Black Rice Pudding

First things first--the recipe calls for sticky black rice. Because I was unable to find any, I bought "Organic Black Rice," in the shape of a brick, from Bonanza/Segal's. Because of this, I modified the recipe slightly. So, I'm going to put the original recipe here (taken from Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet), but I'll note the changes I made to accommodate for the non-sticky black rice.

You will need:
2 cups black (sticky) rice
3 cups water
2 cups canned or fresh coconut milk
3/4 cup palm sugar, or substitute brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Optional Toppings:
ripe mango, sliced (my favourite)
2 tablespoons dry-roasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup coriander leave
1/5 cup fried shallots

If you are using NON sticky black rice, presoak for about an hour. If sticky rice, don't. Place rice and water in a heavy pot and bring to a boil. Let boil vigorously for several minutes, stirring frequently, then cover, lower the heat to medium, and cook for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to very low, let simmer, still covered, for about 30 minutes.

Before the rice finishes cooking, put coconunt milk in a saucepan over medium heat, and stir in sugar and salt until completely dissolved. Heat just to a boil, then reduce heat to lowest point while waiting for rice to finish cooking.

If you are using sticky rice, put the coconut milk into rice after it has finished cooking, remove from the heat, set aside from ten to 180 minutes, and then serve, adding toppings.

If you are not using stick rice, I added the coconut milk to the rice while it was still on the stove, and let them cook together on low heat, stirring, for about ten minutes, trying to make the whole thing "stickier." You'll notice that when you pour in the coconut milk it seems very soupy--some of that will cook away, but it will also become less soupy after a few minutes off the stove. When you feel that you are happy with the liquid to rice proportions, take it off the stove, let it stand at least ten minutes, and then serve to everyone's delight.