Black Sticky Rice Pudding

Inspired by the dessert I had at Kedai Mekan a few weeks ago, this black sticky rice pudding reminds me of the sticky rice porridges my mom used to make for me as a kid, meets mango sticky rice. It’s topped with coconut cream and all sorts of yummy tropical fruits. Don’t skip out on the caramelized bananas, trust me!! And make sure you get the black sticky (glutinous) rice and not just normal black rice.

Makes enough dessert for ~4-6, depending on portion sizes:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup black sticky rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk (important: do not shake the can)
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ cup palm sugar or brown sugar, more to taste
• toppings: reserved coconut cream + fruit of choice (bananas, caramelized bananas, longan berry, mango, coconut flakes)

To Make:

• Open your can of coconut milk and skim off the thick cream at the top and reserve that for later
• Rinse the black sticky rice and add to slow-cooker along with water and coconut milk. Cook on high for 2.5 hours, giving it a stir halfway. Alternatively, cook on stove top and simmer for ~1.5 hours.
• Mix in palm sugar and salt to taste
• Top with a drizzle of coconut cream and fruit
• *for the caramelized bananas, slice bananas ~¼ inch thick and cook into coconut oil over medium heat for ~2 minutes per side