Mango Sticky Rice
A classic Thai dessert that you'll find at most Asian dessert cafes! It's surprisingly simple but so delicious. The fragrance of the sweet rice with the coconut milk is really smething else. I pulled this recipe from smelly lunchbox (https://smellylunchbox.com/mango-sticky-rice/), and I was delighted at how well this turned out! The biggest draw was cooking the rice in a rice cooker, instead of the traditional soak + steam method. It also recommends creating two coconut sauces: one sweet, one salty, which was a nice addition. Definitely recommend giving it a try sometime when mangoes are in season (as you can probably tell from my picture, they were not; hence the unappealing pale color of the mangoes)
Active Time: 30 min
Total Time: 1 hr 30 min
Ingredients
For the coconut sticky rice + sweet coconut sauce:
> sweet rice (1 cup)
> coconut milk (1 1/4 cup)
> sugar (1/4 cup)
> salt (1/8 tsp)
salty coconut sauce:
> coconut milk (3/4 cup)
> sugar (1 tbsp)
> salt (1/8 tsp)
> corn starch (1 tsp) + water (1 tsp)
putting everything together:
> mangoes (3-4, depending on how big they are)
> sesame seeds (optional, for topping)
Instructions
1. Cook the sweet rice in a rice cooker with a 1:1 ratio of rice and water (i.e. 1 cup of water for 1 cup of sweet rice)
2. Prepare the sweet coconut sauce by heating the coconut milk, sugar, and salt until sugar is fully dissolved. You can do this in a pan over the stovetop, or in the microwave.
3. Mix the sweet coconut sauce with the sticky rice. Mix well, cover, and set aside for the rice to absorb the sauce. It will look like too much liquid, but it'll continue to absorb as it sits. Let sit for at least 30m.
4. Prepare the salty coconut sauce. First, mix together the corn starch and water in a small bowl until fully incorporated. Heat the coconut milk, sugar, salt, and corn starch slurry in a pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for a couple of minutes. It should thicken slightly. Set aside to cool.
5. Put everything together! Arrange however you prefer. Prepare a bed of coconut sticky rice, fresh sliced mangoes, and top with salty coconut sauce. Optionally top with sesame seeds.
Notes/Tips:
> Sweet rice is also known as glutinous rice. When cooked, it becomes very sticky. It's typically a rice from southeast Asia and short-grained. You should be able to find it in your local Asian grocery store.
> The rice is traditionally soaked for hours and steamed. In practice, cooking it in a rice cooker works just as well and saves a lot of hassle.
> When you mix the sweet coconut sauce with the sticky rice, it'll probably look like way too much liquid. That's normal! The sweet rice will continue to absorb the sauce as it sits, so make sure to give it time to sit and absorb!
> See https://smellylunchbox.com/mango-sticky-rice/ for inspiration for how to arrange everything together!