Coconut Rice

This coconut-flavored rice is deliciously healthy and a great and versatile side dish!!

You already know by this time that we eat rice at least 3 times a day - breakfast, lunch and dinner though that would not necessarily stop us from having rice (cold rice even) as a snack and definitely as dessert, too. Yes, we do love rice. However, though we are surrounded by coconut  trees all over our country, I have never tried cooking rice with coconut milk except when it's cooked as dessert but not as a side dish. We often associate the coconut and rice combo with dessert and not so much as a side dish for a savory viand. Ha, I realized after cooking this dish that I have been missing a lot (I thought I had pretty much tried all types of rice dishes and realized I was wrong) so this week I corrected my mistake and made this delicious and flavorful Coconut Rice.

This is a perfect side dish, obviously for Asian dishes but particularly for curries as they would provide a good relief and contrast for a truly spicy dish! You can toast a little bit of shredded coconut and use it for garnish. You can use this recipe for either the rice cooker or stove top. Enjoy!

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Ingredients 

A little Coconut Oil or Vegetable oil, enough to grease the pan

2 cups Jasmine rice

1 can Coconut Milk
1 can water (use the coconut can for measurement)
3 Tablespoons dry shredded Coconut, unsweetened or sweetened
1 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon brown Sugar
Extra: Toasted shredded Coconut and some chopped fresh Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Coconut Oil or Vegetable oil, enough to grease the pan

Procedure

Rinse the rice twice with water completely draining each time. Grease the pan with a little oil by rubbing/brushing its bottom and sides.

Place the rinsed rice, coconut milk, water, shredded coconut, salt and sugar in  the pot/pan. Stir to mix well. Cover. Heat over medium to high and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low. Uncover and give it another quick stir to ensure that the rice is not sticking to the bottom. Cover again and let simmer for about 12-15 minutes or until the liquid has dried off and been fully absorbed by the rice. Turn off the heat and let stand about 10 minutes. If you are using the rice cooker, it will automatically turn-off when it's done cooking. However, let it stand for another 10 minutes or so to allow the rice to fully dry.

Before serving, fluff the rice with a fork or chopsticks. I actually used two wooden lolly sticks to do the job.
You can garnish it with toasted shredded coconut and some chopped cilantro for extra flavor and crunch!

Serve with your favorite Asian dishes especially curry. Enjoy!

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