let cook for 25-30 minutes or until the rice is fully done. Check doneness by tasting, it should still be chewy but no crunchy in the center.  Be careful: After about 15 minutes, you need to stir it almost constantly. The rice is thick enough at this point to stick to the bottom and burn without enough stirring.

While the rice is cooking, cook the taro. Put the cut taro in a small pot of cold water and 1/4 tsp of salt, bring it to a boil and let it cook for 5-7 minutes until it fully cooks and is fork tender. Drain and set aside.

After the rice is done. Add the palm sugar and salt and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the taro and the young coconut meat.

For the sauce: Dissolve the rice flour in a little bit of water, and stir until there are no more clumps. Add this slurry to the ½ cup of coconut milk, and bring the mixture to a boil in a small pot, stirring constantly. It should thicken after it has come to a boil.

To serve, spoon the rice into a cute glass bowl or cocktail glass, spoon the coconut sauce over the rice and garnish with some sweet corn kernels. Some people like to stir the sauce into the pudding before eating, others like to keep it a little separate, so do whatever you like!

Black Sticky Rice Pudding ข้าวเหนียวดำ