California Thai Breakfast

Recently I stopped at a large Oriental market and found some ripe sweet mangoes and decided to serve them with sweet sticky rice; one of my favorite simple Thai recipes. How could I make this a breakfast dish with contrasting textures? The answer is granola to supply the crisp texture. Add some fresh in season fruit and top with whipped cream to complete the package. The anchor is the sticky rice, a sweet short grain rice that cooks to a slightly chewy texture and add in coconut milk and sugar for that authentic Thai flavor. I decided to start with muesli and add extra nuts and dried fruit then add honey to create my own granola. For fruit I used local in-season strawberries I got from my local farmer's market and fresh whipped cream to complete my Thai inspired breakfast. Use the freshest fruit available for the best results.

Ingredients

 2 cups sweet sticky rice

 1 cup coconut milk

 1/2 cup palm sugar

 3 cups water

 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

 1 cup muesli

 1/4 cup chopped Marcona almonds

 1/4 cup chopped pecans

 1/4 cup shredded coconut

 1/2 cup mixed dried fruit (I used craisons, blueberries and golden raisons)

 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

 1 Tsp. light brown sugar

 1/4 cup honey

 pinch of salt

 fresh cream

 1/4 cup sugar


Directions

Soak the rice in water for at least 6 hours. Wrap the rice in cheese-cloth and steam in steamer until fully cooked (20-30 minutes). In a bowl mix rice, coconut milk and sugar and reserve.

Add muesli, nuts, dried fruit, coconut, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt to a bowl and mix. Drizzle the honey and mix then spread out on top of a silpat lined baking sheet. Cook for by20 minutes or until browned. Let cool and reserve.

Slice the fruit and set aside. Add the sugar to the cream and beat until soft peaks form. Spoon some rice in a bowl, then some granola, then the strawberries and top with the whipped cream.

Note: You can use your own favorite granola recipe or in a pinch your favorite

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