Instant Pot Thai Coconut Mango Sticky Rice (Khao Niao Mamuang)-This popular Thai Coconut Mango Sticky Rice is made with Instant Pot and required no soaking of the rice. Soft and creamy as it should be! Non-instant pot method is also available
I’ve only owned Instant Pot for 3 days so far as I’m typing this post up and I’ve already cooked quite few things within these 3 days LOL! It’s seriously like an obsession or something! I’m pretty impressed by it so far. I’ve sauteed with it, I’ve steamed with it, I’ve pressure cooked with it. In fact, I made 3 of the Instant Pot Chinese Steamed Matcha Sponge Cake in a day! Crazy!
Anyway, sticky rice is very common in Asian cooking, especially in Southeast Asia where we don’t only use it for savory but also sweet dishes. They are known by many names: Sticky rice, glutinous rice, and sweet rice, but they mean the same thing! And…as you’ve guessed it, there’s always coconut milk involves 😉
White glutinous rice / sticky rice/ sweet rice
This Thai Coconut Mango Sticky Rice (Khao Niao Mamuang) is one of our favorite Southeast Asian desserts! LOVE..this stuff! I usually have to soak the sticky rice in water for at least 4 hours or overnight and then it can be steamed in 20 minutes. But with Instant Pot, I don’t have to soak it and I can steam it on high pressure.
I was a bit skeptical actually, to be honest! I was just experimenting but at the end of the cooking time, I was very pleased with the result. The rice is so sticky and soft like it should to make khao niao mamuang.
Mom thought I was out of my mind when I told her I would try to steam the sticky rice without soaking it first. Without a pressure cooker, definitely, this can’t be done! Well, you can, but it will take you a long time to steam it.
WHY YOU’LL LIKE THIS RECIPE
NO SOAKING! and so I can literally make this without planning ahead.
No foggy windows and condensation dripping down the window glasses. That’s the phenomenon here whenever I steam something for more than 30 minutes using a regular steamer that I set up.
IMPORTANT TIPS
1. When the timer is up, wait for 10 minutes before releasing pressure. This lets the rice absorbs all the liquid and cooked properly
2. After stirring the coconut sauce into the rice, it’s important to let it rest so it can absorb the coconut sauce so the rice will be moist and sticky but not wet
HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER
I like to keep the rice and coconut sauce in separate container in the fridge. They can be kept for up to 4 days max. The rice will harden a little bit after refrigeration. Simply reheat the rice in the microwave in one minute increment until just warm enough for your preference.
*Recipe is written for 6-quart Instant Pot. Cooking time should remain the same for 8-quart size but will take longer to pressurize. For mini duo (3-quart), I recommend to half the recipe and use the same amount of time to cook*
Instant Pot Thai Coconut Mango Sticky Rice (Khao Niao Mamuang)
Ingredients
- 1 cup glutinous rice (not Sushi rice)
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 ripe mango
Coconut sauce:
- 1 cup canned coconut milk
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 pandan leaf knotted (optional)
- 2 tsp cornstarch optional - this is to thicken the sauce if you choose to. I didn't do this
Topped with:
- White and/or black sesame seeds optional
Cooking equipment recommended:
Instructions
Cooking the sticky rice:
- Add 2 cups of water in Instant Pot inner pot. Put the trivet in there. Rinse the sticky rice in water briefly. Drain off water. Place the rice in a heat-proof glass or stainless steel bowl. I recommend stainless steel or aluminum as they conduct heat better than glass. Add 1 1/4 cups water to cover the rice. Give it a quick stir and make sure all rice is submerged in water. Place this on top of the trivet. Close the lid, steam release handle to sealing. Press pressure cook and set to high pressure and use -/+ to set the time to 30 minutes
Making the coconut sauce:
- While the sticky rice is cooking, pour 1 cup of the coconut milk in a saucepan, add sugar, salt, and pandan leaves in. Let it gently simmer for about 5 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. Do not boil the coconut milk, it will curdle. Remove the pandan leaves (if using) and use your spoon to squeeze out last few drops of coconut milk from the leaves if any
- If you want the coconut sauce to be thicker, reserve 1/2 cup of the coconut sauce to mix with the rice later. Mix 2 tsp of cornstarch with 2 tsp to make a cornstarch slurry. Pour this into the rest of the 1/2 cup coconut sauce in a pan and keep stirring over medium-low heat until it thickens slightly. I don't do this step but you are welcome to if you want the sauce to be thicker
Pour half of the coconut sauce to cooked sticky rice:
- When the sticky rice is done cooking, I waited for about 10 minutes and make sure that the float valve is down. Then turn the steam handle to venting. Once the steam is all out and stops hissing, open the lid carefully. The sticky rice should be soft and sticky. Remove from Instant Pot and pour half of the coconut sauce on the sticky rice while the rice is still warm and stir to mix. It may seem wet at this point. Cover with aluminum foil and let the rice absorbs the coconut sauce, about 15-20 minutes
Cutting the mango:
- While waiting, peel the mango, find the stone and slice down on both sides of the stone. Cut into small cubes or into slices
Putting them together:
- Serve with cubes or slices of mango, sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle with some coconut sauce and reserve some sauce for more drizzling later and serve
Recommended products:
You might want to check these out too:
INSTANT POT CHINESE STEAMED MATCHA SPONGE CAKE
PRESSURE COOKER PHO GA (VIETNAMESE CHICKEN PHO NOODLE SOUP)
31 comments
Is the coconut milk the kind in the can or the gallon? I’m assuming the can but I’m so excited to try this and don’t want to mess it up on an assumption!
