Thai Mango Sticky Rice Recipe: Authentic Thai Street Food Style!

In this Thai mango sticky rice recipe, you’ll learn how to make authentic Thai street food style coconut sticky rice with mango.
Let’s get started making this recipe!
- Mango, sticky rice, coconut cream
- Juicy mango!
What is Thai mango sticky rice?
NOTE: If you want to get straight into the recipe as fast as possible, scroll down to the video and recipe box below. But for a more in-depth explanation about this Thai dessert, keep reading this entire post.
In Thai it’s called khao neow mamuang (ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง), khao neow (ข้าวเหนียว) means glutinous sticky rice, while mamuang (มะม่วง) means mango in Thai.
Within Thai cooking, sticky rice is the staple starch of northern and northeastern Thai cuisine (Isaan), and it’s also commonly used in all sorts of Thai desserts.
For Thai mango sticky rice, the sticky rice is steamed, mixed with thick coconut cream and sugar, paired with perfectly ripe yellow sweet mango, served with some extra coconut cream on the top to make it even better, and finally often some crispy yellow mung beans are sprinkled on the very top.

Ingredients for khao neow mamuang
Ingredients you’ll need:
For the sticky rice
- 1 kg. Thai sticky rice (ข้าวเหนียว)
- 800 ml. coconut cream (หัวกะทิ) – If you can’t get fresh coconut milk, this is my favorite type in the box.
- 150 g. sugar (น้ำตาลทราย)
- 1 tsp. salt (เกลือ)
For the mango
- Sweet yellow mangoes (มะม่วงนำ้ดอกไม้)
- 100 g. yellow mung beans (ถั่วเหลือง) – optional
For the coconut cream topping
- 200 ml. coconut cream (หัวกะทิ)
- 1/3 tsp. salt (เกลือ)
Really good quality coconut cream (or canned or box coconut milk) and really juicy sweet mangoes are the key to making this Thai mango sticky rice recipe.

Start with the sticky rice
Sticky rice
Thai sticky rice sweetened with sugar and coconut cream is a popular base for many different Thai desserts, and it’s highly important for this mango sticky rice recipe.
If you have an Asian supermarket available, look for Thai sticky rice, or Thai glutinous rice, or sometimes it’s called Thai sweet rice (it’s much different from regular jasmine rice, and different from Chinese sweet rice).
To make sticky rice, you can use my Thai sticky rice recipe. However you’ll want to pre-rinse it even more thoroughly to remove all the outer starch on each grain of rice before steaming it.

Soak and wash the rice thoroughly to remove all starch
I washed the rice about 6 times to begin with, lightly rubbing the rice together to scratch off most of the starch. And then I allowed the rice to soak in water for 6 hours. This is the one step where it’s best to think ahead before you start this mango sticky rice recipe so you have time to soak the rice.
Once you’ve rinsed the rice six times, when you add water again, the water should be clear, not milky from the starch. If it’s milky, rinse it a few more times.
Once your sticky rice has soaked for about 6 hours, drain it, and it’s time to steam it.
You can use any kind of steaming method you’d like, but just make sure the sticky rice is placed somewhere above steam in a pot, and covered.
I used the Thai / Laos traditional basket steamer and steamed the sticky rice for about 15 minutes.

Coconut cream
While your sticky rice is steaming, you can get started on the coconut cream sugar mixture.
For this recipe you’re only going to want to use coconut cream, which in Thai is called hua kati (หัวกะทิ). It’s the richest and most butter thick coconut milk, so it’s higher in fat and just an amazing thing.

Heat the coconut cream
In a medium sized sauce pan, add 800 ml. of the coconut cream, and stir it in circular motions, just in one direction (make sure you just stir in one direction or the coconut cream could start to curdle).
Immediately add 150 g. sugar, and 1 tsp. of salt, and keep stirring gently on the heat, making sure the sugar completely dissolves.
As soon as the coconut cream comes to a boil and the sugar is fully dissolved, turn off the heat.

