Toasted rice powder substitutes

Put raw uncooked glutinous rice in a dry skillet over medium-low heat and stir or shake constantly for 8 to 12 minutes until the grains turn deep tan and the kitchen smells like popcorn. Cool completely, then pound in a mortar or pulse in a spice grinder to a coarse sand, not a flour.

Best for

larb, nam tok, nam prik dips, Lao and Isan salads

This is khao khua, not an approximation, and nothing else on the list matches it. Two things go wrong for people: pulling it too early, which leaves a raw pasty taste, and grinding it to flour, which loses the slight grit that keeps larb from turning to mush. Aim for the colour of a well-toasted almond. It keeps about a month in a sealed jar before the aroma fades, so make small batches.

Toast and grind plain long-grain jasmine rice exactly as above. Most people have this in the cupboard even when they do not have sticky rice.

Best for

larb, nam tok, dipping sauces, everyday use

The aroma is close to identical, because the popcorn smell comes from toasting rather than from the variety. What changes is the clinging: jasmine rice has more amylose and slightly less of the sticky starch, so the dressing coats the meat a little less tightly and the larb feels marginally wetter. A completely acceptable everyday swap and what many home cooks outside Thailand actually use.

Any raw white rice can be toasted and ground. Short-grain and sushi rice are closest to sticky rice in starch and give the best cling; basmati is the furthest away.

Best for

larb, nam tok, salads, soups

Toasted basmati brings its own perfumed, slightly tea-like aroma that reads as unfamiliar in an Isan salad, so use short-grain if you have a choice. In all cases the toasted grain smell dominates and the difference between varieties is subtle compared with the difference between toasted and untoasted.

Already ground, so it only needs toasting. Stir it in a dry pan over medium-low for 4 to 6 minutes until it turns tan and smells nutty, watching closely because ground rice scorches far faster than whole grains.

Best for

larb, nam tok, thickening a dressing, last-minute cooking

The fastest legitimate option. The aroma is good, and it thickens the lime and fish sauce dressing just like khao khua does. What you lose is the texture: the particles are uniform and fine, so instead of a pleasant sandy grit on the meat you get a slightly powdery coating. Add roughly 20 percent less than the recipe says, since fine particles absorb liquid more aggressively.

Toast plain rice flour or glutinous rice flour in a dry pan for 3 to 5 minutes until pale tan and nutty. Glutinous rice flour gives better cling.

Best for

thickening only, dressings, soupy larb

This covers one of the three jobs. It thickens the dressing so it clings to the meat, and it contributes a light toasted aroma, but the grit is completely gone, so the finished larb feels smooth and slightly chalky where it should feel textured. Use it when the alternative is nothing, and stir it in off the heat so it does not clump.

Grind plain unsalted rice crackers, unseasoned puffed rice cakes or plain senbei to a coarse crumb. An honest emergency measure.

Best for

texture only, larb, salads

You get grit and a mild toasted-rice flavour, but the crackers are already cooked and puffed so they do not thicken the dressing, and any salt, seaweed or seasoning in them will show up in the dish. Read the label. The result is recognisably in the right family and clearly not the real thing.