Ice Cream Sticky Rice sounds weird, but don't knock it until you try it!
Rice and Ice cream seem like a strange combination. But trust me, it works really well! The sweetness of the ice cream perfectly complements the warmth and chewiness of the rice, makes me want to drool every time I think of it!
When I was in high school in Hanoi, there was a shop that sells this dish and I used to go there with my friends all the time. The owner of the shop is an immigrant from Thailand who built the shop more than 10 years ago. Now they still sell it at the same price of 15,000 VND (~0,5€). Even after living abroad for few years, I still go to the same store every time I go home to visit my family. As I cannot go home this year due to the pandemic this year, recreating this dish brings me back home and fills me up with nostalgia and memories of my youth.
Below is my version of the dish. I have tried this recipe a couple of times to share with you the closest recipe to the original.
Key Ingredients
The sticky rice is super creamy, full of pandan and coconut flavor that just melts in your mouth. It uses glutinous rice and soaks it in the pandan liquid for at least 4 hours. This will allow the rice to absorb the green color and pandan flavor, at the same time reducing the cooking time. You can get pandan leaves and glutinous rice in most Asian supermarkets.
Cooking the glutinous rice
When making this recipe, you can use either a rice cooker or a steamer. Since the rice has been soaked, you just need to use enough coconut milk to cover the surface of the rice.
I hope you give this one a try and let me know what you think!
Print📖 Recipe
Kem Xôi - Ice Cream Sticky Rice
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
One of my favorite Thai desserts that I used to get at a street vendor in Vietnam. It's a heavenly combination of flavorful aromas of the pandan, the creaminess of the coconut milk and sweetness of the ice cream!
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 200 g glutinous rice
- 50 g pandan leaves (6-7 leaves fresh or frozen)
- 20 ml water
- 250 ml coconut milk (preferably full-fat)
- 200 g coconut ice cream (can be substituted with vanilla or other neutral flavour ice cream)
Optional Toppings
- coconut flakes
- roasted peanuts
Instructions
To make the pandan liquid
- Cut the pandan leaves into thin slides and blend with water.
- Strain the mixture and only keep the liquid.
To make the sticky rice
- Wash the glutinous rice and soak it over night with the pandan liquid or for at least 4 hours. This will help the rice turn brightly green and absorb the pandan flavour.
- After soaking the rice, drain the liquid.
- If you cook the rice in the rice cooker, add in the coconut milk and a pint of salt. The rice should be ready in 20-30 minutes.
- If you cook the rice in the steamer, cook the rice with water at the bottom. In the last 5 minutes, mix the rice with the coconut milk.
To serve
- Roast some coconut flakes on a pan on medium heat until brown.
- Add some sticky rice to a bowl, add one or two spoonfuls of ice cream and top the dish with the roasted coconut flakes and crushed peanuts. Enjoy!
Notes
You can store the leftover sticky rice in the fridge for up to 4 days, and the recipe also freezes well.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Snack
- Cuisine: thailand, vietnamese
Jenna says
Hello, it's me again, but this time I didn't make the recipe yet; rather, I have a question about it. How would I go about making the sticky rice if I were to use an Instant Pot? Would I use the rice cooker or steamer method? Thanks in advance.
Veggie Anh says
Thanks so much for your question, Jenna! You can use the rice cooker method, but with less cooking time. I hope that helps!
Anh
Stefanie Shih says
Hi!! Do you have the name of the shop back in Vietnam? Would love to go check it out!
Veggie Anh says
Thanks for your question. Yes, it's called Kem Xôi Chè Thái Lan in Giang Vo street in Hanoi! 😀
https://www.foody.vn/ha-noi/kem-xoi-che-thai-lan-giang-vo