sweet sticky rice with mango

last weekend we went to a nice Thai restaurant at the Westin on the beach (birthday/ Mother's day dinner)

The weather was perfect.

The food was great

{and the best part was}

the dinner was all inclusive and the bill was taken care of. A friend of ours gifted it to us after staying at our house for 3 weeks last month (thanks Meredith).

As much as I enjoyed my thai favorites: chicken satay with peanut sauce, spring rolls, and panang curry, I was excited and saving room for the sweet sticky rice with mango on the dessert menu. It's one of my favorites and did not disappoint.

when we went to Thailand last fall, I took a cooking class one day and learned how to make it- among other things.

while normally, I'm a chocolate/ baked dessert girl.

This is delish- I made it twice last week and ate it for breakfast.

So....

I'm sharing the recipe with you.

I hope you like it as much as we do.

ingredients:

• 2 cups glutenious rice (it will actually say glutenous rice or sweet rice on the packaging- don't use basmati or jasmine or something and expect it to taste the same)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup coconut cream (note cream, not coconut milk)
• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 mango peeled and cut into bite size pieces (or smaller)

equipment:

• steamer (I use the steaming basket on our rice cooker)
• cheesecloth (I think a coffee filter will work too)
• dish with lid (bowl, casserole dish, rubbermaid container :))

Directions/ instructions:

1. soak rice in water for a few hours, all day, or over night. Room temp. (I'm not really sure how long exactly- maybe 4-6 hours)
2. line your steamer with cheesecloth (or whatever other innovation to prevent the rice from falling through the steamer).
3. drain rice and spread evenly in steaming basket
4. steam rice for 15-20 minutes.
5. while rice is steaming combine coconut cream, salt and sugar over med heat until sugar is dissolved. set aside.
6. once rice is cooked, remove from steamer (and cheesecloth) and dump into separate dish with lid. Pour prepared sauce over rice. Cover. Let sit for 20 minutes to allow the rice to absorb the sauce.
7. garnish with mangos.
8. Enjoy (and tell me what you think).

If you love the sweet/salty combo I think you'll like this.

Add in the tangy fruity touch of mango! Mmmmm.

(these are photos from the cooking school I attended in Phuket. right on the beach! they are among the few pictures I have of our amazing trip- others lost with the other camera :( I thought they were kinda fun and alarming at the same time.)

and sometimes occasions call for non-baked desserts such as summer (which seems to be upon us now) OR the birthday of an incredible baker whom I may opt not to bake for.

Today is one such day!

the best baker in the world- my older brother- is having a birthday TODAY!!!

Happy birthday Dustin- we love and miss you!

and if we were closer I'd make you a batch of this sweet sticky rice for your very own!