Thai Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango Khao Neow Mamuang

Khao Neow Mamuang, also known as Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango, is one of Thailand’s most well known and popular dessert dishes and while it originated in Thailand, this dessert is also consumed throughout south-east Asia in countries like Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, even Bangladesh and India! Thai coconut sticky rice combines delicious sweet and soft glutinous rice with rich and creamy coconut milk, juicy mango (typically a yellow mango) and a sprinkle of toasted mung beans for a little touch of crunch.

For those who aren’t familiar with Thai cuisine or are just getting started out, this is an amazing recipe to try because with the exception of ‘rice pudding’, in western culture rice is most commonly associated with savoury meals. So, Thai coconut sticky rice with mango is a refreshingly tasty twist on simple ingredients that most people in the west are already familiar with and can find readily available.

Khao Neow Mamuang as it’s traditionally called, is also very easy to make and doesn’t take long to prepare. In fact, we would even go as far as to say this is probably one of the few Thai recipes which are practically foolproof to make. Despite that, we think there are a few tips we could share so you get the best result when making this.

For example, we would suggest you should always use a good quality full-fat coconut milk for this recipe. Avoid ‘light’ or coconut milks with low percentage coconut solids, these will only take away from the authentic creamy texture of the dish. Also make sure you’re using glutinous rice, that’s the ‘sticky element’ of the coconut sticky rice and without this, the rice won’t clump together the way it’s supposed to. Finally, when it comes to garnishing the recipe the traditional garnish would be mung beans but if you don’t have these to hand, you can use toasted sesame seeds as a substitute.