Most people who are familiar with Thai cuisine will know about mango and sticky rice, but for the first time traveler, this is something you shouldn’t miss. Thai mangoes may be even sweeter than the Thais themselves. Always abundant both in quantity and species, the mangoes find their way into a variety of dishes and can be eaten green with salt and chili powder. But a really good way to eat them is with sticky rice. No, not the rice you get when someone cooks it wrong; it is actually glutinous rice, a special variety that clumps together (it’s “sticky”) and can be plain (to be eaten with things like fried chicken) or a bit sweet – the best for mangoes.
Photo by migikata
Drizzle a bit of sweet coconut cream over it and perhaps sprinkle it with some sesame seeds or fried salty mung beans as well. You can find this at a number of restaurants, but also cut up fresh right before your eyes at street stalls. The Thonglor night market at Soi 38 has a couple of mango and stick rice vendors. Good stuff — make sure you try some.
