Mango Sticky Rice from the Tomb Raider Cookbook

Soon after Curried Trail Mix, I made Mango Sticky Rice, a Thai dessert, from the Tomb Raider Cookbook. The recipe has instructions for cooking the rice in a steamer basket, which is what they would traditionally use in Thailand, but it says you can easily use a rice cooker. I don't have one of those; I've always cooked rice in a pot with water, so I did it that way. If you make this recipe, you can cook your rice however you prefer.

I did explore whether I could steam the rice in a sieve over a pot of simmering water. The problem was, my sieve has a wooden handle, which could catch fire if it's on the edges of a hot pot, and a lid wouldn't have fit over top of it. I could have used my steel steamer basket, but the bottom would have to be lined with cheesecloth to stop rice from falling through the holes. I absolutely cannot find cheesecloth in any grocery stores I visit, so cooking it in a pot it was.

Lara Croft visits Thailand in Tomb Raider: Underworld on a tip from her nemesis Natla, and its coast is the second explorable level in the game. Lara's mission in Thailand ultimately results in her finding the second of Thor's two gauntlets in the ruins of Bhogavati, an ancient city from Hindu mythology. Coastal Thailand is one of my favorite levels in the Tomb Raider franchise of all time due to its gorgeous visuals, scale and music.

I've made versions of rice pudding before, but never Thai Mango Sticky Rice. I was excited to have this once I got my hands on some fresh, sweet mangoes and glutinous rice, which you need for this dish. First, you have to soak the rice multiple times. If I'm making risotto or any other rice dish that needs to be creamy, I never bother rinsing. Here, you do have to so it still holds its shape somewhat. I rinsed and soaked it several times until the water was mostly clear, but you'll never truly get all of the starch out.

I did that in the early afternoon, and then after dinner the same day I was ready to cook the rice. As I said, I boiled it until it was tender, and then melted sugar and salt into coconut milk before stirring that in with the rice and letting it stand for a while. You're supposed to use 1 1/2 cups of the coconut mixture in the rice and keep some back to drizzle, except that was most of the mixture. I had maybe a tablespoon left to drizzle over, and a lot more rice to eat afterwards.

Once finished, it's ready to be served Thai-style: two ice cream-size scoops, topped with the leftover coconut milk mixture and sesame seeds. It was delicious that way, although someone I served it to though it would be better topped with coconut than sesame seeds. The next few nights, we ate the rest of the rice with coconut instead of sesame seeds and liked that as well. It's up to you.

If you want to make this recipe for Mango Sticky Rice yourself, you can find it in Tomb Raider: The Official Cookbook and Travel Guide.