Thai Silk Pie

I can't resist gimmicky names. But hey, I make up my own recipes, so they have to be called something, right?

I had a flat of perfect mangoes that I paid $7 at 99 Ranch. That's not a problem. The problem was, I love, love, LOVE Thai mangoes with sticky rice. It's possibly the best food in the world. I suspect that many, many people have seen that dish listed on Thai menus and thought it too boring to order. That makes me SO SAD. The warm, sticky glutinous rice, coated in sweetened coconut milk, salty and warm and toothsome, pairs ideally with the cool, tangy mango. Mangoes are great, but I just don't know if there's any better way to eat them.

I considered a lot of things. I had some milkshakes. Yum. But I wanted to create a coconut-mango pairing that was unique, not a by-the-book take on a South Asian classic... and hopefully not using mochi flour, which I love, but isn't worth messing with. So dang sticky.

What I came up with was a pie with a custard layer just like a pumpkin pie's, topped with a coconut milk pudding. This is simple and delicious. The textures are smooth and lovely, and the flavors play off each other in a way almost like mangoes and sticky rice.

I used two frozen pie crusts, unbaked. First, the mango layer:

4 mangoes
14 oz (1 can) condensed milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1/4 tsp ground cardamom

All into the food processor until evenly pureed.

Then fill the crusts each about halfway and bake them for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, heat two cans of coconut milk and 2 cups of sugar on the stovetop, plus salt to taste. Make this a little salty. I used about a tablespoon of kosher salt.

When the milk comes to a boil, slowly stir in one cup of corn starch which has been mixed with enough water to make an even wet paste. Take it off the heat immediately and stir as it sets up. This will get quite firm as it sets, but the fatty, flavorful coconut milk helps this not taste like nothing but corn starch.

Spread the coconut milk pudding on the cooled mango layers, chill, and enjoy! I topped it with some powdered coconut milk I had on hand, but that can easily be left out.



Media pairing: Mango in Silk!