Sticky Rice with Mango

Most sticky foods aren't exactly what you'd call sophisticated. Off the top of my head, there's gummy bears, caramel apples, tootsie rolls, marshmallows, jelly beans and gum (if you can call gum food). So here's one with a little more class...sticky rice.

Only it's not really all that sticky (it won't get tangled in your braces or yank off your dentures like taffy will). It's just called sticky rice because it's stickier than other rices. It's made from glutinous rice, which is totally gluten-free. Really (they only call it that to confuse you). Actually it's just the Asian term for gluttonous (it's so delicious that most people can't eat just one spoonful). Alright, I made that up. Seriously it's just because it's sticky and glue-like. Anyway, it tastes great. A nice light dessert that's not overly sweet.

STICKY RICE WITH MANGO

Serves 8

1 1/2 cups glutinous (sweet) rice, soaked overnight*

1 1/3 cups well-stirred unsweetened coconut milk

1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, palm sugar or brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted lightly

1 large mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into thin slices (at least 24)

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1.      Drain rice well in a sieve. Set sieve over a large deep saucepan of simmering water (sieve should not touch water) and steam rice, covered with a kitchen towel and a lid, 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender (check water level in pan occasionally, adding more water if necessary).

2.      While rice is cooking, in a small saucepan bring 1 cup coconut milk to a boil with 1/3 cup sugar and salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and remove from heat. Keep mixture warm.

3.      Transfer cooked rice to a bowl and stir in coconut milk mixture. Let rice stand, covered, 30 minutes, or until coconut-milk mixture is absorbed. Rice may be prepared up to this point 2 hours ahead and kept covered at room temperature.

4.      While rice is standing, in cleaned small pan slowly boil remaining 1/3 cup coconut milk with remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Transfer sauce to a small bowl and chill until cool and thickened slightly.

5.      To serve, mold 1/2 cup servings of sticky rice on dessert plates. Drizzle desserts with sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Divide mango slices among plates.

*To soak the rice:

In a bowl, wash rice well in several changes of cold water until water is clear. Soak rice in cold water to cover overnight.

barely adapted from Gourmet, June 1994

glutinous rice (in the bag)

soaking the rice

soaked (and drained) rice in a strainer
(over a pot of simmering water)

towel and lid over the rice

I actually had the foresight to fold the towel up
so it wouldn't catch on fire (I congratulated myself
for a good 20 minutes on that one).

steamed rice

coconut milk, sugar and salt

pouring coconut milk mixture over the rice

mixed (it looks soupy now, but the rice will soak it up)

peeled mango

sliced mango

I think I would dice the mango next time
(just so it's easier to eat with the rice)

unmolding the sticky rice

sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds

sticky rice with mango

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Mango Shrimp Summer Rolls

Here's something cool and light to make on a hot summer day (I guess that's why they call them summer rolls). I've also heard them called fresh rolls, which makes sense because they're not fried (like spring rolls) and have a clean, crisp freshness. These are very versatile since you can stuff them with anything you want. You can also make dipping sauce.



I probably overstuffed mine a little (or a lot). I get kind of excited and forget that sometimes less is more. Especially when it comes to the rolling. Which reminds me, don't be surprised if your first roll is very sloppy. There is a learning curve (by roll #3 you'll be a pro). And while rolls #1 and #2 might not make it to your Facebook page, they'll still taste terrific.

MANGO SHRIMP SUMMER ROLLS 

Makes 8 first-course servings

12 large shrimp, cooked and chilled

3 ounces vermicelli rice-stick noodles*

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 (8-inch) rice-paper rounds plus additional in case some tear*

48 fresh cilantro leaves (from about 1 bunch)

48 fresh mint leaves (from about 1 bunch)

1 seedless cucumber, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks

3 scallions, cut into 3-inch-long julienne strips

1 pound firm-ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks

*available in Asian markets or the Asian section of many supermarkets

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1.  Slice each shrimp in half lengthwise, deveining if necessary. Set aside.

2.  Add noodles to boiling water and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander, then rinse under cold running water and drain well. Stir together vinegar, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved, then add noodles and toss to coat.

3.  Put a double thickness of paper towel on a work surface and fill a shallow baking pan with warm water. Check rice-paper rounds and use only those that have no holes. Soak 1 round in warm water until pliable, 30 seconds to 1 minute, then carefully transfer to paper towels.

4.  Arrange 3 shrimp halves (cut sides up) in a row across bottom third (part nearest you) of soaked rice paper. Spread 1/4 cup noodles on top of shrimp and arrange 3 cilantro leaves, 3 mint leaves, 8 cucumber matchsticks, 6 scallion strips, and 10 mango matchsticks horizontally on top of noodles. Fold bottom of rice paper over filling and begin rolling up tightly, stopping at halfway point. Arrange 3 more mint leaves and 3 more cilantro leaves along crease, then fold in ends and continue rolling. Transfer summer roll, seam side down, to a plate and cover with dampened paper towels. Make 7 more rolls in same manner and serve whole or halved diagonally.

