Ingredients

* 2 cups long-grain white sticky rice, sweet rice or glutinous rice
* 2 cups creamy coconut milk (or one 14-oz. can)
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* About 1 tsp. salt
* Optional flavoring: 2-3 fresh or frozen pandanus leaves (bai dteuy) or 4-5 drops jasmine ( mali) essence
* 1-2 ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced

Rinse the rice once or twice, cover with water 2-3 inches above the rice line and allow to soak at least 4 hours, or overnight. The grains will absorb much of the water and grow in size. They will also soften; pressing them between your fingers will easily break them into pieces.

Sticky Rice Steamer When ready to cook, drain the rice and steam dry (without any water) in a shallow heat-proof dish, placed on a steamer rack over a pot with 2 or more inches of water on the bottom. If you are making a large quantity, use the special sticky rice steaming basket so that the rice grains cook more evenly. When making a large batch, it also helps to turn the rice and sprinkle a little water over the top once or twice during the cooking time.

When the rice is about 20 minutes into its steaming, prepare the coconut sauce by heating the coconut milk, sugar and salt together in a saucepan. Warm the milk until the mixture is well blended and smooth. If you wish a bai dteuy (pandanus leaf) flavor, add a few fresh or frozen bai dteuy leaves and simmer with the sauce for about 10 minutes. Then, remove the leaves, and after they have cooled enough to handle, use your hand to squeeze out all the fragrant juice until the leaves are dry. Add the pressed juice to the sauce. If fresh or frozen leaves are not available, use about 1/4 tsp. of the green bai dteuy essence. Or, if you wish a more delicate floral scent, use a few drops of mali (jasmine) essence instead. Keep the sauce warm.

When the rice is done and while it is still hot out of the steamer, pour half the coconut sauce over the rice. Stir well with a spoon to make sure all the grains are well coated. The rice should be wet but not swimming in sauce. Add more of the sauce if needed, reserving the remainder for dribbling over the top before serving. Let stand for 15-20 minutes to allow the rice grains to absorb the flavorings.

When ready to serve, dish the rice onto individual serving plates, spoon some of the reserved coconut sauce over each portion and arrange sliced mangoes over the top. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Pandanus Leaf
Pandanus Leaf
Kasma\’s Notes and Pointers:

The coconut sauce should have a pronounced saltiness behind the sweetness. The saltiness will help bring forth the rich flavors of coconut milk and the delicate taste of sticky rice. Also, the salty-sweetness of the flavored rice enhances rather than distracts from the fruity sweetness of mangoes.

When mangoes and durians are not in season, coconut-flavored sticky rice is served with a choice of toppings, ranging from a very sweet coconut-egg custard called sangkaya (click here for recipe) to a salty-sweet, minced dried shrimp mixture. The kanom vendor in the market usually has several choices,something to satisfy every mood and palate.

White sticky rice (kao niow) is usually labelled “glutinous rice” or “sweet rice.” The following brands are all good: Golden Phoenix, Butterfly,, and Sanpatong.

[tubepress mode=’tag’, tagValue=’ Coconut-Flavored Sticky Rice with Mangoes’]

1 1/2 cups glutinous (sweet) rice
1 1/3 cups well-stirred canned unsweetened coconut milk
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large ripe mangoes (chilled whole in refrigerator)*
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted lightly
Edible flowers or mint leaves for garnish

*Try to get yellow-skinned “Manila” mangos, if you can, as the flavor is stronger and more acidic than the green and red-skinned South American varieties. Fresh ripe peaches may be substituted for the mangoes.

To prepare the sticky rice: Working in the sink, put the rice into a large bowl with plenty of water; stir well by hand. When the rice has settled to the bottom, pour off most of the cloudy water, refill and repeat until the water runs fairly clear. Soak the rice in plenty of water (so the water is approximately 2 to 3 inches above the rice) for 6 to 8 hours, preferably overnight (the grains will absorb water and grow in size). When ready to cook, drain rice well in a sieve. Set sieve over a large deep pot of simmering water (sieve should not touch water) and steam rice, covered with a kitchen towel and a lid, approximately 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender (check water level in pan occasionally, adding more hot water if necessary). When rice is translucent and somewhat tender, it\’s done. NOTE: Can also use a shallow heat-proof dish on the steamer rack. You can also purchase the special sticky rice steam baskets (steaming baskets and pots are available from Asian markets).

While rice is steaming, in a small saucepan bring coconut milk to a slow simmer, stirring constantly (hard boiled coconut milk will curdle). Add sugar and salt; stirring until sugar is dissolved; remove from heat. Keep mixture warm. Reserve approximately 1/3 to 1/2 cup coconut-milk sauce; refrigerate until cool and thicken slightly.

Transfer hot cooked rice to a bowl and stir in coconut-milk mixture. Stir well with a spoon to make sure all the grains are well coated. Let rice stand, covered, approximately 20 to 30 minutes, or until coconut-milk mixture is absorbed (the rice should be a little mushy). NOTE: Rice may be prepared up to this point 2 hours ahead and kept covered at room temperature.

Just before serving, peel mangoes and then thinly slice by cutting lengthwise through flesh to the stone; discard the stone. NOTE: Peel the mangoes carefully so as not to bruise the fruit. Slice in half as close to the seed as possible, then slice each half into 1/2-in (1-cm) slices.

Serve at room temperature. To serve, mold 1/4 cup servings of sticky rice in the center of individual dessert plates (an ice cream scoop works wonderfully). Drizzle reserved coconut-milk sauce over the rice mounds and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Arrange mango slices around the rice. Garnish with edible flowers or mint if desired.

NOTE: The finished dish can be kept, covered at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours. Do not refrigerate or the rice will harden!

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

[tubepress mode=’tag’, tagValue=’ Mango with Sticky Rice’]

For automatically sticky rice, cook medium or short grain rice as directed on the package. You can also use long-grain rice, using more water than traditional recipes. Do not rinse the rice, as this removes surface starch which makes the rice sticky.
INGREDIENTS:

* 1 cup rice
* 2 cups water
* 1/2 tsp. salt

PREPARATION:
Combine rice, water and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove pot from heat and let stand 10 minutes longer to steam. 4-6 servings

[tubepress mode=’tag’, tagValue=’Sticky Rice’]