Mango sticky rice is a Southeast Asian dessert made of glutinous rice and sweet coconut sauce served with fresh ripe mangoes. This is a dessert you usually order from Thai restaurants but now you can make it at home.**Note: You can use any of these food steamers to make sticky rice: electric steamer, stove top steamer, bamboo steamer, rice cooker with steamer insert.
Rinse the rice - Place rice in a large stainless bowl. Fill with cold tap water covering the rice completely. Swirl the rice gently with your hand to wash away the starch. Carefully pour out the cloudy water without losing any grains. Repeat the rinsing process until the water appears clearer.
Soak the rice - Refill the bowl with fresh water and soak overnight.
Drain the glutinous rice in a mesh colander. Rinse with tap water to remove excess starch. Prepare the steamer.
Transfer to a large cheesecloth, muslin cloth, or tea towel. Spread it out so it cooks evenly. Fold the cloth to enclose the rice.
Steam - Place in the steamer insert of a rice cooker or a regular steamer. Steam for 25 to 30 minutes. Start checking doneness at 25 minutes. Once cooked, place into a large bowl.
Coconut Syrup
While the rice is cooking, make the sauce. Combine coconut milk, 2 tbsp sugar, and salt in a pot over low heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Avoid letting it simmer. Once done, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Once the rice is cooked, pour 1 cup of the sauce into the cooked rice. Toss until combined. Cover with a lid and let it sit until the liquid is completely absorbed.
Meanwhile, add the cornstarch slurry to the remaining sauce. Bring to a simmer and stir until it thickens. Do a taste test, add more sugar if preferred. Immediately remove from heat.
Serve
Place sticky rice and slice mangoes on a plate. Drizzle with the sauce and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Notes
Glutinous Rice - also known as sticky rice or sweet rice. You can buy this online and an Asian grocery store.
Mangoes - use yellow sweet mangoes, better if you can find Thai or Philippine mangoes.
Coconut Milk - when buying canned coconut milk, always check the list of ingredients at the back level. It should, at the minimum, only have coconut milk and water.
Other thickeners you can use are rice flour, tapioca flour, or potato starch,