Mix the coconut cream with the hot steamed sticky rice
Your sticky rice should still be steaming hot, and dump the whole lump of sticky rice into a heat proof mixing bowl.
Take the coconut cream sugar mixture, and start by first adding a couple spoons and delicately mixing it into the sticky rice.
Keep adding more spoons (spoon by spoon) and stirring, but you want to gradually add the coconut cream so that it remains sticky but doesn’t get mushy.

Keep stirring, adding the coconut cream slowly
You’ll use all the coconut cream, but add it little by little and mix, until it’s all soaked up by the sticky rice.
When you’re finished, you should almost have a sticky grain pudding like texture, and the rice should be shining and glistening because of all that healthy coconut fat.
At this point the sticky rice is already to be eaten, make sure you taste test it, it should be a bit sweet, and very rich and coconut-y tasting, with just a hint of a saltiness to bring out the taste of everything.

Cover your sticky rice or it will get crusty
When you make this mango sticky rice recipe, if you’re not planning to eat the sticky rice immediately, it’s best to cover it in a plastic bag or plastic wrap so that it doesn’t get dried out or crusty.
Normally in Thailand this type of sticky rice is not refrigerated or it will damage the texture and taste, so it’s usually eaten within a few hours of being prepared. It will still work to refrigerate it, but it won’t be nearly as good.

Mung beans for topping
Toppings
Finally, these are both optional, but they are commonly accompanied with mango sticky rice in Thailand: extra coconut cream and crispy mung beans.
For the extra coconut cream, take the remaining 200 ml. of coconut cream, put in a pot on medium heat, add a pinch of salt, and stir gently until it boils. Then put into a bowl to serve alongside your sticky rice mango.
For the yellow mung beans (you buy yellow mung daal), put a wok or frying pan on the stove on low heat, and dry fry the mung beans for a few minutes, stirring them continuously until they start to turn slightly golden and get more crispy.

Let’s quickly talk about Thai mangoes
Mangoes
Mango sticky rice wouldn’t be complete without mango, and for this mango sticky rice recipe you’ll need perfectly ripe mangoes that are silky in texture (not the stringy mangoes).
In Thailand there are a number of varieties of mango used for khao neow mamuang (ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง), but one of the most common is called mamuang nam dokmai (มะม่วงนำ้ดอกไม้) – literally translated to flower water mango.

Peel the mango and slice it into bite sizes strips
When it comes to Thai food and specifically Thai desserts, presentation and beauty are hugely important.
And so vendors that sell mangoes or serve mango sticky rice take ultimate care in their mangoes, making sure they are not bruised, but are beautiful and yellow.
Most of the time in Thailand, the mango is peeled from the stem side, slicing off long strands of the skin towards the pointy end. Once the first half is peeled, it’s then sliced off the seed, so you’re left with a mango steak from one side of the mango, and that’s then cut into big bite sizes slices (might be easier explained in the video below).

Assemble your mango sticky rice
Combining it all
Once you have all your components for this Thai mango sticky rice recipe ready, it’s time to dish out a plate.
Put some coconut sticky rice down on the base of a plate or bowl, slice on a fresh mango, sprinkle on some crispy mung beans, and finally serve the extra coconut cream on the side.
The recipe for sticky rice might make in total about 10 – 15 portions, and you can really add as much or little mango to each plate as you have, or as you like.

Mango sticky rice recipe (ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง)
Mango sticky rice recipe (วิธีทำ ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง)
If you have a few minutes, first watch the video below:
(Or watch it on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/H_R108b6ZQg)
Time: The sticky rice is best soaked in water for about 6 hours, but after that, this recipe only takes about 30 minutes to make.
Recipe size: The rice makes about 10 – 15 portions, and it would probably be best to use about 1/2 mango per portion
Cooking utensils: Steamer, pot, wok / frying pan
Flavors: Sweet

