Peach on Sticky Rice with Sweet and Salty Coconut Cream
Transport yourself to Thailand with this deliciously-simple sweet sticky rice dish. Make it with juicy, ripe peaches in the summer, or your soft fruit of choice during the rest of the year.
Introduction
Mango sticky rice is one of the most definitive desserts in Thailand. The premise of the dessert is really simple: mango, steamed sticky rice and coconut cream. Because it’s so simple, you really rely on the quality of the mango – the best ones are sweet and tender, with a fragrance that you can smell from a distance away. As good mangoes are hard to find in the UK, I go for peaches instead. They are one of my favourite things at the greengrocer’s in summer. Inside that fuzzy exterior is flesh that’s soft and incredibly sweet, with a fragrance to match that of a mango. Try to get peaches that have been picked while ripe and in season; unlike pears, unripe peaches don’t grow that much sweeter when left on the counter.
You can swap the peaches for other seasonal soft fruit such as nectarines or plums.
Ingredients
| 200g | glutinous rice (aka sticky rice) |
| 240ml | coconut milk |
| 2 | pinches of sea salt |
| 2 tbsp | light palm sugar or caster sugar |
| 2 | very ripe peaches (or other seasonal soft fruit) |
| 100g | coconut chips |
Essential kit
You will need a cheesecloth-lined steamer basket, or a fine-meshed strainer.
Method
Rinse the rice and cover with cold water. Let soak overnight or for at least 2 hours. Drain the rice and pour into a cheesecloth-lined steamer basket, or a fine-meshed strainer. Place over boiling water in a wok or a large pot, cover and let steam for 20 minutes. Stir to bring the rice at the bottom to the top, then continue steaming for another 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and transfer to bowls. Keep them covered while you prepare the rest of the dish.
Combine the coconut milk with the salt and sugar in a saucepan and simmer gently over a low heat. Stir to dissolve. Pour three-quarters of the hot sweetened coconut milk over the hot sticky rice, and let the rice sit and absorb the coconut milk.
Gently toast the coconut chips in a dry pan set over a medium heat, stirring often, until golden at the edges. Remove and leave to cool and crisp up.
De-stone and slice the peaches. Serve alongside the sticky rice, with a final drizzle of the remaining coconut milk just before serving. Finish with a sprinkle of toasted coconut chips.
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