Coconut Rice Recipe

Content… Choosing a Coconut Recipe Ingredients How to Make It Recipe Variations Tips and Tricks Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions What to Serve More Uniquely Savory Rice Recipes to Try Watch How to Make It

How to Choose a Coconut for Coconut Rice

Buying fresh coconut can be a challenge here in the United States. Here are some tips that might help you select a fresh coconut.

1. Double-check your coconuts for mold or cracks. Air and mold make the coconut go rancid quickly.
2. Shake and feel the coconut; it should be heavy. I look for the heaviest because it means there’s plenty of liquid and moist flesh for more coconut milk.
3. To be on the safe side, I buy more than I need. Freezing fresh coconut milk is an excellent time-saver for later on.

Recipe Ingredients

1. Coconut Milk gives the rice its beautiful nutty coconut flavor and aroma. Canned full-fat coconut milk or even lite coconut milk works in a pinch. I use two cups of coconut milk and two cups of water for two cups of rice.
2. Rice – Basmati rice makes this dish soft and fluffy, but jasmine or plain white rice also works well. For a healthier option, use brown rice and increase the cooking time by 30 minutes.

How to Make Coconut Rice

How to Make Fresh Coconut Milk

• Crack Coconut – After getting the coconut water out, hit the middle of a coconut hard with the blunt side of a cleaver or hammer, just enough to crack it. Rotate the coconut, continuing to hit it at the center with the hammer or cleaver until it splits in two. (Photos 1-2)
• Extract Coconut Meat – Bake it in the oven for about 10 minutes at 375℉ (190℃) to make removing the flesh from the shell easier. Let it cool, then remove the coconut from the shell with a spoon. (Photo 3)
• Coconut Milk – Blend coconut in a blender (Blendtec or Vitamix gets the most milk out of a coconut) on high until it reaches a fine puree. Strain the coconut mixture with cheesecloth. Squeeze tightly to extract all the milk. (Photos 4-5)

Making the Rice

• Rice – Place rice in a saucepan with water. Rinse well and strain. (Photo 6)
• Cook – Add coconut milk, water, and salt. Place the saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Stir, lower the heat to a simmer, and then cover the saucepan tightly with the lid. Continue cooking for 15-18 minutes. (Photo 17
• Serve – Take the saucepan off the heat and let it rest for about 10 minutes, covered. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve. (Photo 8)

Variation Ideas

1. Coconut lime rice. Add lime zest and a squeeze or two of lime juice for a citrusy zing. And a handful of chopped cilantro delivers a delicious coconut cilantro lime rice.
2. Coconut curry rice. Sauté the rice with 2 teaspoons of curry powder before adding the water and coconut milk.
3. Coconut rice pudding. Add ¼ cup sugar and a cup of coconut milk to 1½ cups of leftover coconut rice (jasmine rice is better for this one). Simmer while stirring until the rice almost falls apart and the pudding thickens. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisins are tasty add-ins.
4. Garnishes. Customize this dish by topping it with toasted cashews, sliced almonds, toasted coconut, or finely chopped cilantro.
5. Rice Cooker. To make super easy coconut rice in a rice cooker, reduce the water by ½-1 cup, assemble all ingredients, and cook as usual.
6. Instant Pot. To make super fast coconut rice in an Instant Pot, assemble all the ingredients and pressure cook it for 5 minutes. Manually release the pressure and let it rest for 10 minutes for the rice that’s ready in 15 minutes.

Recipe Notes

1. To easily remove the flesh of the coconut, heat the cracked coconut in an oven for 15-20 minutes. That shrinks the coconut meat slightly, making separating it from the shell easier.
2. Rinse the rice well in cold water before cooking for fluffier rice. The extra starch won’t kill you, but it makes the rice stickier.
3. The water-to-rice ratio is 2 cups liquid to 1 cup rice. But you can adjust it with a little less for chewier rice or more for softer rice.

Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions

For easy weekly meal prep, make a double or triple batch. Let the coconut rice cool and store it in meal-size portions in a freezer ziplock bag. Refrigerate it for 3-4 days or freeze it for up to 3 months for a stress-free side dish anytime.

Heat the rice on the stovetop over medium, adding a splash of water if necessary so it doesn’t dry out. Or zap individual portions in the microwave.

What to Serve With Coconut Rice

It’s perfect with any Asian-style main dish! Some delicious choices include chicken stew, Asian cashew chicken, and teriyaki shrimp. An easy mango salad provides a burst of color and freshness.

More Uniquely Savory Rice Recipes to Try

1. Ghana Jollof Rice
2. Easy Dirty Rice
3. Cajun Rice
4. Mushroom Rice

Watch How to Make It

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”lASbIlWB” upload-date=”2019-11-26T22:13:14.000Z” name=”Coconut Rice” description=”Coconut Rice – A simple yet flavorful rice with milk from grated coconut. So aromatic, coconutty and tasty rice. Makes a perfect pair for any dish!” ]

This blog post was originally published in August 2018 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video