- 1 kg. Thai sticky rice (ข้าวเหนียว)
- 800 ml. coconut cream (หัวกะทิ)
- 150 g. sugar (น้ำตาลทราย)
- 1 tsp. salt (เกลือ)
- 200 ml. coconut cream (หัวกะทิ)
- ⅓ tsp. salt (เกลือ)
- Sweet yellow mangoes (มะม่วงนำ้ดอกไม้)
- 100 g. yellow mung beans (ถั่วเหลือง)
- Rinse the sticky rice 6 - 10 times, making sure most of the starch gets removed and you're left with clear water. Then soak the rice submerged in water for about 6 hours.
- Using a steamer basket or other type of steamer, steam the sticky rice for about 15 minutes until fully cooked, then set aside.
- In a pot, add 800 ml. coconut cream on medium heat, and stir in one circular direction gentry. Add 150 g. sugar and 1 tsp. salt, and keep stirring and cooking until fully dissolved. When the coconut cream mixture comes to a boil, turn off the heat.
- Put the fresh sticky rice into a mixing bowl, and begin to slowly add in the coconut cream and sugar mixture. You'll combine all of it, but add it spoon by spoon and work it slowly into the rice. Once all combined you should be left with shimmering sticky rice that's almost a grainy pudding in texture. Your sticky rice is ready, cover it with plaster so it doesn't get crusty.
- In a separate sauce pan add the other portion of coconut cream and salt, and stir on low heat. Bring it to a boil, then turn off the heat, and set aside in a bowl. This will be served alongside the mango sticky rice as a topping.
- In a wok or frying pan, using low heat, dry fry the yellow mung beans for a few minutes until they turn golden crispy. Again, set this aside as a topping.
- For the mango, first peel the skin, then cut off the meat from either side of the mango seed, and slice the mango into large bite sized pieces.
- On a plate, first add a portion of sticky rice, top it with mango, sprinkle on some mung beans, and serve the extra coconut cream on the side.
- Enjoy!

