Mango & Coconut
Impromptu Drop from a Conversation
I remember the first time I had a legit fresh, ripe mango 🥭…
Southeast Asia, in my late teens, I was finishing a trip and was kicking it at a nice resort for the last few days before going back home.
Went out for breakfast the first morning to check out what was on offer and saw platters of fresh tropical fruits being cut.
Yes, the fruits looked pristine and there wasn’t much else around but I wasn’t expecting what was about to hit my palate…
Side Note; I didn’t spend my childhood in the USA 🇺🇸 and grew up in a place where Momma Octopod would take us to pick fresh berries, apples, etc at nearby farms. That gave my siblings, and I, a great appreciation for freshly ripe and picked fruits but I was about to experience something new.
Back to the SE Asia resort: I swiped some freshly cut mango and papaya. I bit into that mango and was stopped dead in my tracks by the most intense explosion of sweet, yet mouth-wateringly tangy, burst of mango that I had ever had in my life.
My salivary glands went into overdrive and the intense perfume from the mango wafted straight up into my olfactory and made a flavor memory that I have not forgotten to this day.
I feasted on those tropical fruits for the remaining mornings before departure.
That’s how great food and ingredients should be discovered and how powerful they are.
So why did this story to come mind?
I was talking to friend just the other day who has been discovering Thai 🇹🇭 cuisine in more depth and cooking at home. They were grilling me on fave flavor combos, dishes, recipes, etc… I can talk food and cooking all day so it was really enjoyable and for some reason my mind drifted to Mango and Coconut Sticky Rice.
Then I remembered my first mango memory and decided it had been too long since I made a batch of this flavor bomb sweet treat.
It also seemed perfectly fitting to share with you all now, since we seem to have gone complete 🤡 🌍 and “eXpErtS” are saying white rice is as bad as candy for cardiac health 🤣
So let me show a foolproof way to make sticky rice (that can be savory, or sweet) and how to infuse coconut and sesame with perfectly ripe mangoes bringing you a dessert so flavorful you will be craving more soon.
True cooking synergy… 1+1+1= 99 🙌 🤤
