Fresh Mango Sticky Rice Dessert Cups With Coconut Cream
My neighbor brought this to a block party years ago and I spent the rest of the night asking her questions instead of talking to anyone else.
It takes patience in two places, soaking the rice and steaming it through, but neither step is complicated, and the result is something that tastes like it came from a restaurant that knows what it is doing.
Fresh Mango Sticky Rice Dessert Cups With Coconut Cream
Sweet glutinous rice layered with ripe mango and rich coconut cream, served in individual cups for a classic Thai dessert made at home.
Ingredients
Sticky Rice
- 1.5 cups glutinous rice (sweet rice) , also called sticky rice, not regular white rice
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk , 13.5 oz, divided
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 0.5 tsp fine salt
Coconut Cream Sauce
- 0.5 cup reserved coconut milk , from the can above
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 0.25 tsp fine salt
- 1 tsp cornstarch , optional, for a slightly thicker sauce
For Serving
- 2 large ripe mangoes , Ataulfo or honey mangoes preferred, sliced thin
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds or mung beans , for garnish
Instructions
Soak and Steam the Rice
Make the Coconut Cream Sauce
Assemble the Cups
Tips & Notes
- Use only glutinous rice, which is also labeled sweet rice or sticky rice at Asian grocery stores. Regular jasmine or long-grain rice will not get sticky no matter how long you cook it.
- Ataulfo mangoes, sometimes called honey or champagne mangoes, are smaller and yellow and have almost no fibrous texture. They are worth seeking out for this recipe over the large Tommy Atkins variety.
- The rice is best eaten within 2 hours of making it. As it cools, it firms up noticeably. If you need to make it ahead, keep it covered at room temperature for up to 3 hours and re-warm it gently with a splash of coconut milk before serving.
- Full-fat coconut milk matters here. The light version will give you a thin sauce and under-seasoned rice that tastes like it is missing something.
Nutrition per serving · estimated
Why Glutinous Rice Behaves So Differently
Glutinous rice has almost no amylose starch, which is the starch that makes regular cooked rice fluffy and separate. Instead it is almost entirely amylopectin, which is what makes it cling to itself after cooking. Soaking it for 4 hours lets the grains absorb enough water to steam evenly without drying out or turning mushy.
The coconut milk soak after steaming is not just flavoring. The fat and sugar in the warm coconut milk coat each grain and keep the exterior from drying into a hard shell as the rice cools. Skip that step and the texture gets gummy in a way that feels heavy rather than soft.
Choosing the Right Mango for This Dessert
Mango variety changes this dessert more than most people expect. A firm, fibrous mango with sharp acidity fights the rich coconut rice instead of balancing it. An Ataulfo mango that gives slightly when pressed near the stem, smells sweet at room temperature, and slices into smooth pieces without pulling apart in threads is what makes this feel complete.
If Ataulfo mangoes are out of season, ripe frozen mango slices thawed in the refrigerator overnight will work better than an underripe fresh mango every time.
