A vital component of many Northeastern Thai dishes, as well as Laotian dishes, is toasted rice powder. So if you want to make favorites like larb, namtok, or nam jim jaew, then you are gonna need this. Luckily, it’s super easy to make. Traditionally, toasted rice powder or khao khua (ข้าวคั่ว) is made using sticky rice, aka sweet glutinous rice, but if you don’t have that lying around, you can use jasmine rice. I’ve used both, and to be honest, I can’t tell the difference. But then again, my mom likes to remind me that I have an unrefined palate.
Anyway, as I said, it’s super simple to make, all you need is one ingredient – rice. But if you have some lime leaves, lemongrass, and galangal on hand, then feel free to toss it in to add a little oomph.
toasted rice powder ข้าวคั่ว
Ingredients
- rice
- lime leaves optional
- galangal slices optional
- lemongrass optional
Instructions
- Dry roast rice on medium-high heat.
- Add limes leaves, galangal slices, and lemongrass.
- Stir constantly until the grains develop a deep golden brown color.
- Using a mortar and pestle, grind down the grains and lime leaves into a coarse powder. The lemongrass and galangal can be harder to grind, so you can just remove them. Alternatively, you can use a food processor, blender, or coffee grinder, just be sure not to over grind it, you want it to be a bit coarse and gritty.
