Thai Mango Sticky Rice

I recently ate dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant for my daughter’s birthday. Since it was a celebration, we bought one order of Mango Sticky Rice to share after our meal. I had always wanted to try it, but I was usually too full after my meal.

To say it was delicious would be an understatement! We all dug in with gusto, clanging our spoons together in our haste to get our share.

As soon as I got home I researched recipes. Some of them were unnecessarily complicated. They involved overnight soaking and finding the perfect mangos. I came up with an easy, foolproof recipe that is just as delicious!

PC: Ann Kirsten

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 ¼ cups Thai Jasmine Rice
1 can of Coconut milk (13.66 oz) DIVIDED
1 – 15 oz. can of diced mangos
½ cup sugar DIVIDED
Pinch salt
½ teaspoon corn starch
Toasted sesame seeds (you can buy them already toasted)

Instructions:

Rinse the rice 5-6 times until the water runs clear. Drain it.

Strain the canned mangos, reserving the juice. Measure the juice and add enough water to make 1 cup. Put the rice, ½ cup of the coconut milk, 1 cup juice/water mixture, ¼ cup of sugar and a pinch of salt into a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, and turn to low. Let it simmer 11-15 minutes or until most of the liquid has cooked into the rice.

While the rice is cooking, make the coconut sauce. Heat the remaining coconut milk and ¼ cup of sugar in a small saucepan on medium heat until the mixture starts to bubble. Add ½ teaspoon of cornstarch, stirring with a whisk until it’s incorporated. Remove from heat.

To serve, spoon a serving of the rice mixture into a bowl, pour some of the coconut sauce over the top. Place some of the diced mangos on the rice and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

This is so yummy! It makes 5 large servings or 6 smaller ones.

PC: Ann Kirsten

Rice was not a staple crop in ancient Israel. Rice requires a lot of water which was not readily available in the areas the Israelites settled. Instead, crops like barley, wheat and legumes were more suited to the terrain. While rice is not mentioned specifically, some Biblical scholars think it may have been present during the time of Ezekial. In Assyrian texts, the word “kuranga” is close to the Persian word for rice.