Will it Panini: Leftover Mango Sticky Rice

As you may know by now, I love to use my waffle iron to heat up, and transform, leftovers.  Sometimes I use the panini press instead (which, I do actually prefer for donuts!), usually only when I’m lazy and the panini plates are what are in my 5-in-1 Griddler (best waffle iron ever, by the way).

Which, is what this story is.  I didn’t plan to write a post about this, so I didn’t document it well, but, it was so successful that I wished I had.   I’m just too excited to share it with you.

Transformed Leftover Mango Sticky Rice!

So if you are wondering, Leftover Mango Sticky Rice: Will it Panini?  The answer: YES ZOMG DO IT.

It was an amazing success and transformation, and I’d gladly try it with the waffle iron (but the grills worked fine!).

And, actually, you don’t even need the mango.  The sticky rice was the star.

For those with great memories, yes, I've waffled other thai desserts before, to great success, like the Bauloy Samsee from a little Asian grocery store in my hometown.  This result was very similar, in its mochi-like aspect.

The Original Components.

I had leftover mango, sticky rice, mango puree, and coconut cream, from Osha Thai.  They were from a crazy dessert creation I had for takeout, the Mango Tango Shaved Ice, and these were all components to it.

But of course, Osha also serves regular mango sticky rice as a dessert, which I’ve also reviewed before, and I'm sure that would work identically to this experiment.

The Original: Assembled Mango Tango Shaved Ice.

"Mango and sticky rice with mango ice cream, mango puree, cream of coconut and mango shaved-ice."

In the original form, it was fine.  The mango lackluster because this is the US, the sticky rice nicely sticky, the puree crazy sweet, and the coconut cream super tasty.  The mango shaved ice, and mango ice cream, were both fantastic, but not items I tried to use in this experiment!

I had more the next day as mango sticky rice, and again, it was fine.  By day three though, the sticky rice?  Not exactly sticky rice. It was hard and completely unappealing.  The mango? Mediocre from the start, now far less fresh.

Leftover Mango and Sticky Rice: On the Grill.

So I did what I always do.  I didn’t throw it out like most humans.  I put a ball of rice, and a slice of mango, into the waffle iron, which, had my grill plates in it.  I was too lazy, and skeptical, to bother swapping.  I really did think this was going to be a discard.

I didn’t even pay attention to the grill setting.  I assume high?

Leftover Mango and Sticky Rice; Panini'ed?

After a few minutes, the rice seemed to be sticking to the grill plates, and separated into two layers.  The mango … looked grilled.

So I pulled it off.

Panini Pressed Leftover Sticky Rice.

The rice entirely transformed.  I was shocked.  I’ve seen some incredible transformations with my waffle iron before, so you’d think I would be used to this, but, wow.  The hard, style, totally throwaway leftover sticky rice turned into something glorious.  Grilled mochi, basically.

I loved all the textures, the crispy exterior, the warm and gooey inside.  I loved the taste.

Panini Pressed Leftover Sticky Rice and Mango, a la Coconut Cream.

I was happy just eating the panini’ed sticky rice, actually.  I was even happier dunking it into the coconut cream.

I threw on another batch, very excited.  This batch I topped with grilled mango, and drizzled with coconut cream.

The grill did revive the mango, or at least soften and caramelize, it a bit.  Which was better.  But still, the rice just with cream was better.

Leftover Mango Sticky Rice Panini.

Next, I did another batch.  And got silly.  I was suddenly having a lot of fun.

I used the separation of the rice to my advantage, and made … a mango sticky rice “sandwich”, filled with mango puree and coconut cream.  Yes, a panini, really.  I was using the panini plates as intended!

This version was fun, but again. just the rice was great.