Khao Lam — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Sweet sticky rice mixed with coconut milk and black beans, packed into bamboo tubes and roasted over a slow fire until the rice is infused with smoky bamboo flavor. A traditional dessert and snack found at markets throughout Laos.

Ingredients

2 cups sticky rice, soaked overnight
200ml coconut milk
100g black beans, cooked
3 tablespoons palm sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh bamboo tubes
Banana leaf strips for plugging

Instructions

1 Drain the soaked sticky rice and mix with coconut milk, palm sugar, salt, and cooked black beans.
2 Pack the rice mixture into bamboo tubes, filling to about three quarters to allow for expansion.
3 Plug the open ends with banana leaf strips, pressing firmly to seal.
4 Roast the bamboo tubes over a low charcoal fire for ninety minutes, turning regularly to ensure even cooking.
5 Allow to cool slightly, then crack open the bamboo tubes to reveal the cooked rice cylinder.
6 Slice into rounds and serve warm or at room temperature as a sweet snack.

Did You Know?

The bamboo tube imparts a subtle green tea-like flavor to the rice that is impossible to replicate in any other cooking vessel, making this dish a true product of the forest.