Black Sticky Rice Breakfast Surprise

Last month I assisted a really fun Thai cooking class by Pranee, the owner of I Love Thai Cooking (http://www.ilovethaicooking.com/).  I learned so much about Thai cooking and all the different dimesions each dish holds.  My favorite dish was a refreshing steak salad with lime and cilantro eaten with our hands with a little bit of rice for each bite.  It was a small group of women in the class, on a Friday afternoon, sharing stories in the warm kitchen filled with fresh smells of Thailand.  Pranee is a natural when it comes to cooking and teaching people how to cook with intuition and heart. 

The day ended with a dessert of black sticky rice topped with a lightly salted coconut milk.  Pranee was so nice to give me a jar of this rice to take home with me.  I have been saving it for a special occasion, and that special occasion arrived today: breakfast!

I heated up the rice, and topped it with almonds, dried cherries, coconut and coconut milk.  o-m-g.  What a way to start the day!  You can check out how to prepare the rice on Pranee's website.  The black rice that she gave me was a base of cooked rice without the sugar added yet, so you can choose to add or not add sugar.  Otherwise use any grain you have at home, like couscous, quinoa, rice, oatmeal...whatever you choose can be made into a breakfast vehicle for the other ingredients, for a hearty day starter.



Black Sticky Rice Breakfast Surprise

1 cup prepared black sticky rice (sweetened or unsweetened)

1 Tbsp coconut milk

1 Tbsp shredded coconut

10-15 raw almonds, chopped

2 Tbsp dried cherries

1-2 tsp pure maple syrup

See preparation directions on Pranee's website for black sticky rice.  Heat the rice, and top with coconut, almonds, dried cherries and maple syrup.  Or add anything else you like.  Some crystallized ginger might be nice!