Thai Coconut Sticky Rice

I got to have dinner with my sweet roommate, Samantha this past Wednesday night. She had a coupon for a local Thai place where if you spent $35, you got $25 off (so $5 bucks each is a great deal for dinner). The funny part was that I think the most expensive item on the menu was $7 so it was a stretch for she and I to come up with a $35 tab! The result of our efforts was a completely gluttonous (is that a word??) Thai feast including soup and appetizers and an entree and drinks and dessert (and ice cream to go for her parents). The dessert we chose was a Coconut Sticky Rice with fresh mango. I am not usually a huge fan of coconut milk, unless it is combined with curry (in which case I get SUPER excited!). However, something about this dish totally worked and I was hooked after the first bite! My mind went where it usually goes: "I bet I can make this" so I spent my lunch breaks this week researching sweet, sticky rice recipes online.

And now, here is my recommendation for the your weekend (I know... I am not giving you very much notice since it is already Saturday night!). Go to the closest grocery store, buy a bag of sushi rice (sometimes called sticky rice), a can of coconut milk and a nice, ripe mango. Get home as quickly as possible and continue with the following instructions:
- Cook 1 cup of the sticky rice according to package directions.
- Simultaneously, bring 3/4 cup coconut milk, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 tsp salt to a boil.
- Once the rice has cooked, combine it with the coconut milk mixture and put the whole thing in a covered bowl on the counter for about an hour to cool. I think this dish is technically supposed to be served at room temperature. But if you just can't wait, you could technically break the rules and eat it warm.
- While the rice is cooling, put another 1/2 cup coconut milk in the pan with 1 tsp of sugar, 1/8 tsp salt, a dash of vanilla and just under 1 Tablespoon of Tapioca starch (I didn't have any of this and used corn starch, which worked fine). Heat until it thickens.
- Put rice in bowls, add chopped mango, drizzle your sauce on top and sit yourself down to properly savor this treat!
(Side note: The recipe called for toasted sesame seeds to sprinkle on top, but I did not have any and did not want to spend $8 on a large jar at the store. I may try to find a smaller container of them for next time...)

Hope you enjoy a lovely weekend!