It may come as a shock to some of you, but I lived abroad for 9 months WITHOUT A KITCHEN. I felt like a limb was missing off of my body at times, but luckily I was able to manage, mainly because going out to eat is so cheap in Asia and I was able to weasel my way into a few kitchens for cooking lessons. I was endlessly inspired by the balance of flavors, spices, colors and freshness of ingredients and I learned so much about Asian cuisine that will change the way I cook at home forever! Before returning back home to the US from India, I had to remove about half of the clothing in my backpack (priorities) in order to fit a a bag bigger than a toddler stuffed with nearly $100 worth of spices I bought in India. When my boyfriend picked me up at the airport I think he could smell me before he even saw me!
I wanted to first post a recipe for Mango Sticky Rice because it was easily my favorite Thai dessert. The fruit in Thailand is out of this world and the mangoes blew my mind - they are perfectly sweet and melt in your mouth like butter and taste amazing paired with the chewy and warm coconut sticky rice. I craved this literally every single day I was in Thailand. You could buy it at nearly any food market for 30-60 baht (just over $1), generally from a Thai person with a massive smile on their face sitting behind a cart piled high with beautiful, deep orange/yellow mangoes and a massive pot of aromatic sticky rice. Often there is even a drizzle of sweetened coconut milk to finish it off, and if you're super lucky, maybe some toasted mung beans for a little crunch. Some people even dye the rice a light blue by cooking it with butterfly pea flowers, which looks amazing next to the bright yellow mango slices. It's such a simple and fresh dessert, and it's healthier than many highly processed desserts we have in the US - not saying I don't love those as well :)
The best way to cook sticky rice is with a bamboo steamer (see note at bottom***). Before I had even arrived back to the US, I actually ordered a traditional bamboo rice steamer to my house off Amazon because I wanted to make this dessert asap after I returned home. That's love. If you are into sticky rice (or if you aren't, but trust me when you try it you will be) then you should absolutely order this. It's not expensive and you can make sticky rice for sweet and savory dishes - such as rolling a ball of it between your fingers to dip into a thick curry.....ugh. Sticky rice was one of my favorite discoveries in Asia as it is not generally available in my Thai restaurants at home and I am so happy I can now cook it easily for family and friends!
Another key thing I learned in Thailand is what products Thai people use for their cooking. Gift, my favorite Thai chef who taught me so much, showed me that Aroy-D is the best coconut milk to buy. You can find cartons or cans in the Asian market and from what I've tested it's the best quality with a true, creamy coconut flavor that works so well for this dessert and in curry dishes. Palm sugar isn't 100% necessary for this recipe and you can substitute brown sugar, but I use palm sugar that I bought at my Asian market which I love.
The glamorous and high tech bamboo rice steamer in action!
The most important part for this dish is the mangoes, so choose yours carefully! You want a mango with creamy flesh and not many stringy fibers, so your mango should be super ripe. Ideally the mangoes you want are the varieties grown in Asia which are known for these qualities and they are fully yellow in color. If you can't find these, then mangoes from Florida or Mexico with the greenish/reddish/yellowish skin are fine as well, as long as they are very ripe!
I've made this dessert multiple times and for three taste testers who had never had it before. They were weirded out by the idea of it at first, but as soon as I served it to them they all agreed it may have been one of their favorite desserts they have ever had.....and they're addicted to the sticky rice now too. I will be making this dessert for friends and family for the rest of my life and it will always remind me of my glory days living in Thailand, my favorite place in the world! Make sure if you decide to make it you prepare in advance by soaking the rice for at least 4 hours before steaming - this is necessary for that amazing chewy texture!
Mango Sticky Rice
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups uncooked sweet/glutinous rice
1 cup coconut milk
3 tbsp of palm sugar (if you like it sweet, add more)
1/4 tsp salt
2 mangoes, sliced or cubed
Optional sweetened coconut topping**:
1/3 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp palm sugar
Optional toasted sesame seeds or mung beans for topping
Directions:
- Put sticky rice in bowl and cover with 2 inches of cold water. Soak at least four hours or overnight.
- Use bamboo steamer to cook sticky rice, about 30 minutes until translucent, tender and chewy.
- While rice is cooking, bring 1 cup of coconut milk, palm sugar and salt to a boil in small saucepan then simmer and stir to dissolve sugar. Set aside and keep warm.
- Once rice is done cooking, remove from bamboo steamer and place into bowl. Pour in the coconut milk mixture and stir to coat the rice. Cover to keep warm and let sit for a few minutes for the rice to soak up the coconut milk.
- If you want an extra sweet topping, now simmer the 1/3 cup coconut milk and palm sugar in small saucepan for a minute or two until thickened slightly.
- To assemble, use a measuring cup to pack a scoop of the rice on a plate, topped with mango and the sweetened coconut milk.
**I don't generally make this because I think it is sweet enough without it but it is typically served with mango sticky rice in Thailand
