Thai mango sticky rice (Printable)

Sweet mango paired with coconut-infused sticky rice offers a harmonious blend of tropical flavors.

# What You Need:

→ Sticky Rice

01 - 1 cup glutinous (sweet) rice
02 - Water, for soaking and cooking

→ Coconut Sauce

03 - 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
04 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar
05 - 1/4 teaspoon salt

→ Mango

06 - 2 large ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced

→ Garnish

07 - 2 tablespoons coconut cream (optional)
08 - 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds or mung beans (optional)

# How To Make It:

01 - Rinse the glutinous rice under cold water until the water runs clear. Soak in water for at least 4 hours or overnight.
02 - Drain the rice and steam it in a cheesecloth-lined steamer basket for 25 to 30 minutes, until tender.
03 - Combine coconut milk, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Heat gently over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Do not boil.
04 - Transfer steamed rice to a mixing bowl. Stir in three quarters of the coconut sauce to coat the rice evenly. Cover and let absorb for 10 to 15 minutes.
05 - Peel and slice the mangoes.
06 - Mound sticky rice on plates, arrange mango slices alongside, drizzle with remaining coconut sauce, and garnish with coconut cream and toasted sesame seeds or mung beans if desired.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It tastes restaurant-quality but comes together faster than you'd expect, mostly just waiting for rice to steam.
  • The contrast of warm rice against cool, silky mango is genuinely addictive—it's the kind of dessert people ask for seconds of without thinking.
  • No complicated techniques or hard-to-find ingredients; if you can steam rice and warm milk, you've got this.
02 -
  • Never skip the soaking step—unsoaked rice will cook unevenly, leaving some grains hard and others mushy, and you'll taste the difference.
  • The leftovers harden in the fridge; this is a dessert that truly must be eaten fresh, warm rice against cool fruit, or it loses its whole magic.
  • If your mangoes aren't ripe enough (they feel hard and smell neutral), leave them on the counter for a day or two rather than forcing unripe fruit; patience here pays off in sweetness.
03 -
  • If you can find or make pandan leaves, wrap them around the rice while steaming for a subtle, almost vanilla-like fragrance that feels like a restaurant secret.
  • Toast your sesame seeds or mung beans in a dry pan for just two or three minutes before sprinkling them on—the extra toastiness is worth the thirty seconds it takes.
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