Yoghurt with black sticky rice

I love the texture of black sticky rice; it retains a lovely chewy bite after cooking that contrasts beautifully with the silky yoghurt.

Credit: Chris Middleton

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Feel free to add any fresh fruit you like to this dish. Ripe mango is a firm Vietnamese favourite that works particularly well.

Ingredients

• 350 g (12 oz) glutinous black rice, soaked in cold water overnight
• 2 pandan leaves
• 60 g (2 oz) grated palm sugar pinch of sea salt

Vietnamese yoghurt

• 295 g (13½ oz) tin condensed milk
• 60 g (2 oz/¼ cup) natural yoghurt
• boiling water

This recipe needs to be started 1 day in advance to soak the rice and prepare the yoghurt.

Instructions

1. Pour the condensed milk into a large bowl. Fill the condensed milk tin with hot water and add to the condensed milk. Add another tin of hot water followed by a tin of room temperature water. Whisk until well combined, then whisk in the yoghurt. Strain the mixture into 12 individual serving jars or one large glass jar. Seal.

2. Place the jars in a large saucepan and pour enough boiling water into the pan to come three-quarters of the way up the side of the jars. Cover and set aside for 8 hours or, preferably, overnight.

3. Remove the jars from the pan, and set aside in the fridge until set and completely chilled.

4. Drain and rinse the rice, then place in a large saucepan with the pandan leaves and 1 litre (34 fl oz/4 cups) water. Set over medium–high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, then stir through the palm sugar and salt and cook for a further 20 minutes, or until the rice is soft with a gentle bite and the water is absorbed. Transfer the rice to a bowl and set aside in the fridge until cool.

5. Spoon the sticky rice into tall glasses and top with the Vietnamese yoghurt. Serve.

Recipe from Street Food Vietnam by Jerry Mai, Smith Street Books, RRP $39.99

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Feel free to add any fresh fruit you like to this dish. Ripe mango is a firm Vietnamese favourite that works particularly well.