Mango sticky rice is a healthy and satisfying dessert featuring sweet gooey sticky rice served with a luscious coconut sauce and sliced mango.The homemade version contains less sugar and is quite easy to prepare. {Gluten-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan}
Mango sticky rice is a healthy and satisfying dessert featuring sweet gooey sticky rice served with a luscious coconut sauce and sliced mango. It is a popular Thai dessert that you can easily find at most Thai restaurants. But the homemade version contains less sugar, tastes just as satisfying, and is quite easy to prepare. Now that mango is in season, I’ve been making this dessert often at home.
Ingredients
Sticky rice
Sticky rice (糯米), often called glutinous rice or sweet rice, is gluten-free. The cooked grains are semi-opaque and have a gooey sticky texture when cooked. It is very commonly used in Chinese cooking, such as when making Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), meatballs coated with sticky rice, pineapple riceand sticky rice stuffed lotus root.
The texture of sticky rice is quite different from that of regular rice, and it is the only authentic type of rice to use in mango sticky rice. You can find it at most Asian markets and online.
Mango
You can use any type of ripe mango in mango sticky rice.
I like to use larger Ataulfo mangoes that weigh about 8 ounces (225 grams) each. I think half a large Ataulfo mango yields the perfect amount of fruit for one serving of mango sticky rice.
Larger Tommy Atkins mangoes work well too. One of those weighs about 1 pound (450 grams) and yields more fruit. You only need 2 mangoes for this recipe if you use the Tommy Atkins variety.
Ripe mangoes are key to creating the best mango sticky rice. If your mangoes are still tough, simply store them at room temperature to let them ripen further before cutting them. Once the mangoes get soft, transfer them to the fridge so they will stay fresh without over ripening.
Set up
You only need 5 ingredients to make mango sticky rice:
- Sticky rice
- Coconut milk
- Sugar
- Salt
- Mangoes
I do like to use some toasted sesame seeds for garnishing. Depending on the type of coconut milk you use, you might need a bit of cornstarch to make a slurry to thicken the sauce. (see more about the sauce in the recipe footnote below)
Reduced sugar content
Sometimes I see recipes call for 1/2 cup of sugar when cooking 1 cup of sticky rice. That’s way too much sugar for me! I used a total of 1/4 cup of sugar for 1 cup of sticky rice. Plus, I made more sauce in this recipe so you will have more flexibility to serve the dessert the way you like it.
How to make mango sticky rice
Cooking mango sticky rice is super easy:
- Soak the sticky rice in water
- Drain off the water and steam the sticky rice
- Mix the sauce ingredients together and gently heat them up
- Mix some of the sauce into the steamed sticky rice
- Portion out the rice to each serving bowl
- Add the mango and garnish with more coconut sauce and sesame seeds
How to prepare sticky rice
To achieve the best results, you should always soak the rice beforehand and then steam it. If you look at the recipe below, you’ll notice that I don’t add any water to the rice when steaming it. If you prefer a very gooey and sticky texture, soak the rice overnight in the fridge. I personally prefer a chewier texture for my sticky rice, so I usually only soak it for 1 to 2 hours the day I make the dessert.
Can I make mango sticky rice ahead of time?
Mango sticky rice tastes the best when it’s freshly made. I highly recommend making it the same day you plan to serve it.
If you have to make mango sticky rice beforehand, you should store the rice and sauce separately in the fridge. Before serving, gently heat the rice in the microwave or a steamer until warmed through and softened. Otherwise, the rice will have a very tough and dry texture.
More delicious Asian dessert
Mango Sticky Rice
Mango sticky rice is a healthy and satisfying dessert featuring sweet gooey sticky rice served with a luscious coconut sauce and sliced mango.The homemade version contains less sugar and is quite easy to prepare. {Gluten-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan}
Servings: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked sticky rice
- 1 can (13.5 oz / 400 g) full-fat coconut milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch (Optional)
- 3 ripe mangoes peeled and sliced
- Toasted sesame seeds for garnish (Optional)
Instructions
-
Rinse the sticky rice with tap water and use your hand to gently stir it. Drain the water to remove the excess starch. Repeat once, then add cold water to cover. Soak the sticky rice for a minimum of 1 hour, or up to overnight in the fridge. Once soaked, rinse again and drain the water.
-
Transfer the rice to a heatproof bowl, add about 2” of water to your steamer (not into the rice), place the heatproof rice bowl on the steaming rack in the steamer, and cover the steamer. Turn to medium-high heat to bring the water to a boil. When the steam starts to come out of the pot, turn to medium heat. Steam for 20 to 25 minutes, until the rice is cooked through, with no hard raw bits in the middle. Remove the pot from the stove. Let sit, covered, while you prepare the other ingredients.
-
Make the sauce when the rice is cooking. Combine the coconut milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat or medium-low heat until the mixture is hot and the sugar is melted. Do not bring the coconut sauce to a boil.
-
(Optional) If the coconut milk you’re using is thin: Combine the cornstarch and 4 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Stir to completely dissolve the cornstarch. Add half of the slurry to the sauce. Stir immediately to thicken the sauce. You can adjust the thickness of the sauce by slowly adding a bit more water or cornstarch slurry, if needed. The sauce shouldn’t be too thick, but should coat the back of a spoon. (*Footnote 1)
-
Carefully remove the bowl of sticky rice from the steamer with your oven mitts on. Pour 1 cup of the sauce into the bowl. Stir to mix well until the sauce is fully absorbed.
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The mango sticky rice is ready to serve when the rice mixture and the sauce cool to room temperature or lukewarm.
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To serve, transfer 1/3 cup of the coconut rice to each of several small serving bowls or plates. Place the sliced mango on the side. Pour a few spoonfuls of the extra coconut sauce on top of the rice. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds, if using. (*Footnote 2)
Notes
- Most of the time you don’t need the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce, since the coconut milk should have a nice creamy texture. But I’ve come across some brands of coconut milk that have a thinner consistency. Or sometimes you might prefer a thicker and creamier sauce. In this case, adding cornstarch will give the sauce a nicer texture.
- 1/3 cup rice with half a mango creates a great dessert size. But if you prefer a larger dessert or want to serve this one as a standalone snack, you can use 1/2 cup rice per serving to make 4 servings in total.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 288kcal, Carbohydrates: 42.4g, Protein: 3.1g, Fat: 12.9g, Saturated Fat: 11.1g, Sodium: 276mg, Potassium: 191mg, Fiber: 2.8g, Sugar: 24.9g, Calcium: 13mg
