Step up your rice game with this Easy Fragrant Coconut Rice that requires only a handful of ingredients, such as coconut milk, pandan leaves, and ginger.
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Welcome to Day 7 of my Ramadan 2023 series! Calling all of my fellow rice lovers, if you want a bit of variety, give this fluffy coconut rice a try. It’s an excellent way for you to incorporate some added flavor to your meals.
Coconut rice is popular in different parts of the world, such as the Caribbean, tropical countries like Hawaii, and across Asia. You’ll find that the recipes vary slightly from one another, as it integrates ingredients that are prevalent to each region.
This coconut rice recipe is more like how it’s prepared in Malaysia, and is one that is normally served as part of the dish known as “nasi lemak”. This style is also enjoyed in other Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand.
What Is Coconut Rice?
At its core, coconut rice is just cooking rice with a mix of coconut milk and water. As an optional but highly recommended step, the aromatics — pandan leaves and ginger — are added on for a further boost of flavor.
Traditionally, we would use freshly squeezed coconut milk, which is known as “santan”. But due to ease of storage, many of us have succumbed to the use of boxed coconut milk. My mom would have boxes of santan stashed at home, ready to be picked from the pantry (we also use them for recipes like Malaysian Chicken Curry (Kari Ayam)).
However in the US, we usually use canned coconut milk for cooking as it contains a higher fat percentage, and is not diluted with water.
What to serve with coconut rice?
You can really have it with anything that you’d typically pair white rice with. The sky is the limit!
Nasi Lemak: For a basic plate of nasi lemak, the coconut rice is often paired with a side of sambal (chili paste condiment), fried anchovies, roasted peanuts, and sliced cucumbers. Elevate it further with eggs (either fried or hard-boiled), fried chicken, or seafood sambal dishes like prawn or squid. Here’s a Sambal Telur (Eggs with Sambal) recipe for you to check out.
Ingredients You’ll Need
(For full ingredient measurements, please proceed to the recipe card below.)
- Uncooked Jasmine rice
- Canned coconut milk
- Water
- Pandan leaves: tied into a knot for easy removal later
- Ginger
- Salt
- Sugar
how to make easy coconut rice In Rice cooker
Rice cooker coconut rice
- Rinse the rice until water runs clear.
- Mix the coconut milk and water. Add to the rinsed rice and stir.
- Optional but highly recommended: Add pandan leaves, ginger, salt and sugar. Stir and cook in a rice cooker.
- Once the rice is cooked, fluff it up to distribute some of the coconut milk that may be on top. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
More Rice Recipes
- Hainanese Chicken Rice
- Malaysian Malay-Style Chicken Rice (Nasi Ayam)
- Easy 10-Minute Congee (With Leftover Cooked Rice)
- The Best Garlic Fried Rice
- Easy Shrimp Fried Rice
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Easy Fragrant Coconut Rice (Made In Rice Cooker)
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked Jasmine rice
- 13.5 oz canned coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 1-2 pandan leaves tied into a knot for easy removal later
- 2-3 thick slices of ginger
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tsp sugar
Instructions
Rice cooker coconut rice
- Rinse the rice until water runs clear.
- Mix the coconut milk and water. Add to the rinsed rice and stir.
- Optional but highly recommended: Add pandan leaves, ginger, salt and sugar. Stir and cook in a rice cooker.
- Once the rice is cooked, fluff it up to distribute some of the coconut milk that may be on top. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
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