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Pantry » Asian Ingredients » Toasted Rice Powder (Khao Khua)

Published: Jan 18, 2020 · Modified: May 7, 2021 by Nart · This post may contain affiliate links.

Toasted Rice Powder (Khao Khua)

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A common ingredient in the Northeastern Thai cuisine, toasted rice powder, or khao khua, lends a crunchy texture and smoky-nutty flavor to dishes like larb, namtok, tom sab and the wonderful jaew dipping sauce. Its quality is best when freshly made, and you can easily make it in 20 minutes!

toasted rice powder on a plate

What Is Toasted Rice Powder Or Khao Khua?

Toasted rice powder is a common ingredient in Northeastern Thai (Isan) and Lao dishes. We call this ingredient “khao khua (ข้าวคั่ว)” in Thai, with “khao” meaning rice, and “khua” meaning to roast in a pan with no oil. When speaking of this ingredient, dishes that come to one’s mind include larb, namtok, crying tiger, and tom sab. And let’s not forget about the delicious jaew dipping sauce (nam jim jaew) that goes well with just about anything.

Although toasted rice powder lends a smoky-nutty flavor and crunchy texture to any dish it’s added to, essentially, it’s just rice – rice that you dry-roast and grind into a coarse powder. As simple as it sounds, you should never omit toasted rice powder from any recipe that calls for it, even if it’s just for 1-2 teaspoons.

Thai sticky rice in hands

What Kind Of Rice Should I Use?

As sticky rice or glutinous rice (or khao neow in Thai) is a staple in the Northeast of Thailand, traditionally, the rice used to make toasted rice powder is sticky rice. However, since people in other parts of the country don’t always keep sticky rice in their pantry, many just use normal white rice.

While using normal white rice to make toasted rice powder is not so bad, I will say that it’d be best if you could use sticky rice. People often say that sticky rice gives you a stronger smoky roasted flavor, and I agree. But what’s more important is the fact that sticky rice and normal rice have different textures when mixed with other ingredients. And since toasted rice powder acts as a thickener in soups and sauces, you might want to make it with sticky rice whenever you can.

toasted Thai sticky rice on a plate

How To Make Toasted Rice Powder

1. Toasting

Heat a pan or wok over medium heat, add the rice and stir continuously. You want to be stirring almost all the time so that the rice doesn’t burn. Though this step is really easy, it does take about a good 15 minutes for the rice to be right. Just look for that smoky, popcorny flavor and a golden brown color.

2. Pounding/Grinding

Once your rice has reached the perfect golden color, remove it from heat and let cool completely. Then, you can start to grind it into a coarse powder. Traditionally, this process is done by pounding the rice with a pestle in a mortar. But I find that using a blender saves so much time and the result is pretty much the same. If you’re using a blender or food processor, use the pulse feature. Simply pulse the rice a few times or until you get your preferred consistency. The key is to ensure that you don’t have any big grains left but that your powder isn’t too fine. If your powder is too fine, you won’t get much texture when you use it.

3. Storing

You should store toasted rice powder in an airtight container. Though it will keep for a long time, I don’t recommend making a large amount. This ingredient has the best quality when still fresh, as its smoky flavor fades over time. Whenever I’m cooking something that calls for it, I usually make just a little more than I need and use within 2 weeks.

toasted Thai sticky rice on a plate

Pro Tip

When using toasted rice powder in dishes salads like larb and namtok, don’t add the powder when the dish is still very hot. Doing so will cook the powder and cause it to lose its crunchy texture and the dish to lose its juice.

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toasted rice powder on a plate

Toasted Rice Powder Recipe

This  common ingredient in the Northeastern Thai cuisine lends a crunchy texture and smoky-nutty flavor to dishes like larb, namtok, tom sab and the wonderful jaew dipping sauce. Its quality is best when freshly made, and you can easily make it in 20 minutes!
5 from 16 votes
Print Rate
Cuisine: Thai
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 1 /2 cup
Author: Nart

Ingredients

  • ½ cup Thai sticky rice

Instructions

  • Heat a pan or wok over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add sticky rice and stir continuously until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Then, remove the rice from heat and let cool completely.
  • In a blender or food processor, pulse the toasted rice into a coarse powder. If using a mortar, pound the rice with a pestle in it. When done, there shouldn't be any large grains left, but the powder shouldn't be too fine either.
  • Use the powder immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

Toasted rice powder lasts longer than 2 weeks but loses its flavor over time. It's best to make it right when you need it because that's when its flavor is the strongest.
Also, for dishes like larb and namtok, it shouldn't be added when the meat is still very hot because that will cook the rice powder and cause it to lose its crunchy texture.
Tried this recipe?Mention @cookingwithnart or tag #cookingwithnart!
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Comments

  1. Sami says

    August 10, 2021 at 11:56 pm

    Hi,

    what rice do you exactly mean by sticky rice?

    I have thai friends and they all telling me and using different rices to make sticky rice :/ And allso using different rice for Khao Khua.

    Is the right rice more like arborio style, Jasmin style or like long rice?
    I mean theres basically a handful of rice species on the planet, but alot of “sub species”.
    Like arborio in italy for risottos, and Bomba for paella in Spain, but their basically the same rice corn..

    Thank you for a reply in forehand

    Kindly
    Sami

    Reply
    • Nart says

      August 16, 2021 at 2:23 pm

      Well, it’s usually called sticky rice, glutinous rice or sweet rice. It has the same shape as jasmine rice except it’s not transparent, just like you can see in the pictures in this post.

      Hope that helps?!

      Reply
  2. Dannii says

    December 03, 2020 at 2:53 pm

    5 stars
    This is such a great tutorial with lots of informative stuff. I am definitely going to give it a try.

    Reply
  3. Rachna says

    December 03, 2020 at 12:47 pm

    5 stars
    This is really interesting. I can imagine the nutty flavour. We also use rice flour in Indian cuisine but the roasting is a lovely twist. I will give it a try.

    Reply
  4. Kathryn says

    December 03, 2020 at 12:11 pm

    5 stars
    I loved learning more about this — it’s something I’m adding to my to-make list! Thanks so much for sharing.

    Reply
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