Can be made 4 hours ahead and chilled, covered with dampened paper towels and then with plastic wrap. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Gourmet, May 2003

slicing shrimp in half

mint and cilantro

sliced cucumber

sliced mango

sliced scallions

vermicelli rice noodles

cooked vermicelli rice noodles

rice paper rounds in package

rice paper round (it's so thin, you can see through it)

It's hard to even see the softened rice paper round against
the white paper towel (I tried to take a photo of soaking it
in water, but it's pretty much invisible in the water).

noodles layered on

herbs added

cucumber added

scallions and mango added

rolling

tucking in the sides

rolled

you can play around with the order of the ingredients,
depending on what you would like to show through

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Frozen Mosaic (Mango, Blackberry and Vanilla)

I'm not sure I need to say much about this frozen little work of art. It's so easy and pretty. You can make it days ahead of time (in about 30 minutes) and your guests will ooh and ahh (if they don't, consider getting yourself some new guests...I mean, really, it's the polite thing to do). 

These flavors are a great combination — very colorful and light & refreshing on a hot day. Of course you can make this with any flavors you want (as long as you make a sauce thin enough to fill in the cracks). I was thinking maybe a chocolate and vanilla version with raspberry sauce (not as colorful, but nice for chocolate lovers). And if you really want to be a superstar, make your own ice cream/sorbet (of course if you go that route, you can kiss quick and easy goodbye).

FROZEN MANGO, BLACKBERRY AND VANILLA MOSAIC

Makes 10 to 12 servings

2 pints mango sorbet (4 cups)

1 pint vanilla ice cream (2 cups)

6 oz. fresh blackberries (1 1/2 cups)

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons crème de cassis (black currant liqueur)

1.     Put sorbet and ice cream in refrigerator until evenly softened, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

2.     Meanwhile, purée blackberries, sugar, and cassis in a blender until smooth, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids. Freeze to thicken slightly until ice cream is ready, 20 to 40 minutes, then stir until smooth.

3.      Lightly oil a 9” x 5” x 3” loaf pan (or other 7- to 8-cup capacity mold) with no-taste oil (like canola oil). Cut a piece of parchment to fit bottom and long sides of pan, leaving at least 3 inches of overhang on each side.

4.     Fill pan decoratively with spoonfuls of sorbet and ice cream, pressing down and filling empty spaces with blackberry purée as you go. Smooth top, pressing down with back of spoon to eliminate air spaces, then fold parchment flaps over top and freeze until solid, at least 3 hours.

5.     To unmold, run a thin knife along short sides of pan to loosen mosaic, then open parchment and invert onto a flat serving dish, discarding parchment.

6.     Cut mosaic into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Can be made 5 days ahead and frozen, covered with plastic wrap.

from Gourmet, July 2007

blackberries with sugar and crème de cassis

blackberry sauce

straining the blackberry sauce

layering the ice cream and sorbet

Remember to push down as you layer to avoid holes
(mine had a few, but nothing too terrible).

blackberry sauce drizzled on

ready to wrap up

In order to unmold it, I did run a little warm water over the
sides of the pan. As you can see, it's a little melty because of that.
I just stuck it back in the freezer for 20 minutes--no problem.

unmolded, the short end

cross section

As you can see, every slice is different. Fun.

I wrapped the leftover in plastic wrap (in individual slices) and put them
back in the freezer. It was easy for my family to quickly grab a piece.
If you don't want those lines on yours, don't use a serrated knife like I did.

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Avocado Mango Salsa

This salsa so colorful and flavorful...it's like a party in a bowl! It's fruity, juicy, creamy and even peppy (that might be the first time I've ever typed that word). It's great straight up with tortilla chips, but also nice served with seafood or chicken.

AVOCADO MANGO SALSA

Yield: approx. 3 cups

1 ripe mango, peeled, seeded and diced

1 tomato, seeded and diced

2 scallions, finely sliced

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 jalapeño chili, minced

1 avocado, peeled, seeded and diced

salt and black pepper to taste

Combine mango, tomato, scallions, lime juice and jalapeño in a bowl. (Can be made 3 hours ahead; refrigerate.) Stir in diced avocado and season to taste with salt and pepper.

from Bon Appétit

chopping mangoes

chopping scallions

mincing the jalapeño

everything but the avocado (the tomato is in
there, I just forgot to take a separate photo of it)

halved avocados
I doubled the recipe and added the avocados just before serving.

avocado mango salsa!

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