Mango Sticky Rice (Khao Niao Mamuang)
Steamed glutinous rice soaked in sweet, salty coconut milk, served with ripe mango and a spoonful of coconut sauce.
- Region
- Central Thailand
- Vegetables
- Pandan Leaf
- Fruits
- Mango, Coconut
Ingredients
- 300 g Thai glutinous (sticky) rice, soaked in water for at least 4 hours or overnight
- 250 ml coconut milk
- 80 g sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 pandan leaf, knotted (optional)
- Sauce: 120 ml coconut cream, ¼ tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp rice flour or cornflour
- 2 large ripe mangoes (Nam Dok Mai or Ataulfo are ideal)
- 1 tbsp toasted yellow mung beans or toasted sesame seeds, to garnish
Instructions
The rice here does almost all the work. It is steamed until tender and chewy, then soaked in hot coconut milk sweetened with sugar and noticeably seasoned with salt. That hint of salt is what makes the mango taste so sweet.
Method
- Drain the soaked rice and spread it in a steamer basket lined with muslin or a clean cloth. Steam over boiling water for 20–25 minutes, turning the rice over halfway, until the grains are tender and translucent.
- While the rice steams, warm the coconut milk, sugar, salt and pandan leaf in a small pan, stirring until dissolved. Don’t let it boil.
- Tip the hot rice into a bowl, pour over the warm coconut milk and stir to combine. Cover and leave for 20–30 minutes so the rice absorbs the liquid and turns glossy.
- For the sauce, whisk the coconut cream, salt, sugar and rice flour in a small pan over low heat until it thickens slightly, about 2 minutes.
- Peel the mangoes and slice the cheeks off the stone, then cut each cheek into thick slices.
- Serve a mound of sticky rice beside the mango slices, spoon the coconut sauce over the rice and sprinkle with toasted mung beans.
Cook’s tips
- Use glutinous rice, not sushi or jasmine rice. Nothing else gives the right chew.
- Serve the rice warm or at room temperature; once refrigerated it goes hard.
Aroy Mak Mak
Aroy Mak Mak is a small team writing about the food of Thailand and its neighbours: recipes you can cook at home, guides to the ingredients behind them, and places worth travelling for. The name means "very delicious" in Thai. Every recipe on the site lists its ingredients, timings and method in full, explains the techniques that matter, and suggests substitutes for ingredients that are hard to find outside Thailand. The guides to regions, condiments, vegetables and fruits explain what things are, how they are used and how to buy and store them. Place pages are researched from current sources, including the latest Michelin Guide Thailand, official websites and maps, and give addresses, opening hours and what to order. Where a detail could not be confirmed, it is left out rather than guessed.