Thai mango sticky rice!
Conclusion
Khao neow mamuang (ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง), yellow juicy mango with sweet coconut sticky rice, is one of the most incredible Thai desserts.
When it’s mango season in Thailand, you’ll find delicious ripe mangoes all over Bangkok, and you’ll discover countless street food carts and stalls at markets that sell sticky rice and mango.
If you can get some ripe yellow mangoes, sticky rice, and coconut cream, you can make this authentic Thai mango sticky rice recipe at home!
Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.
Also, be sure to check out more authentic recipes here.
dd
3 years ago
Thank you! I just tried this recipe and it turned out great even though my rice was ooolldddd and stale :D I wanted to be adventurous and used coconut sugar instead of regular white sugar.
Gloria
3 years ago
Best explained recipe EVER!
Norie Kwong
3 years ago
Hi,, I just watched your video. I really love eating thai sticky rice. I wish I can make it too.
Can you recommend me where to purchase that steamer exactly as yours that you got?
I am living in Vancouver, Canada.
Any help is highly appreciated.
john williams
3 years ago
Hi Mark I just found you and your site tracking round the Youtube site…
I have been to Thailand about 50 times or more…fabulous place and fabulous peoples and food….Thanks for making This food easy and accessible to us all in your cooking lessons
Great choices of recipes…KEEP UP THE FAB EASY WORDS AND WORK MATE..sydney Australia
Carlo Abenojar
3 years ago
That’s great! Thanks for sharing
Loren
3 years ago
After having spent time in Thailand and consuming lots of mango sticky rice, I missed the unique flavour. This hits the spot and is the right consistency!
Charley
3 years ago
What’s up, all is going well here and ofcourse every one is sharing facts, that’s genuinely fine, keep up writing.
Vickie lee
3 years ago
great recipe!
Sandre
3 years ago
Should i fry the mung beans in hot oil?
Eve
4 years ago
Awesome! Great recipe and taste! Thanks for the video, I love it!
Tom
4 years ago
Must be my older age – I was so excited to watch your video on how to make it I cried with joy and excitement. Plus the fact I found a booth with a lady selling it next to my hotel in Chiang Mai. I could live on this for weeks if not months.
Morad Ahmad
4 years ago
Hi Mark..I love and like all your videos really you are the best… My question is :
Any sauce (the best and hot) I can eat with the sticky rice….. Thank u so much..
julia
4 years ago
I made but when I mix with the coconut source is let sticky is that normal or do I have to cook more the rice? But the taste was fantastic
Emma
4 years ago
Great recipe
Nancy
4 years ago
Thank you for this detailed recipe! Can I ask if you think it would work to cook the sticky rice in a high quality rice cooker?
Christine
3 years ago
you can try, but steaming the rice will probably have a different effect than cooking it
Jessica
4 years ago
I just made this for a family dinner. It’s easy and delicious. Thanks Mark!
tina
4 years ago
fantastic, really good. tk
Jasmine
4 years ago
Mark Wiens,
Hi! I am enjoyed watching watching your presentation and while preparing the sticky rice ingredients. For me, its very helpful and I wanna learn about something thai food and how to make it. My name is Jasmine . I am from Philippines and I am going to thailand on this month’s of April 23,2019. I am very glad and happy to found this video of yours, and it makes me interest because I loved food. Especially, in thailand I loved very the food and not for the less ,sticky rice .I went to thailand twice for business trip and now I am going therefor my holiday and I cant wait and taste the thai food again…
I hope I can see you there and catch up with you and show me some places..
And once again !
Thank you …
JS
5 years ago
Truly delicious!
Julie
5 years ago
Fantastic
Cherie
5 years ago
Hi Mark,
I’ve been following your youtube channel for several years now. You have inspired me to make this mango sticky rice. Can you please help?
Q1. Is the cloth absolutely necessary?
Q2. Could I use a metal strainer instead of the basket?
Q.3 My country doesn’t grow mangoes and imported ones can be very expensive, would canned mangoes work just as well?
Q.4 what if I can only find Chinese sweet rice?
Irene
5 years ago
Delish, making it again today! I even found the same kind of mango!
Ps, something weird- site won’t let me give 5 stars but it deserves it
Thanks
Mark Wiens
5 years ago
Awesome to hear that Irene. Thanks for letting me know, I’ll look into it.
ian
5 years ago
Thanks mark for this recipe! Now I can let my family taste a bit of thailand…. its too expensive to fly them all out there hahahaha this would do for now :)
Nigel Bayliss
6 years ago
Hello
Excellent videos and recipes.
Do you serve this hot or cold….or both? (…and, if you serve it cold, do you still pour hot coconut milk/cream on it from a serving jug at the table?)
maria
6 years ago
Hello Mr. Weins,
Can I make this recipe a day ahead? If so, please advise. Also in regard to other recipes, what should I do if I cannot find kiffer leaves and shrimp paste? Thanks
Afreena
6 years ago
