Does anyone know how the typical street vendors cook their rice? I'm talking about the ones that sell grilled chicken and such on carts. Their rice has an aldente texture -- very firm and outstanding! My rice cooker comes nowhere near their quality. Also, does anyone know what kind of rice they use?

Who is your rice cooker?

Not sure if you're referring to sticky rice or not, but my sense is that the consistent quality came from lots of practice in CSP... Cooking for Special Purposes ....

Why don't you ask the vendor what she uses, and her equipment/steps?

Any kind of rice could be used, and besides your standard rice cooker, they also use a type of woven basket in a conical shape..

Here is some basic info on cooking rice..

http://asiarecipe.com/stickyrice.html

http://asiarecipe.com/rice.html

The rice on the stalls is normally pre cooked in a rice cooker and stored for use when selling.

Before cooking wash the rice in cold water 2 or 3 times ( most in portant part) until the water is almost clear. This removes the starch and keeps the rice from sticking together. Keep the lid on the rice cooker (eg 200Grams of rice requires 300Miltrs. of water) 15-20 minutes.

SEAtramp said:

The rice on the stalls is normally pre cooked in a rice cooker and stored for use when selling.

Before cooking wash the rice in cold water 2 or 3 times ( most in portant part) until the water is almost clear. This removes the starch and keeps the rice from sticking together. Keep the lid on the rice cooker (eg 200Grams of rice requires 300Miltrs. of water) 15-20 minutes.

That's the traditional way to cook rice. I 've been cooking it that way for decades. Vendors with whom I came into contact must have been doing it another way because their rice was too firm -- almost like rice that had been washed then soaked overnite w/o being cooked.

The rice was long grain, not sweet rice. I would ask the vendors but I have no intension of going back to Thailand anytime soon and can't speak the language.

mmmmmmm sticky rice.. tastey!!!

If you are not referring to sticky rice then the reason is probably because it is cooked over a charcoal fire, and steamed not boiled.

Thetyim said:

If you are not referring to sticky rice then the reason is probably because it is cooked over a charcoal fire, and steamed not boiled.

I'm not talking about sticky rice, at least not the kind they use for their excellent summer dish, mangos w/ sticky rice. I'm gonna have to find a rice steamer somewhere. You are probably right. I've always boiled my rice.

xyz said:

Thetyim said:

If you are not referring to sticky rice then the reason is probably because it is cooked over a charcoal fire, and steamed not boiled.

I'm not talking about sticky rice, at least not the kind they use for their excellent summer dish, mangos w/ sticky rice. I'm gonna have to find a rice steamer somewhere. You are probably right. I've always boiled my rice.

I now think it was steamed sticky rice, after reading up on the subject.

xyz said:

Does anyone know how the typical street vendors cook their rice?  I'm talking about the ones that sell grilled chicken and such on carts.  Their rice has an aldente texture -- very firm and outstanding!  My rice cooker comes nowhere near their quality.  Also, does anyone know what kind of rice they use?

The rice they sell with grilled chicken is khao kniaw (sticky rice) cook in a type of woven basket in a conical shape over a pot of boiling water like Ajarn said. They soak the rice for the night and cook it in the morning and they put it in plastic cooler to keep it warm for the day.

NamKAheng said:

xyz said:

Does anyone know how the typical street vendors cook their rice?  I'm talking about the ones that sell grilled chicken and such on carts.  Their rice has an aldente texture -- very firm and outstanding!  My rice cooker comes nowhere near their quality.  Also, does anyone know what kind of rice they use?

The rice they sell with grilled chicken is khao kniaw (sticky rice) cook in a type of woven basket in a conical shape over a pot of boiling water like Ajarn said. They soak the rice for the night and cook it in the morning and they put it in plastic cooler to keep it warm for the day.

Today, I finally got the sticky rice to come out just like those sold by the grilled chicken street vendors. It was just a matter of switching from Japanese sweet rice to Thai sticky rice. I also used the woven basket method.

The sticky rice is great. I eat it often. The 'normal' rice at the foodstalls is far below my standard. Sticky rice is very forgiving when you store it a long time. Not so with normal rice.

Another thing is that they use the broken rice because it is cheaper.

My personal favorite next to Khao niaw is the scented long grain rice (Khao hom). Go for the Triple A quality, it is very nice and has a lot of taste. You don't have to add much to have a tasty dish.

Today, I finally got the sticky rice to come out just like those sold by the grilled chicken street vendors. It was just a matter of switching from Japanese sweet rice to Thai sticky rice. I also used the woven basket method.

Good to hear xyz.............only hope it doesn't take another year to get the grilled chicken sorted out.....