Thai Mango Sticky Rice
Chewy steamed glutinous rice soaked in sweet-salty coconut milk, served with juicy ripe mango and a silky salted coconut sauce. A classic Thai dessert that is simple once you respect the soaking and steaming.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Wait
- 4 hr 45 min
- Total
- 5 hr 25 min
- Makes
- 4 generous servings (about 1 cup / 190 g rice each, plus mango and sauce)
Steps
Before you start
- Plan the timing: the rice needs a refrigerated soak of 4 to 12 hours (the 325-minute total uses the 4-hour minimum, with 25 minutes of steaming and a 20-minute rest). Mango slicing and the sauce are done during the rest, so the real clock time is a little under the total.
- Use Thai glutinous (sweet/sticky) rice. Jasmine, sushi, or other rice will not work.
- Choose mangoes that give slightly when pressed and smell fragrant, such as ataulfo/honey or Nam Dok Mai, and chill them.
- Shake the coconut milk cans well before opening; use full-fat, not light. You need 1¾ cups (420 ml) in total.
- Food safety: cooked rice in coconut milk should not sit out more than 2 hours (1 hour if your room is above 90°F / 32°C). The clock starts when the rice comes off the steamer.
Rinse and soak rice
- Place the glutinous rice in a large bowl and cover with cold water.
- Swirl with your hand, drain, and repeat 3 to 4 times until the water is only slightly cloudy.
- Cover with 2 inches (5 cm) of fresh cold water, cover the bowl, and refrigerate for 4 to 12 hours.
- If you must soak at room temperature, limit it to 2 hours.
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Ready when: Grains are opaque white and break easily when pinched, with no hard translucent core. The water should smell neutral.
Tip: Discard and replace the water if it smells sour, and do not soak raw rice at room temperature for hours; it can ferment.
Set up steamer
- Drain the rice in a strainer for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, fill the steamer pot with 2 inches (5 cm) of water, keeping the water below the basket.
- Line the basket with damp cheesecloth or a thin towel.
- Bring the water to a boil over high heat.
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Ready when: Steam is billowing steadily from the pot
Tip: Never put the rice in a steamer that is not yet producing steam, or it turns gummy.
Steam the rice
- Spread the drained rice in an even layer in the lined basket, making a small dip in the center.
- Fold the cloth over the top, cover, and reduce heat to medium so steam stays steady.
- Steam 25 minutes, flipping the rice mass over using the cloth at the 15-minute mark.
- Start the soaking milk (next step) while it steams.
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Ready when: Grains are glossy, translucent, and chewy-tender all the way through when you bite one
Tip: Top up the pot with boiling water if it runs low.
Make the soaking milk
- While the rice steams (start around minute 15), combine 1¼ cups (300 ml) coconut milk, 6 tbsp (75 g) sugar, and ½ tsp salt in a small saucepan.
- Warm over medium-low heat, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Taste: it should be sweet with a clear hint of salt.
- Add up to 1 extra tablespoon sugar if you like it sweeter, or a pinch more salt if it tastes flat.
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Ready when: Sugar and salt fully dissolved and the milk is steaming, not boiling
Tip: Do not boil; high heat can make the coconut milk split and turn oily.
Soak rice in milk
- As soon as the rice is done, transfer the hot rice to the mixing bowl.
- Pour the warm sweetened coconut milk over it and fold gently with a spatula until evenly coated.
- Cover and rest 20 minutes.
- Slice the mango and make the sauce during this rest.
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Ready when: Nearly all the liquid is absorbed and the rice looks glossy and plump; it will be loose and slightly wet at first, then thicken
Tip: Hot rice absorbs the milk best, so combine them right away. The 2-hour room-temperature limit starts now.
Slice the mango
- Slice each mango's cheeks off the pit, score the flesh, and peel or scoop it.
- Cut the flesh into ¼-inch (6 mm) slices.
- Trim any remaining fruit from around the pit and add to the plate.
- Refrigerate until serving.
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Ready when: Slices are even and juicy with no fibrous or green bits
Tip: A chilled mango slices cleanly and tastes refreshing against the warm rice.
Cook coconut sauce
- In the second small saucepan, whisk ½ cup (120 ml) coconut milk, 1 tbsp sugar, and ¼ tsp salt.
- Heat over medium-low until steaming, about 3 minutes.
- Re-stir the starch slurry (2 tsp starch in 1 tbsp cold water), pour it in, and raise heat to medium.
- Stir constantly until the sauce reaches a gentle simmer with small bubbles at the edges, then cook 1 minute more.
- Remove from heat.
- If cooking ahead, reheat gently with a splash of water just before serving.
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Ready when: Sauce is the texture of light cream, coats the back of a spoon, and looks glossy; it thickens a little more as it cools
Tip: Starch must reach a gentle simmer to thicken. If using cornstarch, use only 1½ tsp, since it is stronger than tapioca. Taste: the sauce should be noticeably salty.
Plate and serve
- Divide the rice into 4 mounds of about 1 cup (190 g) each on plates.
- Fan the mango slices next to the rice.
- Spoon the warm coconut sauce over a corner of the rice, and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using.
- Serve warm or at room temperature, within 2 hours of the rice leaving the steamer.
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Ready when: Rice is soft, glossy, and just warm; sauce is pooled on top, not soaked in
Tip: Serve the sauce on top, not mixed in, to keep the contrast of salty and sweet.
Good to know
Tips
- Drain the soaked rice well so it is only moist, not waterlogged, when it goes in the steamer.
- Taste the sauce: it should be noticeably salty to balance the sweet rice and fruit. Adjust the rice sweetness in the soaking milk before pouring.
- If you don't have a steamer, set a heatproof rack in a pot with a lid and steam the rice in a colander or on a plate-lined rack over simmering water with a tight lid.
- Serve the rice warm or at room temperature; cold rice turns hard.
Make ahead
Soak the rice in the refrigerator, covered with water, for up to 12 hours; change the water once after 8 hours and discard any soak water that smells sour. The coconut sauce can be made 1 day ahead, refrigerated, and reheated gently with a splash of water.
Storage & reheating
Best eaten the day it is made. Room temperature: no more than 2 hours total from when the rice leaves the steamer (1 hour if the room is above 90°F / 32°C). Refrigerate leftovers promptly, within 2 hours, in airtight containers: rice and sauce up to 2 days; keep mango separate and use within 2 days. Rice hardens when cold. Reheat covered in the microwave in 20-second bursts with a splash of coconut milk or water until soft and steaming hot, or re-steam for 5 minutes. Freezing: rice only, up to 1 month; thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
Substitutions
- tapioca starch (or cornstarch) → cornstarch. Use 1½ tsp, not 2 tsp, since it is stronger; sauce will be slightly less glossy.
- large ripe mangoes → ripe peaches or fresh pineapple. Use out of mango season; choose very ripe, sweet fruit.
- granulated sugar → palm sugar, finely chopped. Same weight; adds a caramel flavor, so dissolve fully.
- toasted sesame seeds or crispy mung beans → toasted coconut flakes or crispy mung beans. Adds crunch.