Thanks!
Hi Cheryl,
It’s canned coconut milk, not the gallon one. I’ll update my recipe to make it clear. Thank you. I hope it turns out well for you!!!
There was way too much sauce even after thickening. I’d consider doubling the rice. I’m glad I decided not to open a second can of coconut milk to get the full two cups
Hi Liz,
Half of the coconut sauce will go to the cooked sticky rice to let the rice absorbs the coconut flavor further and the other half of the sauce will be served on the side
It doesn’t seem like my coconut milk mix is as thick as yours. What can I do to thicken it?
Hi Z,
You can try to thicken it with cornstarch. Use about 2 tsp of corn starch + 3 tsp of water and then mix them thoroughly and then stir into the coconut milk and then gently simmer over low to medium heat (do not boil) until it thickens. You can also try coconut cream for thicker creamier consistency next time. Sometimes different brands of coconut milk may be slightly different. Hope this helps. Please let me know if anything is unclear.
I have the 3 qt Duo Mini. Will i need to adjust the measurements for it to fit?
Hi Joseph,
The sticky rice to water ratio is 1:1.5 .I used 1 cup of rice in the recipe, if you need to half the recipe to fit the 3qt, let’s say 1/2 cup of rice then you will use 3/4 cup or water. I hope this helps.
I made it with the 3 Ladies brand of sweet rice and it was way too mushy, almost like thick porridge. I think I need to cut it to 2/3 or 1 cup of water instead.
Fran, Thank you for letting me know. I used the Thai Elephant before and also the three rings brand and they always turn out ok for me. Maybe you can try 1 1/4 or yes 1 cup water instead and see how it turns out. Sorry for the trouble. I have to experiment further with different brands and update recipe then.
Is the half teaspoon of salt added to the coconut milk? I plan to make this tonight. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Betsy, yes, the 1/2 tsp of salt is added to the coconut milk. Sorry that I left that out in the instruction. I have added it. Thank you for pointing that out. Please let me know how it turns out for you when you have a chance 🙂
Omg, this looks so delicious!! Thanks for sharing the recipe with us, I’ll have to try it this week!
Thank you Kelly. Hope you like it
Thank you so much for your response! I’m having a party and contemplating doing this. Your reply makes perfect sense, but I wanted to make sure from a pro, as I’ve never made sticky rice before.
Hi Liz, I’m definitely not a pro 🙂 I hope it turns out great for you. Please let me know how it’s like if you have a chance!!
Do you think this could be made in multiple batches for a party and then reheated? If so, how? Thanks!
Hi Liz,
If you are making this on the same day, you don’t need to reheat, because they can be served at room temperature. You can warm up the coconut sauce a little bit (not boiling it though) on the sauce pan or microwave if it gets too thick when it’s cool down. If you plan to make this ahead and keep them in the fridge, then you can reheat in the microwave. You want to separate or “fluff” the rice with a fork first, sprinkle with some water (just a bit, not too much) and then cover with some wet paper towel and microwave for a minute or less and see if it’s warm enough and get the sticky rice back to soft.
It looks delicious!