Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat
Thai Mango Sticky Rice
泰式芒果椰漿糯米飯
Recipe overview
Soak Thai long-grain glutinous rice for 4 hours, steam it and let the hot grains absorb sweet coconut milk before serving with ripe mango. The 290-minute total includes soaking and a 15-minute absorption rest.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 300 g Thai long-grain white glutinous rice
- 500 g Ripe mango flesh
Soaking
- 1 L Cold water (Discard after soaking rice)
Sauce seasoning
- 200 ml Full-fat coconut milk (For absorption into hot rice)
- 45 g Sugar (For absorption into hot rice)
- 1.5 g Salt (For absorption into hot rice)
Finishing seasoning
- 100 ml Full-fat coconut milk (For the topping sauce)
- 15 g Sugar (For the topping sauce)
- 0.5 g Salt (For the topping sauce)
- 3 g Cornflour (For the topping sauce)
- 10 ml Cold water (For the topping sauce)
02
Tools
- Steamer and rack
- Steaming cloth and sieve
- Small saucepan and measuring jug
- Lidded bowl, board and knife
03
Steps
Step 1
Rinse glutinous rice
Check that the rice is glutinous, not jasmine; gently rinse 3–4 times with cold water until clearer.
Step 2
Soak 4 hours
Cover rice with 1 L cold water for 4 hours, keeping at least 3 cm water above grains; these 240 minutes are included in prep.
Step 3
Drain and spread
Discard soaking water and drain rice; line rack with a damp wrung-out cloth, spread rice 2 cm thick and leave a small central opening.
Step 4
Heat steamer
Fill the pot below the rack and bring to a full boil; ensure cloth edges stay clear of the burner.
Step 5
Steam rice
Add rice, cover and steam over medium-high for 20 minutes; carefully turn once after 10 minutes and cover again.
Step 6
Warm soaking sauce
While rice steams, warm 200 ml coconut milk, 45 g sugar and 1.5 g salt on low for 2 minutes until dissolved, without boiling hard.
Step 7
Check rice
Grains should be translucent and tender with no chalky hard centre; if needed, steam 5 minutes longer and check before adding sauce.
Step 8
Mix while hot
Transfer cooked rice to a lidded bowl, immediately add the warm sweet coconut milk and fold gently until evenly moistened.
Step 9
Rest 15 minutes
Cover and rest 15 minutes, folding once at minute 8; this absorption time is included in preparation.
Step 10
Cook topping sauce
While rice rests, mix 3 g cornflour with 10 ml cold water. Heat 100 ml coconut milk, 15 g sugar and 0.5 g salt; stir in slurry and simmer 1 minute until lightly thick.
Step 11
Slice mango
Wash mangoes, cut flesh away from stones, peel and slice thickly; measure 500 g flesh into 4 portions.
Step 12
Assemble dessert
Once rice absorbs most coconut milk, divide onto 4 plates, add mango beside it and spoon warm topping sauce over rice.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the 4-hour soak leaves hard centres; soaking cannot be excluded from total time.
- Jasmine rice lacks the same sticky texture; use glutinous rice.
- Cool rice absorbs sauce poorly; both rice and sauce should be warm.
- Hard boiling separates coconut milk; use low heat and stir.
Tips
Allow 4 hours soaking, about 10 minutes handling, up to 25 minutes steaming and sauce cooking, and 15 minutes absorption: 290 minutes total. Prepare sauces and mango during steaming or resting. Keep rice 2 cm deep with a steam opening; thicker layers need longer.
