Restaurant Style Coconut Rice (Coconut Milk)

1. Rinsing rice – essential for this recipe as the rich coconut milk will otherwise make the rice gluey.

This rice is best made with jasmine rice. For long grain, basmati, medium and short grain rice, add an extra 1/4 cup of water. This recipe is not suitable for risotto or paella rice, or brown rice.

2. Coconut milk – Please use full fat coconut milk so this actually tastes of coconut! The higher then coconut % (check ingredients) the better the coconut flavour. I use Ayam (89%, this is high). Cheap brands can be as low as 30% (the rest is water!).

3. Sugar – some restaurants make the coconut rice a touch sweet with the addition of sugar. Also, higher quality coconut milk is sweeter and richer than cheaper ones. So this is optional. It doesn’t make the rice super sweet, it just adds a subtle touch of sweetness. I almost always include it.

1. Rice – This rice is best made with jasmine or long grain rice. Medium and short grain rice are too sticky which is made even stickier by cooking it in coconut. Basmati is also a good substitute. This recipe is not suitable for risotto or paella rice. It will also work with brown rice.

No need to rinse or soak rice when using this coconut powder method (with coconut milk – see recipe above – rinsing and soaking is necessary for fluffy rice).

2. Coconut milk powder is available in the Asian section or next to canned coconut milk in the canned vegetables of supermarkets. They typically come in packs of 3 sachets which are 50g / 1.75 oz each. In Australia, a box of 3 sachets costs $3.