Cooking in
South Australia
Thai · Thailand
Mango Sticky Rice
Khao niao mamuang (mango sticky rice) is Thailand's most celebrated dessert: glutinous rice steamed and sweetened with coconut milk, served alongside perfectly ripe mango slices and a drizzle of salted coconut cream. The mango must be Nahm Dok Mai (the Thai variety with a honey-like sweetness) at peak ripeness. The sticky rice must be just cooked, warm, and fully saturated with sweetened coconut milk. The salted coconut cream on top provides the contrast that makes the dessert complete.
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I
The Market List
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200 g
sweet sticky rice
glutinous rice
Origin · Thailand
400 ml
coconut milk
full-fat
Origin · Sri Lankan coconut (Coconut Research Institute of Sri Lanka), Sri Lanka
75 g
palm sugar
or to taste
Origin · Indonesia
5 ml
salt
Your own market
2
ripe Ataulfo or Nam Doc Mai mangoes
peeled, pitted, sliced lengthwise
30 ml
vegetable oil
2 tablespoons
sesame seeds
white, toasted
II
The Method
1
Rinse sticky rice under cold water until water runs clear; drain.
2
Cook rice in rice cooker or pot with 240 ml water until just tender and grains are sticky, 15–18 minutes; let rest 5 minutes covered.
3
While rice cooks, combine coconut milk, palm sugar, and salt in small saucepan over medium heat; warm gently, stirring until sugar dissolves, 3 minutes; do not boil.
From the canon — Fresh coconut milk — extracted from freshly grated coconut flesh rather than purchased in a can — and the technique of 'cracking' it: heating the thick, fat-… Coconut Milk: Cracking, Frying, Reducing →
4
Transfer hot rice to bowl; pour half the coconut syrup over rice; fold gently with rubber spatula until evenly absorbed, 2–3 minutes.
5
Arrange mango slices on serving plate; mound warm coconut rice alongside.
From the canon — Jasmine rice cooked in a mixture of thin coconut milk and water — the coconut milk's fat and sugar providing a subtle enrichment to the cooked rice without m… Coconut Rice (Khao Man Mamuang Base) →
6
Drizzle remaining warm coconut syrup over rice and mango; sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds; serve warm or at room temperature.
III
Sensory Tests
◇Where it lives or dies. The moment where mango sticky rice lives or dies is the mango selection. An unripe mango makes the dessert unpleasant. The correct mango should be fragrant at the stem end, yielding slightly to pressure, and devoid of any green areas. In Thailand, the vendor knows when the mango is at its peak — at a Thai market, point at the mango and ask. In a supermarket: smell first, press second, look third.
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V
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