Made this last night exactly as per the instructions, except just a 1/4 portion as it’s just me and my husband. Wish I could attach a photo, it was picture perfect, tasted delicious and authentic. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Mina
6 years ago
Mmmm delicious. I love this.
poy insee
6 years ago
oh gosh! I fall in love with this blog. I’m Thai but I need help from your blog! lol shame on me! I’ve been at US for 8 months. Your blog made me homesick so bad hhahaha
anyway, thank you so much for creating this amazing blog!
Ray
7 years ago
Alternative you can also speed up the process of making sticky rice by soaking it in ‘warm’ water for 30 minutes.
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Thanks Ray!
Anna
7 years ago
I’m preparing to make my sticky rice today. So excited!!! Thanks for the great video
Enosh
7 years ago
Is sticky rice available in the month of June ?
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Hey Enosh, yes!
Rr
7 years ago
I tired this. I M from south India . But presently in meghalay. Here sticky rice is the staple food .. they call it minal. The recipe was nice . Thank you
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Great, glad you enjoyed it!
Sebastian
7 years ago
When I think back to the first time I came to Thailand, I remember Mango with sticky rice. A family friend who was living in Bangkok at that time took me to a restaurant where they had this dish. Since this day I am addicted to it. Today I live in Bangkokg and my girlfriend cooks it for me whenever she can. I showed her your site and she loves it.
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Hey Sebastian, awesome to hear mango sticky rice brings back good memories. Thanks for sharing as well!
Kris
7 years ago
I know the very good one in Phitsanulok province, Jeab Khanom Thai (เจี๊ยบ ขนมไทย).
Worth to try once in lifetime.
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Thank you for your recommendation Kris!
Thomas Reid
7 years ago
Thanks so much!! Love Thai food and Mango sticky rice is a favorite. I will make this next week for sure.
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Thanks Thomas, good to hear that!
Penny
7 years ago
I tried this recipe and think it is my new favorite dessert! I was disheartened to find that the sticky rice was very hard the the next day. I decided I had nothing to lose by trying something so I popped it into the microwave for less than a minute then added 1-2 tablespoons of coconut milk and stirred it slightly. I was surprised that the texture came back so well and I was able to enjoy it the next day.
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Hey Penny, awesome to hear you enjoyed this. That’s a great tip for reusing the sticky rice the next day, thanks for sharing!
Criz Lai
7 years ago
This is one dessert which I could never resist~ especially during durian season~ LOL~ :P By the way, do you have any food list particularly on street snacks and desserts? I’m only familiar with limited names such as khao neow mamuang, moo ping, khanom buang, khanom krok and sangkaya fak tong. It will be very useful for my food hunting in Bangkok next month~ Thanks~ :)
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Hi Criz, godo to hear that. I don’t have a real updated list yet, but that’s something I should make. Here’s one I wrote that might be useful: http://migrationology.com/100-best-thai-dishes-to-eat-in-bangkok-ultimate-eating-guide/
Boupha
7 years ago
Mark,
Thank you very much for showing such a great Thai foods and also I really like it when you show how to cook it. It looks very simple and easy to follow. Great job!!!!!
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Thank you very much Boupha!
Anthony Tam
7 years ago
Hi Mark,
Just got back from a week in Bangkok and it was sold everywhere on the streets for about THB40/- a portion. It’s really nice as a dessert but it’s too sweet for me so one serving was enough. It was even sold at Suvarnabhumi Airport but at THB180/- a portion!! We enjoyed our stay and did get to go to some of the places you recommended for Thai food but what we discovered was that food sold at foodcourts are no longer as authentic as they used to be whereas food sold on the street were really good, for example the somtum with fermented crab sold by the lady at the foot of the overhead bridge along Thanom Petchaburi linking the Pratunam Fashion Mall and the other side of the road. One week was not enough time in Bangkok and we’ll be back soon. Thanks again Mark, for all the tips on where to go for good Thai food.
Regards,
Anthony.
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Hey Anthony, great to hear from you, I agree about the sweetness. I can’t eat it very often, but I love the mango part of mango sticky rice. Glad you enjoyed your latest visit to Bangkok, thanks for sharing your tips!
Isabel
7 years ago
Can you add less sugar to make the rice less sweet or will that take away from the ‘stickiness’?
Really enjoy your videos and especially your enthusiasm Mark!!
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Hey Isabel, yes definitely you can – actually usually add less myself as well. Thank you and enjoy!
David John Cottrell
7 years ago
