Yes... Much Better

Fortunately, after my sticky breast pastry incident, there was really nowhere to go but up. I decided to try a baby papaya in my own sticky rice dessert, since a) it looked good, and was on sale and b) I like to try different things. That's the great thing about fruit - so much of it is interchangeable in cooking, once you figure out the basic flavors and categories, there's really no excuse not to experiment.

Papayas and mangoes are both considered to be tropical fruits. While mangoes have a tough core in the middle, papayas have tiny, round seeds (see below). Cut your papaya length-wise down the center, and scoop out the seeds. Then, using long strokes from top to bottom and left to right, dice the fruit by cutting a grid. Try to leave the skin intact as much as possible, because then you can just scoop your diced bits out of the skin.

Recipe for Sweet Sticky Rice and Tropical Fruit:

• 2 cups cooked sticky rice (follow the directions on the package of glutinous rice. Remember to allow time to soak it. The longer you soak it, the less time you will need to steam it)
• 1 ripe mango, or papaya, or guava...
• 1/2 can of coconut milk
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1/2 tsp good salt
• toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Heat the coconut milk, salt, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low. Take out a small amount (about 2 tbsp) of the liquid and reserve. Add the cooked sticky rice to the sauce, and stir until all the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat. Scoop the rice into a bowl and place the sliced fruit on top. Drizzle with the reserved liquid, and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.