Thai Sticky Rice with Mango

We are exploring the beautiful northern part of Thailand for this month's 'International Food Challenge'. Northern Thailand is blessed with the best scenery in the kingdom, it is the region with forests and mountains, rivers and waterfalls. It is the home to Thailand's hill tribes, whose conventions and customs differ from mainstream Thai culture. 

Rice is the staple of this region and they use both ordinary and glutinous varieties. Food is seasoned with fish sauce and chili peppers. Our host for this month, Sangeetha Priya, gave us some amazing Northern Thai dishes to try.

After looking through the dishes, I knew right away that I have to make this Sticky Rice with Mango. This happens to be one of our favorite family dessert. My husband tasted the authentic version of this dish many times on his business trips to Thailand and I have tried it quite a few times at home over the years. 

With the seasons best mangoes in the market now, this is a perfect dish to make with a few of them. I adapted the recipe from my Thai vegetarian cookbook. This turned out amazing. 

Ingredients: Serves 2~3

Jasmine Rice - ½cup
Sugar - ¼cup (adjust as per taste)
Coconut milk - 1cup, divided
Corn starch - ¼tsp
Salt - a pinch
Mango - 1, chopped

Method:

• Cook jasmine rice in 1 cup of water until tender. I pressure cooked the rice.
• While rice is cooking, combine ½cup of coconut milk with 2tbsp sugar and salt. Cook until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is hot.
• Pour this hot coconut milk over the hot cooked rice. Cover and set aside for 10~15 minutes. Now mix the rice with the coconut milk, cover again and set aside to cool completely.
• Combine the remaining ½cup of coconut milk with 2tbsp sugar. Cook until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is almost boiling. 
• Whisk corn starch in 2tsp water. Slowly add this to the coconut milk mixture and cook until it starts to thicken, about 2~3 minutes.
• When ready to serve, place the cooled rice on the serving plate. Top it with the chopped mangoes and drizzle the thick coconut milk sauce on top. Serve immediately.