Sweet fragrant sticky rice mango (Printable Version)

Sweet sticky rice soaked in coconut milk, paired with ripe mango slices and a luscious coconut topping.

# What You'll Need:

→ Rice

01 - 1 cup glutinous sticky rice
02 - Water for soaking and steaming

→ Coconut Sauce

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

→ Topping

06 - 1/3 cup coconut milk
07 - 1 tablespoon sugar
08 - Pinch of salt
09 - 1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 2 teaspoons water, optional for thickening

→ Fruit

10 - 2 ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, and sliced

→ Garnish

11 - 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds or mung beans, optional

# Directions:

01 - Rinse sticky rice under cold running water until water runs clear. Soak rice in water for at least 4 hours or overnight.
02 - Drain rice and steam over boiling water in a cheesecloth-lined steamer basket for 25 to 30 minutes until tender and translucent.
03 - Combine 1 cup coconut milk, 4 tablespoons sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a saucepan. Heat gently while stirring until sugar dissolves completely. Do not boil.
04 - Transfer cooked rice to a mixing bowl. Pour warm sweetened coconut milk over rice and stir to combine. Cover and allow to absorb for 15 minutes.
05 - Mix 1/3 cup coconut milk, 1 tablespoon sugar, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan. If thickening is desired, add cornstarch slurry. Cook over medium heat while stirring until slightly thickened.
06 - Mound portions of sticky rice onto serving plates. Arrange mango slices alongside rice. Drizzle with coconut topping sauce and garnish with toasted sesame seeds or mung beans if desired.

# Expert Hints:

01 -
  • It tastes like a restaurant-quality dessert but comes together in less than an hour once your rice finishes soaking.
  • The contrast between cool mango and silky warm rice with that drizzle of coconut sauce hits differently every single time.
  • One batch easily feeds four people, making it perfect for impressing guests without sweating over a hot stove.
02 -
  • Glutinous rice is absolutely essential—regular rice will disappoint you, and I learned this the hard way by trying to stretch a batch with jasmine rice that turned out grainy and wrong.
  • Hot rice absorbs the coconut sauce far better than cooled rice, so don't let it sit around before pouring the mixture over it.
  • The quality of your mangoes matters more than anything else in this recipe, so taste one at the store if the vendor allows it, and wait for peak season if you can.
03 -
  • Invest in a bamboo steamer if you make this more than once—it distributes heat more evenly than a metal steamer basket and genuinely produces better results.
  • Save any leftover warm coconut sauce and drizzle it over vanilla ice cream or fresh pineapple for a quick second dessert the next day.
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