Sweet Sticky Rice with Coconut Cream and Black Beans (Khao Niaow Tat)

INGREDIENTS:
3 oz Dried black beans, (soaked in water overnight, then boiled until tender and drained.) 2 cups Sticky rice 1 cups Coconut milk 1 pinch Salt 1/3 cup SugarCREAM TOPPING :
½ cup Sugar ½ tsp Salt 1 cup Coconut milk 1 tbsp Tapioca starchPREPARATION:
In two separate bowls, soak the black beans and the sticky rice overnight.
Boil the beans until done, drain and reserve for topping. Using a baking pan large enough to fit all the sticky rice, drain the rice and pour it into a baking pan. In a bowl, mix together 1 cup of coconut milk, sugar and salt, making sure that all the sugar is dissolved. Pour this mixture into the pan containing the sticky rice. Set the pan in a steamer and steam for 30 minutes until the rice absorbs all the coconut milk and increases in volume.Combine the ingredients for the cream topping in a bowl and pour this sauce over the top of the cooked rice in the pan and return the pan to the steamer and continue to steam for 5 to 8 minutes or until the topping sets like custard. Take the pan out of the steamer and sprinkle black beans over the top of the custard. Let the cake cool before cutting into squares and serve. Tips?

Sticky rice is available in all Asian grocery stores. It differs from regular jasmin rice because when it is cooked it has a characteristic of sticking together and the grain is shorter and harder than regular rice, hence the overnight soaking.