Thai. Dessert. Served at The Inauguration (#1).

Pandan mango sticky rice

I put pandan in my mango sticky rice because that's how I like it. Frozen pandan leaves are fine. Knot four or five of them and steam them on top of the rice. For more pandan flavor, let them sit in the coconut sauce too.

Soak the rice overnight before steaming so it cooks evenly.

Makes
Serves 10
Time
Soak overnight, then 20 to 30 minutes of steaming
Do ahead
Soak the rice overnight. Sauce and mix in the afternoon.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2.5 cupsglutinous (sweet) rice
  • 2.5 cupscoconut milk, plus 2.5 tbsp more for thickening
  • ⅔ cupsugar
  • ⅝ tspsalt
  • 1.25 tspcornstarch
  • 6–8ripe mangoes
  • 4–5frozen pandan leaves, knotted
  • sesame seeds

Method

  1. Soak the rice 2 hours or overnight. Drain.
  2. Steam the rice with the knotted pandan on top, 20 to 30 minutes, until soft.
  3. Slice the mangoes. Cover and refrigerate.
  4. Heat 2.5 cups coconut milk with the sugar, salt and pandan. Bring to a boil.
  5. Pour half into a bowl. This half gets mixed into the rice. Pull the pandan out of both.
  6. Stir the extra 2.5 tbsp coconut milk with the cornstarch and add it to the pot. Boil until thick. This is the drizzle.
  7. Mix the cooked rice with the unthickened sauce. Cool 15 to 20 minutes.
  8. Serve the rice with mango, a drizzle of the thick sauce and sesame seeds.

Notes

  • Once sauced, the rice is fine at room temperature for hours. Rewarm the thick sauce if it sets.
  • Cover the mixed rice with plastic touching the surface so it doesn't crust.