CONTEXT/BACKGROUND:
The interlocutor (JP) is animmigrant from the Philippines. She lived there for over 20 years before moving to Los Angeles, California. The following is a recipe she learned from her Thai roommate when they were in University in the Philippines.

DESCRIPTION: (told in person)
(JP): “My roommate taught me this recipe in college. We eat this in the Philippines, but she told me that it comes from Thailand. It’s pretty easy to make but I don’t like doing it because I don’t like to do the work.” (she laughs)

“So first, you have to make sticky rice. You wash and soak sweet rice and let it sit for a long time, like overnight. When it’s done soaking, you drain the water so you can steam it. When you steam the rice, it should be covered with a thin cloth, like a kitchen towel or muslin cloth, and steam until the rice is tender.

While the rice cooks, you have to boil coconut milk with some sugar and salt. When it’s done, you should mix the rice and the coconut milk together and let it stand until it becomes absorbed. At the same time, you should have some leftover coconut milk-sugar mix so that you can pour it over the rice and mango when it’s all done. Put it in a little bowl to pour over the food.

So then, you mold the rice on the plate and then cut mango and put it on the plate. I think Filipino mango or Thai mango are the best since they’re soft and very sweet. Then you drizzle the mix over the mango and the rice and enjoy!”

FINAL THOUGHTS/OBSERVATIONS:
Mango sticky rice is amazing! It’s one of my favorite sweet desserts to enjoy, but since mangoes are a summer fruit, mangoes are usually the sweetest during that season, which is when the dessert tastes the best. Mango is an extremely common fruit in Southeast and South Asia since the climate is warmer and much more tropical. Delicious!