This kiwi coconut sticky rice is a twist on the Thai classic mango sticky rice. In addition to the traditional white glutinous rice, I made two different kinds including black sticky rice and matcha flavoured white rice. The sweet and sour notes of the kiwi perfectly complements the rice.
When my siblings and I were kids, we LOVED kiwis but we were so deathly allergic to them. It was quite the tragedy actually. Anytime our lips touched those fuzzy babies of juicy sweet goodness, they would swell up and get super itchy! Regardless, it wasn’t enough to stop us from eating kiwis.
One day, my mom bought some newfangled Zespri SunGold kiwis and guess what happened? They didn’t make us itchy!
Since that day, Zespri SunGold kiwis have been a staple in our household. Anytime we see them at the store, we always make sure to stock up because they go quickly!
Golden Kiwi vs Green Kiwi
Those of you who have never had a SunGold kiwi are probably wondering why the heck they’re so coveted and how are they any different from a green kiwi. Well, let’s get the obvious out of the way: one is golden yellow and one is green coloured. Zespri SunGold kiwis are not fuzzy and have a smooth skin which my eczema skin loves. The green variety is just too itchy to hold and some stray fuzz always ends up in my mouth. I also find the Zespri SunGold softer and sweeter than the green ones.
Though grown in New Zealand, these babies can be found in basically every grocery store in North America during the peak season which is from May to October. So basically during those 6 months you should eat to your heart’s content before they’re gone for the other half of the year.
Golden Kiwi recipe ideas and nutrition facts
Before I was selected for this collaboration with Zespri, I had no idea that you could eat kiwis in so many different ways! I normally just cut them in half and dig in with a spoon. I’m a no fuss, au naturale kinda gal.
Also learnt that they have so many nutritional benefits. I am a registered dietitian after all, it’s all my brain thinks about! SunGold kiwis have a lot of soluble fibre, which is a component of food that we often forget. Soluble fibre helps to keep things running regularly, if ya know what I mean. They’re also jam-packed with vitamin C, E and potassium.
Kiwi Coconut Sticky Rice
The recipe for this kiwi coconut sticky rice was inspired by my travels in Thailand. I fell in love with their local cuisine, particularly their classic and worldly popular mango coconut sticky rice dish.
So I played on that idea and swapped the mangoes out for kiwis. I also chose to use two kinds of rice, Thai black rice and glutinous rice, for colour and varied textures. The green rice that you see in the picture is actually glutinous soaked in a matcha coconut milk.
I love eating colourful dishes with lots of different textures so I took it one step further and added fried salted mung beans, which is also a common topping in Thailand.
More fruit based dessert recipes:
Spiced and Zesty Peach Galette
Raspberry Cheesecake Knickerbocker Glory
Recipe for Kiwi Coconut Sticky Rice

Kiwi Coconut Sticky Rice
Ingredients
Sticky rice
- 1 cup Thai black rice
- 2 cups glutinous rice
- 1 14 oz can coconut milk
- 1/2 cup brown sugar or palm sugar I used brown
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp matcha powder
- 4 Zespri SunGold kiwis or mangoes if you want to go the traditional route!
Topping
- 1/4 cup dried mung beans
- vegetable oil for frying
- pinch of salt
- 2 pinches of sugar
Instructions
Sticky Rice
- In separate bowls, soak the different types of rice in water overnight. Drain just before cooking.
- Steam the different types of rice separately in a steamer basket (like those wooden dimsum ones) or on a plate over boiling water for 30-45 minutes until rice is cooked through and tender.
- Heat up coconut milk in microwave or on the stove
- Add sugar and salt, stir until all the sugar crystals are dissolved. Feel free to reheat the mixture if it has cooled down too much before the crystals dissolved.
- Place 1/3 of the coconut milk mixture in another bowl. Add matcha and stir until combined.
- Place cooked black rice in one bowl and divide the white glutinous rice equally into two bowls.
- Drizzle the coconut milk over the black rice and 1 portion white glutinous rice.
- Drizzle the matcha milk over the other portion of white glutinous rice.
- Peel and slice kiwis. Arrange on top of rice and add more milk if desired.
Topping
- Rinse and soak mung beans for at least 1 hour
- Drain mung beans and dry on paper towels
- Fry beans with oil, salt and sugar until crispy but not brown
- Cool on paper towels to take out excess oil
- Sprinkle over sticky rice
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a comment below and tag @chocolateandconnie on Instagram.
This post is sponsored by Zespri Kiwi! Even though I’ve been compensated monetarily, the voice, opinions and this kiwi coconut sticky rice recipe are still my own 🙂
Found you on Healthy Aperture; this looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Lee! Thanks for dropping by, hope the recipe works out for ya!! It’s def one of my top fav foods 🙂
Welcome to Yum Goggle! We are following you on all your social media platforms and hope you will follow us back. We will do our best to tag you each time we promote your posts. Kelli at YG!
thank you kelli! i’m feeling the love 🙂