My mother introduced me to this wonderful Thai dessert, and at $6 a pop at our local Thai restaurant, I ventured to make it at home. I found a lot of different recipes that I boiled down to this one; it's new to me but I'm writing it as I made it, but I think some things are probably optional (cornstarch, brown sugar instead of white).
Anyway, being used to basmati rice, which is boiled, I had no idea how to work with sticky rice, which apparently needs to be steamed in a bamboo steamer. I was even all set to buy one, but before I did I thought I'd just try steaming it the way I steam regular vegetables and it worked BEAUTIFULLY! Boil some water at the bottom of a big pot, place a the steamer basket on top filled with rice and lined with 2 paper towels, cover, and cook! Who needs fancy rice cookers?
Ingredients
2 cups (thereabouts) Thai glutinous rice
1 can coconut milk
4 T. brown sugar
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
Toasted seseme seeds (can do without if unavailable)
A couple mangoes (preferably yellow ones!)
Directions
1. Steam the rice according to directions (again, if you don't have a bamboo pot, use the directions above). Be sure to soak the rice for at least two hours, then drain it, then steam for about 30 minutes.
2. In separate pot, add half of coconut milk, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1-2 T. brown sugar (taste it so it suits your sweetness preference; keep in mind that it will be less sweet on the rice than it is in the pot)
3. Add the cooked rice the the coconut milk mixture and let sit, covered, for at least 20 minutes to let the rice soak it up.
4. In a small pot, mix the rest of the coconut milk with 1/4 tsp. salt, the cornstarch, and as much sugar as you like.
5. When it's ready, serve rice topped with warm sauce and seseme seeds beside a sliced mango.
My favorite sticky rice is super easy- boil enough rice so you end up with three cups of cooked rice. Dump the rice, two eggs, and a can of coconut cream (NOT MILK)(the stuff used to make pina coladas, found with the mixers in the liquor section of grocery stores)into a casserole dish. Stir, and bake for 50 min (or until set). serve with mangoes! I've had people tell me that this is way sweeter and richer than other sticky rices they've had, but everyone also says they liked mine better!
ReplyDelete