There are many recipes you publish which I cannot eat as they contain what are known as “unclean” meats, etc. That is just a thought for consideration. Having lived in Thailand for many years, and as an ex-chef, I appreciate your contribution to extending Thai cuisine to people not familiar with it. You may have noticed how many people publish their own versions of ethnic foods and then they append a specific country to the recipe title. For example, a few years ago, on a very popular recipe website, there appeared a recipe for THAI COLE SLAW. The publishing company did not appreciate my passing along the information that cole slaw was only available at KFC and a few western style food outlets. Needless to say, I no longer have access to their website.
I am writing this screed in an attempt to help you with a minor detail I see whenever you put a recipe online. Why do you repeat the recipe two or even three times during the same publication? I have just read your Thai Mango Sticky Rice recipe and note that it is there three times. As well, a small point, you do not mention if the mung beans should be soaked then dried before frying, or just fried right from the package. By soaking them then the beans become slightly larger.
plamuk aka travellingchef
Rose
7 years ago
I tried your recipe today and it was delicious. My family really enjoy cos everytime i go off to
Bangkok I never missed this delicious sweets. Thanks for the menu.
Samantha
7 years ago
Thanks for adding this Mark. Do you know a dessert that has tapioca and corn kernels in a coconut cream? It’s slightly green in colour. Great work as always.
Boon
7 years ago
Hi Mark, your Thai kitchen name is so lovely “ครัวคุณมาร์ค” or can be truly Thai “ครัวคุณมาก”
your mango with coconut sticky rice,it looks so yummy, i love to taste.
Mark, I would suggest you to add some Pandan leaves for more delicate aromatic herby flavor.
The leaves are crushed in the hand and tied in a knot to release the flavour into the rice & coconut milk during cooking and removed before serving.
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Thank you very much Boon!
Ramona
7 years ago
I also add pandan leaves, if I can find them. But here in Germany I mostly have to use pandan leave extract (or oil) just 2 or 3 drops make a lot of difference. Sticky rice is my ultimately favourit desert. I always make double the coconut syrup and add that later when serving. I really like it sweet. If there are no fresh mangoes available, I sometimes use mangoe icecream which is not the real thing, but better than nothing…
Thanks for all the work you put into your blog. Ramona
Boon
7 years ago
Hi Ramona,
I wish you were here in Thailand. You’ll so much enjoy eating various type of mangoes such as Sweet, creamy, sour with different colors….green, yellow, pink and purple.
There’re plenty of mangoes everywhere in Thailand and price is rather cheap or sometime free.
Ian Westcott
7 years ago
Great job Mark. Just love mango sticky rice. Keep up the great work
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Thank you Ian!
Ashley
7 years ago
This looks SO good! Mango sticky rice is my favourite dessert in the world – I would kill for some right now ;)
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Thanks Ashley, glad you enjoy it!
Richard Mellem
7 years ago
Thanks for the recipe Mark. Being married to a Thai lady, we have all the ingredients (except the mung beans) in house. Yellow ripe mangoes started showing up in So. Calif. about two weeks ago, from Mexico I’m sure. I also enjoyed your “101 things to do in Bangkok”. One critique, if I may… I’d like to see fewer and or less pronounced “orgasmic” looking facial expressions when you taste food. There’s gotta be a better way to convey the feelings without looking so silly, IMHO. Otherwise, keep up the great work !
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Hi Richard, thank you very much, great to hear you’re getting mangoes, and thank you for getting my guide. Appreciate the support!
Tom
7 years ago
Mark, I have to rebuke Richard Mellem’s comment. The genuine joy you express when eating and explaining food is one of the best things about your blog and videos. Keep it up!
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Thank you Tom, appreciate your support!
Doug
7 years ago
Thanks for sharing this recipe Mark !
Thai food is my favorite cuisine. We’ve visited Thailand three times for a total of around 40 days.
Can’t wait till we visit again !
I do have one request: Would you also please list your ingredients in American measurements ?
Thanks, Doug
Mark Wiens
7 years ago
Hi Doug, thank you very much, great to hear you like mango sticky rice. Thanks for the request, will try to update that.
Brandon
7 years ago
Or just use a digital convertor from google…
David John Cottrell
7 years ago
Most of the world do not use American Standard measurements. Chefs around the world use the Metric System. All you have to do is use Google and find a good converter. However, in Mark’s defence, the American Standard measurements are not used in Thailand, neither are the Imperial measurements which vary from the U.S. measurements. In fact, most Thais use the old and trusted measure by eye method.
plamuk aka travellingchef