Mangoes with Sticky Rice - Vietnamese Style

I seem to be on a mango tangent lately. But hey, while they're in season, I think mangoes should be savored as much as possible. I've made mango salsa, green mango salad, mangoes in my sweet, sour, salty, spicy tropical fruit salad, mango bread, and now mangoes with sticky rice - Vietnamese style.

I just bought my third case of mangoes this year -- 19 champagne mangoes for $6.99. I much prefer the smaller mangoes because they have less fiber and thinner skins. For these pictures though, I actually used the bigger mangoes I bought at the American grocery stores because it was on sale. The bigger red and green mangoes are better unripened for the green mango salad. While they're bolder in taste, they're often too fibrous and many times have these strange dark brown fibers.

Why is this Vietnamese style? Because with Thai-style mangoes with sticky rice, the sticky rice is drier, not too sweet or coconutty. I've always felt the rice was too bland. And it always seemed to me that I was simply eating mangoes with rice. Nothing special.

So instead, I've adapted this recipe as a cross between xoi (Vietnamese sticky rice) and che (Vietnamese dessert soup). The result is something much more dessert-like.

Mangoes with Sticky Rice - Vietnamese Style

For two people, you'll need:
1 mango
1 cup of sticky or glutinous rice
1 can of coconut milk
1 tblsp corn starch
1 tblsp crushed peanuts or walnuts
a pinch of salt

Wash sticky rice and drain liquid. You can make the coconut sticky rice in two ways. The simplest is to make 1 cup of sticky rice in the rice cooker, adding 3 tblsp of coconut powder. About halfway through the cooking, give it a quick stir to fully dissolve and mix the coconut powder. Or substitute half of the required amount of water with coconut milk. I usually do a 1 cup rice, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup coconut milk ratio. (Remember to shake your can of coconut milk first before opening it.) Cook in rice cooker as normal.

Or if you don't have a rice cooker, you can cook on the stove at medium low heat. To measure, touch the tip of your index finger to the surface of the rice grains and fill enough water and coconut milk so that it reaches the first notch of your index finger. This should take about 15 minutes to cook.

(Psst! I just love the taste of coconut rice period, so you can make several cups of rice with 1 can of coconut milk and eat it with other dishes. This goes really well with Vietnamese braised dishes.)

While the rice is cooking, peel mango and slice off the two big cheeks on the sides. Slice sideways and arrange on plates. Refrigerate.

When the rice is done, fluff it up with a spoon. If it seems a little dry, and you'll actually want this as you don't want mushy rice, just add a little more coconut milk. Allow the rice to cool down and it will absorb more of the flavor and aroma of the added coconut milk.

Add 1 tblsp of cornstarch to the remainder of the coconut milk and heat it on medium low on the stove top. In about 5 minutes, the mixture should thicken. Set aside.

Put about 1 tblsp of peanuts or walnuts and a pinch of salt into a sandwich bag. Crush the nuts with a rolling pin, or keep it in the bag and crush it in your mortar and pestle.

To serve, remove the plates of chilled mangoes from the fridge. Add a nice big scoop of rice. Top with the coconut milk sauce. Sprinkle the crushed salty nuts on top.


The warmth of the sticky rice is such a great contrast with the chilled mangoes. Enjoy!