How to Make Vietnamese Peanut Sticky Rice

Prepare Ingredients

Rinse the sticky rice and soak it overnight for convenience. If you're making peanut sticky rice during the day, soak the rice for at least 3-4 hours to allow it to absorb water and become tender. Occasionally change the soaking water to prevent sourness.

After soaking, drain the rice well.

If you're short on time, you can soak the rice in warm water for about 30-40 minutes before cooking.

Soak the peanuts in water, just like the rice. While soaking, discard any shriveled or damaged peanuts by removing the ones that float to the surface.

If you prefer whiter peanuts to match the rice, you can rub off the outer skin after soaking, but leaving the skins on is fine too.

Rinse the peanuts and boil them in a pot, adding enough water to cover the peanuts. Once the water boils, lower the heat and simmer the peanuts for 40-45 minutes until tender. Alternatively, you can steam the peanuts.

Once the preparation is complete, mix the soaked rice and peanuts together.

Here, Cookbeo divides the mixture into two portions: 550g for steaming and 250g for cooking in a rice cooker, so you can try both methods.

Cook Peanut Sticky Rice with a Rice Cooker

First, wash the pandan leaves, then cut them into short pieces and place them at the bottom of the rice cooker. This prevents the sticky rice from sticking to the bottom and adds fragrance. If you don’t have pandan leaves, grease the bottom and sides of the rice cooker with a layer of cooking oil.

Add the rice and peanuts to the cooker, spreading them evenly, and drizzle in the coconut milk. For 250g of rice and peanuts, use about 230-240ml of coconut milk. If you prefer drier sticky rice, reduce the amount of liquid.

Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of cooking oil for extra flavor and shine. Poke a few holes in the surface with chopsticks, then cover the cooker and press the cook button.

After about 10 minutes in the warm mode, open the lid, stir the sticky rice, then cover and press the cook button again. After the second cooking cycle, wait another 10 minutes, and the sticky rice will be done. Serve and enjoy!

This method is essentially cooking sticky rice, but it tastes just as good as traditional steaming. If your rice cooker comes with a steaming basket, you can follow this method:

Add water to the cooker, filling it halfway to the steaming basket. Turn on the cook mode to bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, add the rice, peanuts, and pandan leaves (if available), and follow the same steps Cookbeo shared above. You can also place the rice in a thin mesh bag to prevent it from sticking to the basket, making cleanup easier.

Make Sesame Peanut Salt Topping

Pound 1/2 teaspoon of salt, then combine the salt and sesame seeds in a pan and toast over medium-low heat. Toast the mixture for about 3 minutes until the sesame seeds are golden and the salt is dry, without becoming too salty.

Next, add the peanuts to the pan and toast them slowly over low heat for 20-30 minutes to keep them crisp for longer.

After toasting, let the peanuts cool, rub off the skins, and crush them lightly. Then, mix them with the salt and sesame seeds, pounding the mixture until well combined.

Once cooled, store the mixture in an airtight container for later use.

If you'd like to add black sesame seeds, refer to the sesame salt recipe in this article.