Make Thai sweet coconut sticky rice (khao niao moon) in a rice cooker with no overnight soaking. Fragrant with pandan, perfect for mango sticky rice in under an hour.

Prep time: 10 minutesCook time: 40 minutesTotal time: 50 minutesServings: 4 servingsDifficulty: Easy

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Traditional Thai coconut sticky rice, the base of mango sticky rice, usually means soaking the rice overnight and steaming it in a bamboo basket. This shortcut version cooks the glutinous rice straight in a rice cooker, then folds in sweet, salted coconut milk scented with pandan. The result is soft, glossy, and fragrant, and it is ready to serve with ripe mango.

Which sticky rice should you use?

Most Thai cooks reach for khao niao khiao ngu, a premium long-grain glutinous rice with small, slender grains. It cooks up sticky but not mushy and stays soft for a long time. It is pricier, so if you are on a budget, any Thai glutinous (sweet) rice from an Asian grocery will work.

Ingredients

For the rice

  • 400 ml (1 2/3 cups) Thai glutinous rice, measured by volume
  • 400 ml (1 2/3 cups) water

For the sweet coconut milk

  • 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) coconut milk
  • 100 g (1/2 cup) white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 to 3 pandan leaves, tied in a knot (optional but recommended)

Instructions

Cook the rice

  1. The method could not be simpler: use equal volumes of glutinous rice and water. No soaking needed.
  2. Rinse the rice a few times until the water runs mostly clear, then drain well.
  3. Put the rice and water in the rice cooker and cook on the regular setting.
  4. When the cooker is about to switch to "keep warm," start on the coconut milk.

Make the coconut milk and finish

  1. Put the coconut milk, sugar, salt, and pandan leaves in a small pot over medium-low heat. Warm gently, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Do not let it boil.
  2. Once the rice is done, gently fluff it from the bottom up. Pour in the hot coconut milk and stir until evenly combined.
  3. Close the lid and leave the cooker on "keep warm" for 20 minutes so the rice absorbs the coconut milk. Do not unplug it.
  4. Serve warm with slices of sweet ripe mango.

Tips

  • For a pretty twist, divide the coconut milk and tint each portion with a little natural food coloring (pandan green, butterfly pea blue) before mixing into the rice.
  • Reserve a few tablespoons of coconut milk to spoon over the top when serving, and sprinkle with toasted mung beans or sesame seeds.
Thai dessertSticky riceCoconut milkRice cookerMango sticky rice

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