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easy coconut rice recipe.

Easy Coconut Rice Recipe

Rika
Super fluffy coconut rice that tastes good and goes with everything! You won't believe how easy it is to make restaurant-quality coconut rice at home. This rice will quickly become your favorite side dish for your dinner rotation. 
5 from 12 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Resting time 10 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai
Servings 4
Calories 424 kcal

Equipment

  • a heavy-bottom saucepan (2-quart or similar)

Ingredients
 

  • cups raw long-grain rice
  • cups full-fat coconut milk, canned, (unsweetened)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½-¾ teaspoon white sugar
  • 1 cup water, (use ½ cup of water for rice cooker)
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 fresh lemongrass, (cut into pieces then bruise it with a rolling pin or mallet)
  • zest from one lime , (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Using a fine mesh strainer and/or bowl, rinse the rice with cold water until the water runs clear. Drain it well. Set it aside.
  • In a saucepan, stir in coconut milk, salt, and sugar. Add rice, bay leaves, and lemongrass.
  • Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the entire surface is bubbling, stir once. 
  • Continue boiling until you see the bubbles turn into little holes with steam coming through the rice and the water volume has reduced to the rice level. Turn the heat to the lowest setting and cover the pot. Cook for 10 minutes.
  • Once the cooking cycle is done, remove the pot from the heat and let the rice sit (still covered) for 10 minutes. Taste the rice and add more salt/sugar if necessary. Stir in the lime zest and serve.

Notes

Lemongrass. Check out this post to learn how to select and prepare lemongrass.
Sugar. This coconut rice can also be made without sugar. If you are limiting your sugar intake, feel free to skip it. 
To cook the coconut rice in a rice cooker. 
  • Wash the rice until the water runs clear as mentioned above.
  • Place the rice, coconut milk, salt, sugar, lemongrass, and bay leaves, and use just ½ cup of water in a rice cooker pot. 
  • Close the lid, choose the "white rice" setting, and let your rice cooker do the job.
  • Once the cooking cycle is done, let it sit for 10-15 minutes before opening the lid.
What to serve with. You can use fried shallots as a topping and serve with any stew or fried food (such as fried fish, fried tofu, etc). 
Storing and reheating the coconut rice
  • Let the hot coconut rice cools down to room temperature before refrigerating, no longer than 2 hours or 1 hour when the temperature is above 90°F.
  • Place the rice in an airtight container. Properly stored, it can last 3-4 days in the fridge or 3-4 months in the freezer.
  • You can microwave the rice for a minute or longer until warm throughout.

Nutrition

Calories: 424kcalCarbohydrates: 59gProtein: 7gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 308mgPotassium: 276mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 5IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 38mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!