Transform the soft, sticky rice to the most crispy rice crackers with a cane sugar syrup.
Rice cracker, Khao Kho, ເຂົ້າໂຄບ
Khao Khop
A perfect combination of slightly salty from sticky rice and sweetness from cane sugar. Khao khop is a Lao snack, and every bite was top tier. Khao khop is made from glutinous rice which is soaked for many hours and steamed with abnormal techniques. After it steams, shape the rice to be a circle by using a wooden ring mold and use fingers to gently spread the rice. The circular rice shape on the threshing basket has been dry by the sunlight for more than a day to have a crunchy and crispy texture. Khao khop uses great skill and time precision to stay in a circle shape. Besides, frying the rice is also the key to making the ultimate Khao Khop.
From my experience, I admit that making Khao khop seems to be easy but also hard at the same time, especially the complexity of steaming the rice and shaping the rice. I remember I got scolded by the expert, my mom, for pressing the rice too hard, but it was a nice moment. Remember doing this recipe, Get your family, friend, and loved ones to shape the rice together.
Where to buy: local market and roadside vendors in Laos. Additional, mini mart, Dmart, and Jmart in Vientiane.
Ingredients
500g Glutinous rice
1L Water
3 tablespoon Salt
120g Cane sugar
1 teaspoon water
Oil (coconut oil or cooking oil)
Material
Sticky rice steamer
Bowl
Circle cookie cutter (ring mold)
Threshing basket
Directions
Sticky Rice
Put glutinous rice into a bowl. Wash it 3 times by rubbing with your two hands and draining the water out.
After washing the rice, fill it with water and soak it for at least 10 hours or overnight.
You can steam the rice on the gas burner or charcoal stove (it is up to your preference). Fill the water about 4 inches in the steel pot and heat it up. Transfer all the rice that has been soaked to the bamboo basket. Cover with the lid and put on the pot.
Let it steam for about 20-25 minutes and check if the rice grain has risen up as it points to something. Toss the rice to make it cooked. Let it cook for about 15 minutes. No need to worry about the rice not having been cooked because we do not overcook and undercook it and some of it is still left in the basket when it is time for the shaping process.
During the 15 minutes, prepare saltwater by adding salt into the water in the bowl. While mixing the water, you need to keep tasting the water to have a just-right taste, not too salty and less salty. Put the non-stick flat tray and cookie-cutter in the saltwater. Make sure to clean the threshing basket with a damp cloth.
After 15 minutes pass, toss the rice one more time and scoop it with a wooden spatula about half of it into a bowl. Put the basket with the remaining rice back on the pot. With a wooden spoon, scoop a small amount of saltwater at a time into the rice bowl. Gently mix while adding the saltwater until there is no chuck of rice.
Work fast and get your family and friends! Put the steel flat tray and cookie-cutter in front of you. Transfer about ¼ cup of rice into the cookie cutter. Use only the thumb and index finger from both hands to spread the rice inside the cookie cutter. Gently spread the rice evenly to fit the circle. Make sure it is not thick or thin, and use your hand to drop a bit of saltwater while shaping the rice to help it spread easier.
Hold the cookie cutter and slide it on the threshing basket. Keep shaping until there is no rice left.
Once finished shaping the rice, place the threshing basket in the sunlight to make it dry and more crispy. The dry process can last up to 2 days.
Once the rice is entirely dried, transfer it to the container to store and fry it.
Let fry!
In a small pot, pour oil about 2 and a half inches and heat it on high heat.
Reduce the heat to low or medium heat (depending on the burner) when it is super hot. Tests with a small chunk of dry rice also help knowing when the pot is hot.
Add dried rice into the pot. After putting it on, use a tong to spin the rice to help it grow double the size. Estimate fry about 20-30 seconds.
Once the rice is turned into a light brown and double its size, transfer it into the colander with paper to remove the excess oil.
Keep frying the rice in the amount you want to eat.
Glaze
Add the coconut sugar and a teaspoon of water into a pan on high heat. Mix with a spoon and let the sugar completely dissolve. Turn off the heat.
Place the fried rice on your non-dominant hand and drizzle the glaze in a circular motion on the rice.
Repeat this method with the remaining fried rice.
Enjoy!
Storage
The remaining cane sugar can be poured on the baking sheet and let cool until it becomes solid. Store it in the fridge or a dry place. For the dry rice cracker, you can keep it in the container and dry place.
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