Glutinous Rice Flour Substitute
Glutinous rice flour, also known as sweet rice flour, is a type of rice flour that is obtained after dehydrated long or short grain rice kernels are ground into flour. Sometimes, other types of rice are used like the Asian sticky short-grained rice.
Despite its name, glutinous rice flour does not contain gluten, which makes it good for those who are choosing to eat healthily. The word “glutinous” is said to refer to the glue-like and very sticky feeling of the flour when it is cooked.
Glutinous rice flour is said to be flavorless and free of any sweet taste. When cooked, the flour has a sticky and chewy texture, making it stretch when eaten. This makes it to be used as a thickener when making sauces and other dishes.
Over the years, glutinous rice flour has been popularly used when making Japanese mochi, Chinese pumpkin cake, rice cake, dumplings, chewy noodles(see substitutes for yakisoba noodles), mochi donuts, rice balls, sesame balls, and many more. It is also used to prepare batter for deep frying so you can get a crispy surface. What happens when you want to make any of these recipes and discover you’ve run out of glutinous rice flour, you would need substitutes for glutinous rice flour. These glutinous rice flour substitute are what I would sharing in this article.
What makes a substitute good is the ability to reproduce the same result or even better and also retain the same or better nutritional benefits as the original ingredients, the nice thing about all these glutinous rice flour substitutes is that they all meet these two requirements. Making them excellent substitutes for glutinous rice flour.
Glutinous Rice Flour Substitute
Below are the most reliable substitutes for glutinous rice flour that you can never go wrong with in most recipes that require glutinous rice flour.
Tapioca Flour
Tapioca flour is another type of flour that you can use as a substitute for glutinous rice flour when making any recipe. Tapioca flour is obtained from the storage roots of a species of cassava plant called manihot esculenta. It is native to Brazil but is now a common plant throughout South America. It is also a popular food eaten by millions of people in tropical countries around the world.
Tapioca flour is also called tapioca starch so don’t be convinced if you see the other. Just like glutinous rice flour, tapioca flour is also gluten-free so those who eat healthily can still use it.
Tapioca flour has a sticky and glue-like consistency with a mildly sweet flavor. This is quite similar to glutinous rice flour except that tapioca flour is not as sweet.
Tapioca flour is very versatile and over the years, it has been used when making pao de queijo, or Brazilian cheese bread. Just like glutinous rice flour, tapioca flour can also be used as a thickener for sauces, soups, puddings, and stews.
Tapioca flour provides only carbohydrate food value and is low in protein, vitamins, and minerals, this is something you should keep in mind.
When using tapioca flour as a substitute, use the same quantity as you would glutinous rice flour. For example, one cup of tapioca flour should be used instead of one cup of glutinous rice flour.
Potato Starch
Potato starch is another substitute for glutinous rice flour that you can consider when making a recipe.
As the name says, this is the starch extracted from potatoes. To get this, you have to crush the potatoes and then get the starch grains that are released from the destroyed cells. The starch is then left to settle before being dried to powder.
Potato starch is also gluten-free just like glutinous rice flour so it is good for those who eat healthily. It has a white color with a flour-like consistency when it is raw.
Potato starch is known to be a good source of carbohydrates, potassium, dietary fiber, magnesium, and vitamin B6, all of which are useful nutrients that the human body needs.
Over the years, it has been used when making muffins, quick bread recipes, and as a coating for frying foods like chicken and fish so it can have a crispy surface. It can also be used as a thickener in a variety of recipes like soups, sauces, stews, and gravies.
When using potato starch as a glutinous rice flour substitute, use the same quantity as you would have used glutinous rice flour, and you can choose to add a little sugar to improve the taste of your recipe.
Almond Flour
Almond flour is a type of flour that is obtained from ground almonds. To get this flour, the almonds first have to be made pale by keeping them in boiling water and then removing the skin. After that, the almonds are kept in a grinder and then pulsed to get a fine flour.
Almond flour is one of the options for you to consider when looking for a replacement for glutinous rice flour in many recipes. It is gluten-free just like glutinous rice flour but has a less sticky consistency and is not as sweet. Almond flour can be used when making pancakes, cookies, pasta, and macarons. It can also be used to coat fish or chicken before frying so as to have a crispy surface.
Almond flour is rich in vitamin E, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, calcium, iron, protein, and other antioxidants. All of these are good for the body and have numerous health benefits.
When using almond flour as a mochi flour substitute, take one and a half cups of almond flour for every cup of glutinous rice flour. Also, it may not do a good enough job at being a thickener due to it having a less thick consistency.
Cornstarch
Cornstarch, also known as maize starch or cornflour, is a type of flour that is obtained from the starch derived from corn grain. This starch is then ground and turned into a very fine white powder with a chalky appearance that is known as cornstarch.
Cornstarch is another great option for you to consider if you’re looking for a substitute for glutinous rice flour when making any recipe.
Cornstarch is gluten-free in its natural form, it is rich in carbs and offers negligible amounts of other nutrients like vitamins and minerals.
Cornstarch is commonly used when making corn syrup and other sugars. It is used as a thickener for soups, sauces, gravy, and stews. It is also used to coat the outer layer of chicken when frying to make it absorb more oil and have a crispy surface.
When using this, take the same amount of cornstarch as you would glutinous rice flour. One thing to note is that cornstarch is best as a substitute if you were to use glutinous rice flour as a thickener.
Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is a white powder that is obtained from coconuts, it is usually a byproduct of coconut milk and coconut oil. Coconut flour is obtained after coconut flesh is dehydrated and then ground finely into a flour-like substance that can be used for many things.
Coconut flour is a good enough substitute for glutinous rice flour when making any recipe.
Coconut flour is gluten-free and it is a good source of protein, potassium, and iron. It is also rich in fiber which is needed by the body.
When compared to glutinous rice flour, coconut flour is not as sticky so you need to add more water to it before it can be used as a thickener in recipes. On the other hand, it works well to give fried foods like chicken a very crispy surface.
Over the years, coconut flour has been used when making cupcakes, bread, cookies, and other baked foods. Just so you know, it has a mild coconut-like flavor that you might taste in your food, if you don’t mind that, you can use this.
Coconut flour is also sweeter than glutinous rice flour so you need to watch the amount of sugar you’d add when you use it as a substitute for glutinous rice flour. Use one and a half cups of coconut flour for every cup of glutinous rice flour.
Sorghum Flour
Sorghum flour is a type of flour that is obtained from sorghum, a cereal grain. To get this flour, whole grain kernels of sorghum are finely ground to get a beige flour-like substitute.
Sorghum flour has a mild and slightly sweet flavor with a very smooth texture, similar to that of glutinous rice flour and all-purpose flour.
Sorghum flour is another option for you to consider when looking for a substitute for glutinous rice flour when making any recipe. Sorghum flour is gluten-free and it has been used for making pancakes, cakes, bread, brownies, cookies, muffins, waffles, and all kinds of other baked goods.
Sorghum flour is also very rich in nutrients like fiber, potassium, iron, and magnesium, all of which the human body needs. And this makes it a really healthy and reliable glutinous rice flour substitute.
In comparison to glutinous rice flour, sorghum flour is not as sticky so you have to use more water in your recipe if you want a sticky consistency.
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