Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice

Finally started watching the (weirdly popular) Ryomaden last night. It’s filmed awfully, the special effects are ridiculous, and the acting is worse than an American soap opera…. I’m not sure why we decided to start it, other than because we live in the area the show is about. I guess the only good thing about starting the show is that it forces me to learn a little about the lives of these historically significant people who came from Kochi… of course seeing Ryoma act like a goof IS kinda entertaining so I’ll stick with it for a little while at least.

Our show-time snack of choice last night involved a mango I recently picked up. I’m not terribly good at knowing when fruits and vegetables are at their peak of ripeness… so I wanted to eat the mango before it decided to end itself in my fruit basket and not share its sweet goodness. Unfortunately, I could have waited another day or two before diving into this mango, but I’ve never minded a little tartness when it comes to my fruit.

Mango and Coconut Sticky Rice (5 min)

1 ripe mango, sliced into spoon-able pieces
1 cup rice, steamed in cooker
1/2 cup thick coconut milk/cream
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Creamy Coconut Topping

1 tablespoon rice flour
4 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons thick coconut milk/cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds or mung beans
(Makes 3 servings)

This dessert took 5 minutes to make (not including having the rice steamed in the rice cooker) and only involves two saucepans. If you don’t have two saucepans to work with, start with the rice liquid and finish with the coconut topping.

1. Turn your heat on low and add the 1/2 cup of thick coconut milk, 4 tablespoons of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the saucepan.
2. Stir and blend until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Turn off the heat and add this mixture to your just-steamed rice in the rice cooker, massaging the liquid in with a rice paddle.
4. Over low heat, drop a tablespoon of flour and 4 tablespoons of water into a saucepan. Stir until the flour and water have become one, thick, white mixture and there are no clumps of flour left.
5. Add the thick coconut milk, sugar, and salt. Stir until the mixture begins to bubble a little. Turn off the heat.
6. In a bowl, add a scoop of the coconut rice on one side, and a nice helping of mango slices on the other. Pour a helping of the coconut topping over the rice and mango pieces, and finish it all off with a sprinkling of sesame seeds or mung beans.