Best Sweet Rice Flour: A Bit of History

Grown in southeast Asia and northeastern India, sweet rice is a short-grain rice that is very sticky when cooked—that’s why it is called glutinous rice (as in sticky . . . it’s not related to gluten).

Sweet rice that is ground into flour (hence sweet rice flour) is a common ingredient in baked or sweet goods from China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines. Mochi is perhaps the most common use for sweet rice flour, but it is used in many dishes worldwide. 

And here’s trivia note: yes, sweet rice was even used mortar in the construction of the Great Wall of China, according to archeological research and testing conducted in the early 2000’s. 

After doing taste tests of sweet rice flour in a mochi recipe, here are the brands we’d recommend.

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