Recipes

Mango with Sticky Rice

Khao Neow Mamuang

Sweet coconut sticky rice served warm with cold ripe mango and toasted sesame

Prep

5 min

Cook

30 min

Serves

4

Heat

mild

Mango with sticky rice is likely Thailand's best-known dessert, and its appeal comes down to contrast: warm, coconut-soaked sticky rice against cold, ripe mango, finished with a sweet-salty coconut sauce and a scatter of toasted sesame seeds that pop between bites. The rice gets spread loosely with creases and pockets rather than packed flat, so the sweetened coconut milk can pool and soak in evenly without turning it soggy. A separate, thicker coconut topping, chilled until cold, gets drizzled sparingly over the top just before serving — sweet enough to read as dessert, but salty enough to keep it from feeling one-note.

Ingredients

• 3 Very ripe mangoes (peeled and sliced)
• 2 cups Glutinous rice (soaked at least 4 hours, drained and rinsed)
• 2 cups Coconut milk
• 6 tablespoons Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 teaspoons White sesame seeds (toasted)
• 1 sprig Fresh mint (optional, for garnish)
• 1 cup Coconut milk
• 6 teaspoons Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 2 teaspoons Tapioca starch

Directions

1. Soak the glutinous rice in plenty of water for at least 4 hours, then drain and rinse well. Wrap in cheesecloth.
2. Lay the rice in a steamer over water that stays below the rice level. Steam for about 20 minutes, checking for soft, sticky, translucent grains — continue steaming longer if still dry or hard.
3. While the rice steams, measure out the ingredients for the sweetened soak and the thicker topping separately.
4. In a small saucepan, stir the coconut milk for the soak together with the sugar and salt. Heat only until dissolved — do not boil.
5. Once the rice is done and still hot, spread it in a shallow bowl, using a spatula to create creases and open pockets rather than flattening it like a pancake.
6. Pour the sweetened coconut soak over the rice a little at a time, letting it puddle and soak in without making the rice soggy. Let it absorb for at least 20 minutes in a warm spot.
7. For the topping, combine the coconut milk, salt, and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat. Once the sugar melts and it starts to heat up, whisk the tapioca starch with a little water until smooth, then stir it into the pan. Keep heating gently until thickened. Pour into a bowl and chill in the refrigerator.
8. Toast the sesame seeds in a small dry pan over low heat, shaking often, until golden.
9. Peel and slice the mangoes.
10. Plate the warm sweetened rice alongside the cold sliced mango. Sprinkle the rice with toasted sesame seeds and drizzle a little of the chilled coconut topping over everything — it's sweet but also salty, so a light hand is best.
11. Garnish with mint if available.

Notes

Serve the rice warm and the mango cold — that temperature contrast is part of what makes the dish work, so avoid letting either come to the same temperature before plating.

Substitutions

Any very ripe, sweet yellow mango works if the traditional Thai variety isn't available — avoid mangoes meant to be eaten green and firm.