The Best Pandan Sticky Rice (Xoi La Dua) - Cooking Therapy (2024)

Pandan Sticky Rice or Xoi La Dua is one of the prettiest variations of Xoi. This Vietnamese sticky rice is characterized by its pandan/coconut flavor and its gorgeous, vibrant green color. In this blog post, learn how to make this sticky rice recipe from scratch. Adjustments included for making this dish less sweet and varying levels of pandan flavor.

On my first trip to Vietnam when I was 6 or 7, I remember walking around Saigon in the morning with my mom, and we would always get Xoi (pronounced like “soy”) for breakfast. This Vietnamese sticky rice was the perfect morning snack to have as we got the groceries for the rest of the day. It was simple, portable, and filling. To be honest, I really did not appreciate Xoi as much I do now because I wanted an “American” breakfast, but looking back now, I feel super lucky my mom introduced me to Xoi. Now, I absolutely love it, which is why I wanted to start writing some Xoi recipes. This first one is my favorite – pandan sticky rice or Xoi La Dua.

What is Xoi?

Xoi or Vietnamese sticky rice is an important category in Vietnamese cuisine. There are a variety of flavors and colors and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The Xoi I know best are those served for dessert or breakfast like Xoi La Dua (pandan sticky rice), Xoi Lac (sticky rice with beans), and Xoi Gac (red sticky rice). But there are a variety of Xoi that are more savory and are eaten as full meals like Xoi Man (sticky rice with Chinese sausage). My family’s favorite flavor is of course pandan sticky rice. Pandan is a popular flavor for many Vietnamese desserts from pandan ice cream to pandan waffles, so it’s not surprise.

How I developed my pandan sticky rice recipe

I learned a lot about making sticky rice while making my mango sticky rice recipe, so I applied a lot of the principles of cooking sticky rice to this recipe. The main characteristics of pandan sticky rice are its coconut/pandan flavor and its vibrant green color. I soaked glutinous rice in pandan juice and pandan extract to give it its green color before steaming it to perfection. I then made a sweet coconut sauce and folded it into the cooked sticky rice with shredded coconut. Traditionally, coconut sauce is folded into the rice halfway through the steaming process, but in testing, I found it was just easier to do it at the end.

Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments

• Pandan leaves – Pandan leaves help give this sticky rice a fresh and more complex pandan flavor than just using pandan extract. Blend pandan leaves and water to create pandan juice to color and flavor the sticky rice. You can use more or less pandan leaves to adjust the pandan flavor to your tastes.
• Pandan extract – Pandan extract amplifies the pandan flavor and green color of the sticky rice. Feel free to add more or less to adjust the pandan flavor to your tastes. You can also make this recipe without the pandan extract.
• Glutinous rice – Sticky rice used for a variety of dishes in Southeast Asia. I use Three Rings sweet rice for my sticky rice recipes.
• Coconut milk – Coconut and pandan flavors go hand in hand, and sticky rice is typically flavored with sweet coconut milk. I would recommend using Thai coconut milk because I have tried coconut milk found in Western grocery stores, and the taste and consistency are not the same.
• Granulated sugar – Adds sweetness to the coconut sauce. Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to your tastes.
• Salt – Brings out the flavor of the other ingredients.
• Shredded coconut (optional) – I love seeing flecks of coconut in my rice, but feel free to leave it out.

How to make homemade pandan sticky rice

Make your pandan juice

First, add 12 pandan leaves and 1 cup of water to a blender. Blend until a smooth consistency. Strain the pandan juice with a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Add 1/8 tsp of pandan extract to the bowl and mix. Rinse 1 cup of glutinous rice until the water runs clear (4-5 times). Add the rice to the bowl with the pandan juice. Let the rice soak for 4 hours or overnight.

Steam your sticky rice

Prep your steamer by bringing water to a simmer and adding the steamer insert. Place a sheet of parchment paper on top of the steamer insert. I like to poke holes in the parchment paper to help the steam come through. Drain the rice and pour onto the steamer insert. Cover and steam for 40 minutes.

While the rice is steaming, make your coconut sauce. Combine 1/4 cup of coconut milk, 2 tbsp of granulated sugar, and 1/4 tsp of salt in a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar melts and remove from the heat. Once the rice is done steaming, pour the coconut sauce over the top with 1 tbsp of shredded coconut (optional). Mix until all the rice is coated in the sauce. Let it sit for 10 minutes to absorb.

Plating the pandan sticky rice

Lastly, make your sesame seed topping. Toast 1 tbsp of sesame seeds and grind in a mortar and pestle. I like to use the back of a spoon or knife. Add 1/2 tsp of granulated sugar and 1 pinch of salt and mix. Now it’s time to serve your sticky rice! Spoon the sticky rice into a bowl. Top with sesame seed topping and 1 tbsp of shredded coconut (optional).

Can I make this recipe with a rice cooker?

You CAN but that doesn’t mean you should. I find that using a rice cooker makes the results inconsistent. Every rice cooker is different, so it’s hard to know how much water to add without testing it. This means your rice will either be too mushy or too dry. I have seen a lot of mushy sticky rice made using a rice cooker. Using a steamer yields more consistent results.

If you want to use a rice cooker, I would recommend using a rice cooker with a steamer basket and steaming the rice in the steamer basket. Another thing you could do is test the sticky rice a few times in your rice cooker, so you know the exact ratio of rice to water. There are also nicer rice cookers with a sticky rice/sweet rice option in their settings which means it can cook sticky rice accurately. I would generally recommend a 1:1 ratio to start for sticky rice cooked in a rice cooker. Test out a batch and adjust accordingly. Add more water if the rice seems too dry or less if it seems too mushy.

How to store pandan sticky rice

Store pandan sticky rice at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If your home is too hot, store in the fridge, and then reheat the sticky rice for 10-20 seconds to get it up to room temperature before serving.

Did you make this dish?

If you made this dish, I would love to see!

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