Organic black sticky rice.

This is black glutinous rice, khao niao dam in Thai. The bran is a deep purple-black and stays on the grain, so it looks black in the bag and cooks to a dark purple. Like white sticky rice it turns sticky and clings together when cooked, but it's chewier, with a nutty, faintly sweet taste. In Thailand it's mostly a dessert rice, the one behind the black sticky rice with coconut cream sold at markets.

Ways to use it

• Simmer it slowly in water until soft, then add sugar and serve warm with salted coconut cream, as khao niao dam piak.
• Steam it, then sweeten it with coconut milk and top it with ripe mango.
• Mix a little into white sticky rice before steaming, for a speckled purple colour.
• Wrap sweetened cooked black sticky rice in banana leaves with banana or taro and steam it.

Soak it in water for at least 4 hours or overnight first, because the bran slows the water getting in. Drain, then steam it in a cloth-lined steamer for about 40 minutes, or simmer it in plenty of water for a soft dessert. The soaking water turns purple. That's the colour of the bran.

Storing it

The bran makes it go stale sooner than polished rice. Keep it sealed in a cool, dry place away from sun and insects, and use it by the best-before date on the pack.

Where it comes from

Grown to certified organic standards. The certificate for each lot is shown when you trace your pack.

Every pack will carry a lot code. Enter it on the Trace your pack page and you will see the farms in that lot, the packing date and the certificate.