Sweets · Thai
Mango Sticky Rice
Chewy steamed sticky rice soaked in sweet-salty coconut cream, with ripe mango alongside.
- Hands-on
- 25 min
- Hands-off
- 3 h 25 min
- Total
- 3 h 50 min
- Makes
- 4 servings
- Serves
- 4
Plan ahead: the rice soaks at least 2-3 hours, ideally overnight. The total shown uses a 3-hour soak plus a 15-minute rest after mixing. Steaming takes 20-25 minutes and the topping is made while it steams.
- medium
- vegan
- vegetarian
- dairy-free
- dessert
- thai
- summer
- street-food
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? Doubles in a straight line if your steamer can hold the rice in a shallow, even layer. Pile it too high and the middle won't cook; use two baskets or steam in batches. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: large bowl for soaking · sieve · steamer basket set over a pot of boiling water (or a bamboo steamer) · muslin or cheesecloth to line the steamer · small saucepan · whisk · mixing bowl with a lid or plate to cover · sharp knife · oven mitts
Contains: sesame
Method
Soak the rice
Cover 200 g (1 cup) sticky rice with plenty of cold water and leave it to soak for at least 2-3 hours, or overnight if you can.
Otto tried this firstOtto skips the soak and steams dry rice. Forty minutes later the grains are still chalky. The soak is not optional.Drain and rinse
Drain the rice, then rinse it under cold water until the water runs clear.
Steam
Line the steamer basket with muslin and spread the rice over it in a flat, even layer, not heaped in the middle. Steam over boiling water for 20 to 25 minutes, topping up the water so there's always plenty of steam.
Ready when: The grains on top are fully cooked: soft, sticky and chewy with no hard white centre when you bite one.
Thicken the topping
While the rice steams, stir 125 ml (1/2 cup) coconut cream and the 1/2 tsp rice-flour paste together hard. Pour into a small saucepan with a pinch of salt and the knotted pandan leaf, then whisk constantly over low heat until it boils and thickens.
Ready when: Thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, smooth and glossy.
Sweeten the topping
Only once it has thickened, stir in 2 tbsp sugar, then take it off the heat and let it cool. Remove the pandan leaf.
Ready when: The sugar has dissolved and the cream is still glossy and white.
Make the rice syrup
In a bowl, stir the other 125 ml (1/2 cup) coconut cream with 100 g (1/2 cup) caster sugar and 1 tsp salt until the sugar and salt dissolve.
Mix while hot, then rest
Tip the hot rice into a bowl, pour the syrup over and stir well. Cover and leave it in a warm spot for 15 minutes to soak up the syrup.
Cut the mango
Peel the mango with a sharp knife, cut the two cheeks away from the stone and slice the flesh thinly.
Serve
Divide the rice between 4 bowls, add the mango slices, spoon a few tablespoons of the topping over and scatter with 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds, if using.
Swaps
- Instead of mango: thinly sliced small, sweet bananas when mangoes aren't in season
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Make ahead
- Soak the rice the night before. Steam and mix it shortly before serving: the rice needs to be hot to soak up the syrup.
- Storage
- Best eaten the day it's made, at room temperature. Don't leave it out for more than 2 hours; refrigerate leftovers.
If something goes wrong
- Topping turned grey and dull Why: The sugar went in before the coconut cream had thickened.
Thicken first, then add the sugar. - Rice cooked unevenly, hard on top Why: The rice was heaped in the middle, or the steamer ran low on water.
Spread it in a flat, even layer and keep the water topped up so the steam stays strong. - Rice stayed dry and didn't absorb the syrup Why: It had cooled before the syrup went on.
Pour the syrup over the rice straight from the steamer.
Good to know
- Add a pandan leaf to the steaming water for extra fragrance.
Safety
- Steam burns quickly. Lift lids away from you, use oven mitts for the basket, and keep the pot topped up so it never boils dry. Kids can rinse the rice and arrange the mango.
- Mango is slippery: cut it on a board and keep your fingers clear of the knife.
- Sesame seeds are optional. Leave them out for anyone with a sesame allergy.