Facts About Mango sticky rice
Mango sticky rice is a traditional Thai dessert made with glutinous rice, fresh mango and coconut milk, and eaten with a spoon or sometimes the hands. Although originating in Thailand, it is consumed throughout the Indochina region and the rest of Southeast Asia and South Asia, including Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, India and Bangladesh. Mango sticky rice is usually eaten in the peak mango season, the summer months of April and May in Thailand. The notable mango sticky rice shops in Bangkok such as the Wong Wian Yi Sip Song Karakadakhom neighborhood in Pom Prap Sattru Phai near Hua Lamphong, which will only sell for 4 months per year, and at the Samphrang neighborhood in Phra Nakhon near Giant Swing and Chao Por Suea Joss House, with the Ban Mo near Si Kak Phraya Si Intersection and Pak Khlong Talat.
Method of preparation
The main ingredients needed are sticky rice (glutinous rice), canned or fresh coconut milk, salt, palm sugar and mangoes. To prepare the dish, the rice is soaked in water and then cooked by steaming or the use of a rice cooker. Meanwhile, the coconut milk is mixed with salt and sugar, and heated without boiling. After the rice is finished cooking, the coconut milk mixture and the rice are mixed together evenly and allowed to sit to allow the milk to absorb into the rice. The mangoes are peeled and sliced. To serve the dish, the rice is scooped onto a plate, a few mango slices are placed on top or to the side, and the remaining coconut milk is drizzled on top. Sometimes, the sticky rice is topped with crispy yellow mung beans.
Mostly, yellow mango is used which has a sweeter taste than green mango. Traditionally, the Nam Doc Mai (flower nectar mango) and ok-rong varieties of mango are used. Red/orange mangoes from Mexico & the Caribbean can also be used. Glutinous sticky rice, which is sweeter than the normal sticky rice, is used for the best texture.
As with many rice-based desserts, it is best to eat mango sticky rice directly after it is purchased or cooked because when refrigerated, the glutinous sticky rice turns hard and the coconut milk expires quickly.
Variations
These are some variations to the classic mango sticky rice:
- Substitute half the white sticky rice with black Thai sticky rice to get a nice purple color.
- Substitute mango with durian
- Substitue coconut milk with sweetened condensed milk.
Myanmar (Burma)