Easy Thai Mango Sticky Rice Recipe
It Takes Two To Mango
What is this Easy Thai mango sticky rice recipe?
Mango Sticky Rice is a famous Thai dessert of delicious sticky coconutty rice, served with luscious fresh mango slices and drizzled over with a sweet sauce. This Thai mango sticky rice recipe gives you two options – cooking Thai sticky rice from scratch or using precooked regular white rice, which is so quick and easy you can make it in under 10 minutes.
You’ll love it if…
You love coconut, you love mango, you love tropical desserts and you love sunshine!
Mango sticky rice is a superstar. It’s the Taylor Swift of summer desserts. Mango is the pop queen and coconutty rice is her adoring fan following. And just like Tay-Tay, mango sticky rice is approachable, yet still aspirational. We love her for that.
This is a recipe full of more rumours and secrets than a Taylor Swift album. The first secret is the salt. What really keeps a coconut cream and condensed milk rice dish from becoming sickly is the balance with salt.
The second and biggest secret is that it’s so easy, it comes together just as fast as you can cut up a mango and cook some rice. Or if you’re really crunched for time, you can make it in the time it takes to heat up rice – because believe it or not, you don’t even have to cook rice with the variation given in this recipe. You can use precooked leftover rice from the day before and it will still turn out impeccable. Nobody will even be able to tell. Shh!
Coconut and Mango : It’s a love story, baby just say yes.
Prepare The Ingredients
Peel the mango and slice it into your preferred shape
Cook the Rice / Heat Precooked Rice
Method 1 : Cook the Rice
Place the rice in a bowl and rinse under cold water. Drain and repeat 3–4 times until the water runs mostly clear.
Cover the rinsed rice with water and let it soak for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.
Drain and add it to a medium saucepan with water, mix through the coconut cream, a pinch of salt and the sugar. Bring it to a gentle boil over medium heat, then reduce to low and cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid.
Let it simmer for 10–15 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.
Method 2 (Easy) : Heat Precooked Rice
Put the cooked rice in a small saucepan, and mix through the coconut cream, a pinch of salt and the sugar. Heat until it comes together.
Serve and Enjoy!
Top the rice with mango, drizzle over condensed milk and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Serve and dig in! *Chef’s kiss*
- An authentic Thai Mango Sticky Rice recipe uses Thai sweet rice / sticky rice / mochi rice. If you have that on hand, you can make it the traditional way by cooking Thai sweet rice in water, coconut milk, salt, and brown sugar.
- Because this has a quick and easy version of the recipe, you can also use any variety of precooked white rice as you will be heating it with coconut cream and sugar until sticky. This version is so quick you can make it in under 10 minutes and it will still taste absolutely amazing.
- Traditionally you would make the sauce with coconut cream heated with sugar. But here I’m using condensed milk to save time. If you want to make it vegan, try substituting the condensed milk with coconut cream or you can use any plant-based milk, sugar and a little corn starch to thicken it. See FAQ section after the recipe.
- Ideally you would use the ripest, sweetest mango you can find. But if you want a taste of the tropics outside of summer, you can defrost frozen mango cubes. Who says you can’t enjoy Mango Sticky Rice all year round?
Easy Mango Sticky Rice
Equipment
- Saucepan to heat up the rice
Ingredients
- ½ cup sticky rice ideally Thai glutinous rice, but any sticky rice will do
- ½ can coconut milk
OR
- 1 cup pre-cooked white rice any variety
- 2 tablespoons coconut cream
Toppings
- 1 teaspoon of sugar / brown sugar or honey
- Large pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence or extract
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds black/white or mixed
- 1-2 medium mangoes, ripe Any variety
Instructions
Cook the Rice (If using sticky rice)
- Place ½ cup of glutinous (sticky) rice in a bowl and rinse under cold water, swirling with your hand. Drain and repeat 3–4 times until the water runs mostly clear.Cover the rinsed rice with water and let it soak for at least 4 hours, or ideally overnight.
- After soaking, drain the rice and add it to a medium saucepan with ½ cup of water, ½ can coconut milk, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon brown sugar.Bring it to a gentle boil over medium heat, then reduce to low and cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid.Let it simmer for 10–15 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.Turn off the heat and let the rice sit, covered, for another 10 minutes to finish steaming.
OR (quick version using precooked rice)
- Put 1 cup precooked rice in a small saucepan on low heat, and mix through 2 tablespoons coconut cream, a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon sugar. Heat until it gets sticky and comes together, approximately 3 minutes. Take the saucepan off the heat.
Toppings
- Peel a ripe mango and slice it into your preferred shape
- Transfer the rice into a serving bowl and sprinkle a pinch of salt. Top the rice with the chopped mango.
- Drizzle condensed milk generously over the rice and mango. Sprinkle sesame seeds on the top.
- Serve
Video
FAQ
Because this has a quick and easy version of the recipe, the chef has suggested you use any variety of precooked white rice as you will be heating it with coconut cream and sugar until sticky.
In the traditional recipe you would use Thai sweet rice / sticky rice / mochi rice. If you have that on hand, you can make it the traditional way by cooking 1/2 cup of Thai sweet rice in 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 can coconut milk, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon brown sugar.
Yes! The recipe is already gluten-free. To make it vegan for the sauce, instead of condensed milk heat (but don’t boil) 1/2 can of coconut cream and 3 tablespoons brown sugar. Stir to dissolve. You could also use any plant-based milk and sugar with a little corn starch to thicken it up.
Any mango works! Thai mangoes are ideal, but they can be hard to find. We love using Pakistani / Indian mangoes when they’re in season (available from your local South Asian greengrocer). Ideally you would use the ripest, sweetest mango you can find – but if you want a taste of the tropics outside of summer, you can defrost frozen mango cubes.
You can prepare the sticky rice in advance. Store it in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 2 days. To reheat the rice, cover it with a damp paper towel and microwave in 30-second intervals until warm.
Other Dessert Recipes you might like…
Vanilla Chai Spiced Panna Cotta
Black Sesame Cheesecake with lime
