Roasted Rice Powder (Khao Khua)

Roasted rice powder, or “Khao Khua” ( ข้าวคั่ว ), is an essential ingredient for many Thai salads. That’s why I’ve dedicated a separate article to its preparation. The original recipe comes from the Thai cooking course with Tuk in Bangkok that Anne and I attended years ago. In addition to sticky rice, several spices are also used.

Preparation

First, peel and roughly chop the galangal. Then remove the lime leaves from their stems and cut them into thin strips. Finally, cut the lemongrass into rings.

Then roast everything together in a flat pan without oil, stirring constantly.

Once the rice has turned golden yellow, remove the pan from the heat and put the entire pan contents into a mortar and process into a powder.

You can determine the final texture yourself - I personally prefer the powder to be slightly coarser, but that’s a matter of taste.

The finished powder can be stored for several days and used for multiple Thai salads.