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Coconut rice

Submitted by adam on Thu, 21/01/2010 - 15:29
Lovely fluffy rice - another Gluten-free cooking for kids recipe

Coconut is a great ingredient for jazzing up plain rice.  I use the creamed coconut that comes in solid blocks as it's very convenient and easy-to-use and perfect for cooking with rice.

This is my recipe for Asian-style coconut rice and is great with curries and spicy dishes but you could easily adapt it with red kidney beans to make rice for a hot Caribbean feast.

Yield

2-3 portions

Preparation time

30 mins

Ingredients

350g basmati rice
30g creamed coconut
2 or 3 cloves
1 stick of cinnamon
1 piece of lemongrass
1 bay leaf
1 medium onion or a few shallots, finely chopped
750ml boiling water
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Directions

  • Wash the rice thoroughly in several changes of water until the water runs clear, then leave to drain.
  • Add the salt and crumbled creamed coconut to the boiling water and stir to dissolve.
  • Put the oil into a large pan and heat gently.
  • Add the washed, uncooked rice to the oil and stir well to coat all the grains with a thin film of oil.
  • Bruise the lemongrass to release the oils.  I usually use the handle of a knife but be careful as this means you'll be holding the blade!  Use a cloth.
  • Add the cloves, cinnamon, lemongrass and bay leaf to the rice and stir.
  • Add the coconut water mixture to the pan and bring back to the boil - from this point on try to avoid stirring the rice at all - essential for fluffy rice.
  • Turn down the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, until the rice has absorbed all the water but be careful not to let the pan boil dry.  Tip the pan occasionally to see how much water is left.
  • Take the pan off the heat and leave covered for up to 10 minutes to steam the rice in any remaining water.
  • Meanwhile, gently soften the chopped onions in oil.
  • Remove the cinnamon, lemongrass and bay leaf from the rice and fluff it up with a fork.  Add the rice to the fried onions and stir fry for a minute.

Notes

You could add some peanuts or cashews when you get to the stir fry bit for a bit of extra crunch, or some toasted coconut.

To make Caribbean-style coconut rice use plain white rice, omit the spices and lemongrass and add cooked, drained kidney beans at the stir fry stage.

For an extra tang try adding the grated zest of a lemon and a pinch of saffron with the water and a few cloves of chopped garlic to the onions.

adriana's picture
adriana wrote 14 years 15 weeks ago

coconut rice

Sounds absolutely yummy.  After my very bad experience with Rick Stein's Bali inspired rice, I am looking forward to trying this one out on the kids.