Over 5 years ago, we posted these two recipes for cold Asian dessert soups that have grown in popularity across Asia. Today, we’re posting a new recipe for one of my favorite dessert soups, made with mango, Thai black sticky rice, coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, and shaved ice.
It may sound like a strange sort of dessert to Western ears, but believe me when I tell you that on some days, I’d take this over a slice of chocolate cake, and I LOVE chocolate cake.
Black Sticky Rice & Mango: A Thai Combination
The combination of mango and black sticky rice is common in Thailand, where the dessert is often a little drier than what you see here. The black sticky rice is served alongside sliced mango, and a sauce of sweet coconut milk is usually added.
What I’m emulating here, however, is the version from our family’s beloved Honeymoon Dessert (满记甜品), an Asian dessert chain originating in Hong Kong. One of the most popular items on their menu––and my favorite––is the Mango Black Sticky Rice Dessert (the two bowls on the right in the photo below).
The slightly different aspect of their version is the addition of shaved ice, and the soupier consistency of the milk/coconut milk mixture. You can even order an additional scoop of vanilla ice cream to put on top! It makes for a fabulously refreshing dessert during the summer.
We hit up Honeymoon Dessert twice last time we were traveling in China, and my boyfriend Justin even requested it for his most recent birthday in lieu of cake. Can’t get much more of an endorsement than that!
Note: This recipe is a new and improved version of the original recipe we posted 5 years ago, different enough from the old one that I’m posting this version as a new recipe. Since then, I’ve eaten many more bowls of this dessert at Honeymoon, and I think this version is pretty darn close to the genuine article.
Mango Black Sticky Rice Dessert: Recipe Instructions
Rinse the Thai black glutinous rice and soak overnight in 2 cups of water. It should be soaked for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours.
Pour the rice and the water it was soaking in into a rice cooker and add ¼ cup coconut milk and 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir everything together and turn on the rice cooker. Different rice cookers will handle sticky rice slightly differently, so you may have to press the cook button a couple times until all the liquid is absorbed. Once the rice is cooked, cool completely.
If you don’t have a rice cooker, soak the Thai sticky rice overnight and then steam it according to our instructions for foolproof sticky rice. Heat the coconut milk and sugar in a pot and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool and stir into the cooked sticky rice. Cool completely.
In a separate bowl, combine the remaining 2/3 cup coconut milk with 2/3 cup regular milk and ½ cup sweetened condensed milk. Taste and add more sweetened condensed milk if you’d like it sweeter.
Divide the shaved ice among 4 bowls. Top each bowl with half of a sliced mango and 1-2 scoops of black sticky rice. Divide the milk mixture among each bowl, pouring it over the mango, ice, and sticky rice. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to each bowl if desired. Serve!
