Rice. It’s incredibly adaptable, and I love it more than any other carbohydrate (which is saying a lot, given my penchant for grains like bread and pasta). Even though we’ve covered everything from fried rice to sticky rice rolls, we haven’t really delved into the topic of how to make flavored rice like this Quick and Easy Coconut Rice.
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Changing the cooking liquid is a simple way to impart new flavors to rice. Although water is typically used, other liquids, such as chicken or mushroom stock, can be used to provide additional flavors to rice.
Rice with coconut milk is on the menu for today. Serving coconut rice is one of my favorite ways to complement Southeast Asian cuisines like Malaysian, Thai, Lao, and others.
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It smells slightly sweet and slightly coconutty. Toasted coconut flakes are optional but make a great accent to this dish as a side item. There are only five essential elements.
In addition to the Pork Larb recipe I posted a few days ago, I’ve included a couple more below that would be excellent with a heaping helping of coconut rice as a side dish.
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INGREDIENTS:
- 13.5 oz. of coconut milk
- 2 cups of jasmine rice
- ¼ cup of toasted coconut flakes
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Set aside 15 minutes to allow the rice to soak. Drain. Put the rice in a medium-sized pot after it has been drained. Empty the can of coconut milk into a liquid measuring cup (two to four cups is ideal) and fill the rest with water; this will yield just under two cups. Combine with the salt and sugar and throw into the stew.
- Start a boil in the pot. Once the water begins to boil, stir it constantly while covering the pot and lowering the heat to a low setting. Aim for a cooking time of 25 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed.
- Take the rice off the stove, fluff it with a fork, and cover it until it’s time to serve.
- Adding the toasted coconut flakes at the last minute before serving is a nice touch.