Anyone who eats Thai food even if you’ve never step foot in Thailand knows about the famous Thai dessert, Sticky Rice & Mango. It is a common dessert option on most Thai menus. Well I just came back a few weeks ago from visiting Chiang Mai & Bangkok. They have a different version there that uses blue rice. You are probably wondering how in the heck do you make blue rice.
It starts with dried butterfly pea flower. You first make an extract with the flowers and boiling water. This extract can then be used to create a variety of blue hued food and beverages. It can be used as is with just a little sweetener as a beverage. However it’s often used to make blue sticky rice. I brought my package of dried butterfly pea flowers back from Thailand. However, you can purchase them from Amazon here.
This week my BM theme is Street Food. Especially popular in Chiang Mai, the popular Thai dessert is served with both white and blue sticky rice there. I purchased my butterfly pea flowers at the Or Tor Kor market in Bangkok. This is a farmer’s association market that is a must visit for any foodie. Things like curry pastes and a variety of food items you might want to take back home can be purchased here. Additionally, they have a great food court where you can also enjoy lunch. It’s also a farmer’s market where all varieties of produce are sold. In fact, it’s ranked #4 as the world’s best fruit market. So after my trip to Bangkok, I can say I visited one of the best fresh markets in the world and one of the top ten hospitals in the world…but that’s a story for another post… This is where I tasted my first durian and if you get one that’s not too ripe, it’s actually not as bad as people say. Until you make it to Thailand, you can order the pea flowers here from amazon.
Or Tor Kor Market, Bangkok
Here is a photo of one I purchased from a street side vendor outside a temple in Chiang Mai. I had it at a few different places in Chiang Mai and they are all garnished with the fried mung beans.
MAKING THE EXTRACT
Butterfly Pea Flower Sticky Rice & Mango
Ingredients
Blue Rice Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dried blue pea flowers aka butterfly pea flowers
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup sticky rice aka glutinous rice
- 1/4 teaspoon pandan essence
- a pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup palm sugar
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
Sticky Rice Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup sticky rice
- 1/4 teaspoon pandan essence
- a pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup palm sugar
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- Mung Bean Ingredients
- 1 cup hulled mung beans
- 1/3 cup oil
- 2 teaspoons sugar
Other Ingredients
- mango slices
Instructions
- Place the dried blue flowers in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Leave for 1 hour. Drain well to extract all the liquid. A citrus squeezer works best for this.
- To make the mung bean topping, soak beans for 1 hour. Spread in an even layer on a cookie sheet. Leave to dry for 20 minutes.
- Heat oil in a skillet. Add mung beans and fry 2-3 minutes, tossing frequently. As soon as you can feel that they are getting crispy against the spatula or spoon, remove immediately to a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess oil. Toss with sugar.
- Pour the extract into a rice cooker with the coconut milk, sticky rice, pandan and salt. Cook until done. Transfer to a bowl. Add sugar and coconut cream. Stir to combine. Leave to rest for 15 minutes.
- To make the white sticky rice, combine coconut milk, rice, pandan, 1 cup water and salt in rice cooker. Cook until done. Transfer to a bowl. Add sugar and coconut cream Stir to combine. Leave to rest for 15 minutes.
- Serve with mango slices. and garnish with the mung beans.
Notes
Nutrition
This street food is also served in restaurants. Here is the beautiful presentation at a restaurant in Chiang Mai.
What a great bite -with the crunch of the mung beans balanced with sweet, sticky rice and mango!
Don’t forget to check out some of my other Thai sweet treats:
- Jasmine Coconut Custard
- Coconut Pancakes with Banana Sauce
- Lemongrass Ice Cream
- Stewed Pumpkin Dessert
- Black Rice Pudding Custard
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#62
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Wow what an interesting twist to Thai sticky rice and mango. Love the color butterfly pea flower lends to the rice. Does it add any flavor too??
What an amazing dish, absolutely love your creativity in playing with the ingredients:)
Love the color of the sticky rice.Looks like a scrumptious dessert.
Wat an amazing sticky rice, love the colour of the rice, so catchy and ultimate dessert.
First thing I never ever seen a rice in this beautiful color and such an interesting recipe….
That is a new ingredient, Mir. Lovely color and interesting dish!
Awesome Mir. I have had this plant at home but never knew that it can be used in cooking. The combination of mango, sticky rice and corn sounds so yum.
The Crunchy stuff on top is fried shelled Mung bean not corn, you can buy shelled mung bean at Asian market
thanks for letting me know. I will update the post!
Wow Mireille, what a beautiful blue coloured sticky rice. During my visit to Thailand I’ve tried several times butterfly pea flower iced tea but not a dessert using the flowers. Butterfly pea flower sticky rice and mango looks so delicious.
This blue sticky rice is especially popular in Chiang Mai so if you werent in that city, you might not have seen it!