Mango Sticky Rice

Sticky rice pairs beautifully with sweet coconut sauce and fresh mango slices to create this delicious, simple dessert. Sometimes called coconut sticky rice, mango sticky rice is a popular Thai dessert you can easily find at most Thai restaurants. But the homemade version has less sugar, tastes just as satisfying, and is relatively easy to prepare. It’s one of my favorite desserts to make during peak mango season.

Ingredients

You only need 5 basic ingredients to make my coconut rice with mango recipe:

• Glutinous rice
• Coconut milk
• White sugar
• Salt
• Mangoes

I like to use toasted sesame seeds for garnishing. Depending on the type of coconut milk you use, you might need a bit of cornstarch to make a slurry to thicken the sauce. (See more about the sauce in the recipe footnote below.)

Sticky rice

Sticky rice (糯米), often called glutinous rice or sweet rice, is a gluten-free black or white rice. The cooked grains are semi-opaque and have a gooey, sticky texture. It is different from sushi rice, another type of short-grain rice.

Sticky rice is commonly used in Chinese cooking, such as when making Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), meatballs coated with sticky rice, pineapple rice, and sticky rice stuffed lotus root. The texture of sticky rice is quite different from that of regular rice. It’s a key ingredient and the only authentic type of rice for mango sticky rice recipes. You can find it at most Asian markets and online.

Fresh, sweet mango

You can use any ripe mango in mango sticky rice (not the green mango used in recipes like Thai mango salads). Several varieties of mango will work.

I like to use larger Ataulfo mangoes (the one in the middle of the picture above), which weigh about 8 ounces (225 grams) each. Half a large Ataulfo mango yields the perfect amount of fruit for one serving of mango sticky rice. 

Larger Tommy Atkins mangoes work well, too. One of those weighs about 1 pound (450 grams) and yields more fruit. If you use the Tommy Atkins variety, you only need 2 mangoes for this recipe. 

Ripe mangoes are key to creating the best classic mango sticky rice. If your mangoes are still tough, store them at room temperature to let them ripen further before cutting them. Once the mangoes get soft, transfer them to the fridge so they will stay fresh without overripening.

Reduced sugar content

Sometimes, I see recipes calling for 1/2 cup of sugar when cooking 1 cup of rice. That’s way too much sugar for me! I used a total of 1/4 cup of sugar for 1 cup of rice. Plus, I made more sauce in this recipe, so you will have more flexibility to serve the dessert how you like it.

How to make mango sticky rice 

Cooking mango sticky rice is super easy:

1. Soak the rice in cold water
2. Drain rice, then steam it

1. Mix the sauce ingredients and gently heat them up
2. Combine some of the warm coconut milk mixture with the steamed rice

1. Portion out the sweet rice to each serving bowl
2. Add the mango and garnish with sesame seeds and more thickened coconut sauce

Frequently asked questions about mango sticky rice recipes

More delicious Asian dessert

• Mango Sago
• Banana Fritters
• Red Bean Popsicles
• 4-Ingredient No Churn Black Sesame Ice Cream
• Sticky Rice Cakes with Red Bean Paste

Mango Sticky Rice

By Maggie Zhu

5 from 8 votes

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Pre-soak the rice: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 to 6 servings

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Mango sticky rice is a healthy and satisfying dessert featuring sweet gooey sticky rice served with a luscious coconut sauce and sliced mango.The homemade version contains less sugar and is quite easy to prepare. {Gluten-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan}

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• 1 cup uncooked sticky rice
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk (13.5 oz / 400 g can)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch (Optional)
• 3 ripe mangoes , peeled and sliced
• Toasted sesame seeds for garnish (Optional)

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Instructions

• Rinse the sticky rice with tap water and use your hand to gently stir it. Drain the water to remove the excess starch. Repeat once, then add cold water to cover. Soak the sticky rice for a minimum of 1 hour, or up to overnight in the fridge. Once soaked, rinse again and drain the water.
• Transfer the rice to a heatproof bowl, add about 2” of water to your steamer (not into the rice), place the heatproof rice bowl on the steaming rack in the steamer, and cover the steamer. Turn to medium-high heat to bring the water to a boil. When the steam starts to come out of the pot, turn to medium heat. Steam for 20 to 25 minutes, until the rice is cooked through, with no hard raw bits in the middle. Remove the pot from the stove. Let sit, covered, while you prepare the other ingredients.
• Make the sauce when the rice is cooking. Combine the coconut milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat or medium-low heat until the mixture is hot and the sugar is melted. Do not bring the coconut sauce to a boil.
• (Optional) If the coconut milk you’re using is thin: Combine the cornstarch and 4 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Stir to completely dissolve the cornstarch. Add half of the slurry to the sauce. Stir immediately to thicken the sauce. You can adjust the thickness of the sauce by slowly adding a bit more water or cornstarch slurry, if needed. The sauce shouldn’t be too thick, but should coat the back of a spoon. (*Footnote 1)
• Carefully remove the bowl of sticky rice from the steamer with your oven mitts on. Pour 1 cup of the sauce into the bowl. Stir to mix well until the sauce is fully absorbed.
• The mango sticky rice is ready to serve when the rice mixture and the sauce cool to room temperature or lukewarm.
• To serve, transfer 1/3 cup of the coconut rice to each of several small serving bowls or plates. Place the sliced mango on the side. Pour a few spoonfuls of the extra coconut sauce on top of the rice. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds, if using. (*Footnote 2)

Video

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Notes

1. Most of the time you don’t need the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce, since the coconut milk should have a nice creamy texture. But I’ve come across some brands of coconut milk that have a thinner consistency. Or sometimes you might prefer a thicker and creamier sauce. In this case, adding cornstarch will give the sauce a nicer texture.
2. 1/3 cup rice with half a mango creates a great dessert size. But if you prefer a larger dessert or want to serve this one as a standalone snack, you can use 1/2 cup rice per serving to make 4 servings in total.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 288kcal, Carbohydrates: 42.4g, Protein: 3.1g, Fat: 12.9g, Saturated Fat: 11.1g, Sodium: 276mg, Potassium: 191mg, Fiber: 2.8g, Sugar: 24.9g, Calcium: 13mg

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