Mango Sticky Rice (Khao Niao Mamuang)
Khao niao mamuang pairs warm glutinous rice with sweet coconut milk, ripe mango and a lightly salted coconut sauce. The rice must be steamed, not boiled: the grains stay separate and chewy, then drink in the coconut mixture while they are still hot. Toasted split mung beans add the small crunch that keeps each spoonful from tasting flat.
Ingredients
- 300 gglutinous rice
- 500 mlcoconut milk
- 120 gsugar
- 4 gsalt
- 3 ripe mangoes
- 10 grice flour
- 40 gsplit mung beans
Method
- Soak the rice. Rinse the glutinous rice in several changes of cold water until the water is almost clear, then cover it with fresh water and soak for 240 minutes. The soak hydrates the centre of each grain, so steaming cooks it through without turning the outside mushy.
- Prepare the steamer. Drain the rice well and line a steamer basket with a clean damp cloth or a steaming liner. Bring 3 cm of water to a firm boil underneath; the water must not touch the rice or it will cook unevenly.
- Steam the rice. Spread the drained rice in an even layer, cover it and steam for 25 minutes over medium-high heat. The grains should look glossy and translucent at the edges, with no dry white core when one is pressed between two fingers.
- Make the coconut soak. While the rice steams, combine 350 ml coconut milk, 100 g sugar and 3 g salt in a saucepan over low heat for 4 minutes, stirring until the sugar dissolves and small bubbles appear around the edge. Do not boil it hard; broken coconut milk will leave an oily rice.
- Season and rest the rice. Tip the hot steamed rice into a wide bowl, pour over the warm coconut mixture and fold gently until every grain is coated. Cover and let it stand for 20 minutes, stirring once after 10 minutes; the rice should become plump and creamy but still hold its shape.
- Cook the sauce and topping. Whisk the remaining 150 ml coconut milk, 20 g sugar, 1 g salt and rice flour in a small pan until smooth. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it lightly coats a spoon; toast the split mung beans in a dry pan for 4 minutes until golden and fragrant.
- Plate while the rice is warm. Peel and slice the mangoes just before serving, then divide the coconut rice between four plates. Spoon the salted coconut sauce over the rice, arrange mango alongside and finish with toasted mung beans.
FAQ
No. Use Thai glutinous rice, also sold as sweet rice or sticky rice, because its starch makes the grains chewy and cohesive after steaming. Jasmine rice stays fluffy and sushi rice becomes too soft for this dessert. If you only have regular rice, choose another mango dessert rather than trying to force the substitution.
The rice was usually not soaked long enough, the steamer ran low on water, or the rice layer was too deep. Soak it for 240 minutes, keep a steady boil under the basket and spread the rice in a layer no thicker than 4 cm. If it is still firm, steam it for 10 more minutes before adding coconut milk.
Full-fat coconut milk gives the rice its creamy coat and carries the slight saltiness of the sauce. Light coconut milk makes a thinner soak and the rice tastes dry once it cools. If it is your only option, reduce the added water by using 400 ml light coconut milk total and serve the dessert immediately.
Steam and season the rice up to 2 hours before serving and keep it covered at room temperature; keep the mango whole until serving. Rice dressed with coconut milk shouldn't spend more than 2 hours in total out of the fridge, so whatever isn't eaten by then goes into the fridge, covered, as soon as it has cooled — within an hour or so. The cold firms glutinous rice, but that's fixable: eat leftovers within 24 hours, steam them for about 5 minutes until hot all the way through, reheat only once, then loosen with 1 tablespoon of warm coconut milk per serving.
Many Thai vendors use toasted split yellow mung beans, called tua tong, for a dry nutty crunch. Toast them in a dry pan until golden and add them at the table so they stay crisp. Toasted sesame seeds work when mung beans are unavailable, but their flavour is different and less traditional.
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