How to Cook Blue Jasmine Rice
This is an authentic Thai rice cooking technique. Thais are very artsy and we love to beautify and elevate our everyday jasmine rice into something prettier, using color from herbs we grow in our garden. With these tips you can make blue jasmine rice at home.
Make 4 cups
2 cups water
2 tablespoons Thaimee dried butterfly pea flower
2 cups jasmine rice
Step 1 Make the blue liquid
Brew the dried butterfly pea flower with off-the-boil water for about 10 mins. Squeeze out as much color as possible by hand, strain out the liquid and discard the pea flower.
Step 2 Mix the rice and the blue liquid.
Wash, rinse and drain the jasmine rice well and transfer into a medium size pot. Pour in the blue liquid. Cover the pot with a lid. Turn on the stove to a high heat, bring it to a boil.
Step 3 Let it steam
Once boiling, lower the heat to medium low. Let the pot steam until all the water has evaporated, about 10 - 15 mins. The blue rice that remains should be fluffy and ready to serve.
Alternatively use a rice cooker.
Notes:
Here are some examples of herbs that Thai people use to cook rice into other colors. We get blue from butterfly pea flowers (Dok Aunchun), green from pandan leaves, and yellow from turmeric.
Butterfly pea tea has a very subtle flavor. If you like, you can add an aromatic layer such as bruised lemongrass or ginger.