Glutinous rice substitutes

The identical grain sold under Japanese, Filipino or generic labels.

Best for

mango sticky rice, steamed sticky rice to eat with grilled meat and som tam, Thai desserts of any kind

This is not really a substitute, it is the same ingredient with different words on the bag, and it is worth checking before you settle for anything else. Look for mochigome in a Japanese shop, malagkit in a Filipino one, gao nep in a Vietnamese one, and sweet rice or glutinous rice in a Chinese or Thai one. Japanese mochigome is short-grain and cooks a little softer and pastier, which is why it suits mochi; Thai long-grain khao niao steams into more distinct chewy grains. Both work for mango sticky rice. The bags are usually large and cheap and the rice keeps for years in the cupboard, so if you cook this at all often, buy it rather than substituting again next time.

The stickiest rice in an ordinary supermarket.

Best for

mango sticky rice, rice puddings, any dessert where the rice is served in a spoonable mound

Cook it, do not steam it. Rinse it two or three times, use slightly less water than the packet says, and let it rest covered for 10 minutes after it is done. The result is genuinely sticky and holds together, but it is softer and creamier and never gets the springy, chewy pull of real khao niao. Do not use it if the plan is to eat the rice with your fingers in balls, because it will not hold.

A short fat Italian rice with a lot of surface starch.

Best for

mango sticky rice at a push, coconut rice pudding, when the only rice in the house is risotto rice

All that surface starch means it goes cohesive and gluey, which is what you want here even though it is the opposite of what you want in a risotto. Do not stir it. The grains stay more distinct than sticky rice and can be slightly chalky in the centre if you undercook them, so give it the full time and a 10 minute rest. Under sweet coconut cream it tastes better than you would expect.

A short-grain rice given some borrowed stretch.

Best for

getting closest to real sticky rice with supermarket ingredients, mango sticky rice, sticky rice desserts with a glossy finish

This is the best trick on the page. Dissolving a spoonful of glutinous rice flour or tapioca starch into the water coats the grains and adds gloss and elasticity, which pushes the texture meaningfully closer to khao niao. Do not overdo it: two tablespoons per cup turns the whole thing into a gummy paste. Whisk it in cold water before the rice goes in so it does not clump.

The purple-black sticky rice used in Thai and Filipino desserts.

Best for

Thai and Lao sticky rice desserts, black sticky rice pudding, a nuttier, chewier result

A real option rather than a fallback, and traditional in its own right. Black glutinous rice is chemically the right rice, so the cling and chew are correct, but the bran layer makes it chewier, nuttier and slower to cook, and it stains everything it touches deep purple, including the coconut cream. Blending it half and half with white short-grain rice is the useful trick: it softens the chew, speeds the cooking and gives you a marbled violet rather than an inky black result. Soak it overnight, not four hours, and do not use it anywhere a white result matters.

The rice most people already have, and the one that will disappoint.

Best for

coconut rice pudding served with mango, when there is genuinely no other rice, savoury use, where it is excellent

Worth saying clearly, because this is the most common attempt: long-grain jasmine rice is high in amylose and cooks into separate fluffy grains, and no amount of extra water, less rinsing or longer cooking will make it sticky. It just gets wet. If it is all you have, lean into it: cook it soft in coconut milk with sugar and salt, and serve it as a coconut rice pudding with mango. That is a lovely dessert, and it is not khao niao mamuang.