In general, I was not too fond of the desserts in Thailand. They always looked a bit too colorful to me and I couldn’t get used to the taste. However, there was one dessert that I absolutely loved, and I’m not the only one: Thai Mango Sticky Rice! It’s the number one favorite backpacker snack in Thailand. When I had to leave the country after an amazing trip through Thailand, this dessert was my very last meal in Thailand. There is no better way to end a trip!
For this Thai recipe, you don’t need regular rice, but sticky rice, also known as glutinous rice. This type of rice becomes especially sticky when steamed and is widely eaten across Asia. Because the coconut milk makes the rice so sweet, it doesn’t matter if your mango is a bit sour. The sourness of the mango is a nice contrast to the sweet rice and the sweet coconut sauce. Since the textures in the dessert are all soft, the crunchy mung beans provide a nice bite.
Find all Thai recipes here.
Mango Sticky Rice Recipe
Ingredients
(2 servings)
For the sticky rice
- 200 grams of sticky rice
- 120 ml coconut milk
- 2 pandan leafs
- 80 grams of sugar
For the coconut sauce
- 80 ml coconut milk
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- pinch of salt
Garnish
- 1 mango
- 2 tbsp mungbeans
Good to know: sticky rice, pandan leaves and mung beans are available at most Asian supermarkets.
Instructions
Start by rinsing the sticky rice. Do this by putting it in a sieve and keep rinsing until the water coming out of the sieve is clear. Sticky rice needs to be soaked. The longer the better, so preferably soak your sticky rice in water overnight. If you don’t have enough time, then at least an hour will be sufficient.
Next, boil or steam the rice until tender. For cooking you need 320 ml of water for 200 grams of rice. I used a bamboo steamer basket which works incredibly well. To steam it, put the rice in a (tea) towel and place it in the top bamboo steamer. The baskets are then stacked and placed in a (frying) pan with a layer of boiling water. After about 30 minutes the rice is cooked.
In the meantime, make the sauce for the rice by heating the coconut milk with the sugar and pandan leaves on low heat. Once the sugar has melted, remove the sauce from the heat.
When the rice is ready, pour the sauce and rice together in a bowl. Stir well and let stand for about 20 to 30 minutes. You’ll see that after this time, the rice will have completely absorbed the sauce.
Coconut Sauce
Finally, make the coconut sauce by bringing the coconut milk, sugar, cornstarch and salt to a gentle boil in a saucepan. Keep stirring gently until the sauce thickens slightly.
Cut the mango into pieces and roast the mung beans in a dry hot frying pan.
Spoon the rice on a plate and sprinkle the roasted mung beans over it. Place the sliced mango next to the rice and drizzle the coconut sauce on top.
