Fluffy, aromatic and perfect savory coconut rice. Made with jasmine rice, coconut milk and a dash of salt, this coconut rice goes so well with Asian curries and stir-fries! No need to go to a restaurant when you can make this easy rice at home in just 20 minutes.
Scroll down for Instant Pot instructions.
As I cook curries ALL the time, this coconut rice always makes an appearance on the menu. It’s SO fragrant, well textured and delicious, and I finally found a failproof recipe to share with you! This coconut rice is exactly like the one that you get at restaurants. It’s super fluffy, never too oily or gluey.
INGREDIENTS
The ingredients are quite simple, you will need:
Jasmine rice – Coconut rice is typically made with Thai jasmine rice, but you can easily substitute it with basmati rice, or even brown rice. If you go for brown rice, you’ll need to adjust the cooking times though as it takes longer to cook.
Coconut milk – I recommend that you use full-fat canned coconut milk for best results. If that’s not available then you could use light coconut milk, or coconut milk sold in cartons at the chilled aisle in the supermarket.
Water – You can’t cook this rice with just coconut milk, coconut milk is a bit too thick for the rice to easily absorb it. So you will have to dilute the coconut milk with water.
Salt – As this is savory rice, add a dash of salt!
HOW TO MAKE COCONUT RICE
- To make coconut rice over the stovetop. Start by rinsing the rice under cold water until the water is quite clear (the water will never be 100% clear so don’t worry about that too much!). The reason why the rice needs to be rinsed is to get rid of the starch to avoid gluey cooked rice.
- In a heavy-bottomed pot or saucepan, add the rice along with the coconut milk, water, and salt.
- Mix the ingredients until well combined, cover with the lid and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, stir once, lower the heat and cover. Set the timer for 10 minutes, go do something else and don’t bother checking. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat, let the rice sit for 10 more minutes. Then fluff with a fork, and serve.
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT COCONUT RICE
If you own an Instant Pot and would like to make coconut rice in it. You certainly can make exceptionally fluffy coconut rice in your Instant Pot in just 20 minutes!
- Start by rinsing the rice under cold water to get rid of the starch and avoid a gummy texture (as mentioned above, you will need to rinse well until the water becomes quite clear).
- Add the rinsed rice to the Pot, followed by the coconut milk, water, and salt. Mix the ingredients
- Cook on manual – high pressure – 10 minutes. Then allow a natural release.
- Once the rice is cooked, make sure to switch off “keep warm” setting to prevent sticking/scorching to the bottom of the pot. Fluff with a fork and serve.
HOW TO MAKE COCONUT RICE IN A RICE COOKER
Following all the steps mentioned above which are to rinse the rice, mix all of the ingredients together etc. Add all of your ingredients to your rice cooker, and cook as if you were cooking plain rice.
TIPS FOR MAKING THE PERFECT COCONUT RICE EVERY SINGLE TIME
- Always rinse the rice before cooking!
- You can substitute the jasmine rice with any long grain rice, basmati rice is a good option. Short grain rice won’t work as it will get too gummy and sticky. Don’t use risotto or paella rice.
- Use canned full fat coconut milk for a better flavor!
- Canned coconut milk can separate while it’s sitting in the can, so make sure that you shake the can well (or mix the coconut milk once opened) before using.
- Use room temperature water and the coconut milk should be at the same temperature. As coconut milk can curdle if the water is too cold, or if the coconut milk is too cold.
- The ratio is rice to liquid is 2 cups of rice to just over 2 cups of liquid (around 2.25 cups).
- Always let the rice rest for 10 minutes covered after cooking, and then fluff it with a fork and it’s ready to be served.
- Once the cooking is finished, you might find a little bit of coconut milk sitting at the top. Don’t panic! That usually happens and doesn’t mean that your rice is not yet cooked. Once you fluff the rice with the fork, everything will be gone and your rice will be just perfect.
- Serve with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
WHAT TO SERVE THIS RICE WITH?
If you make this recipe, please don’t forget to rate it and share a picture on social media. Tag #LittleSunnyKitchen in your posts as I would really love to see what you make! Thank you for supporting Little Sunny Kitchen, so I can keep sharing my family recipes with you for free.
Coconut Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups Jasmine rice
- 1 can (about 2 cups) whole fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
To make coconut rice over the stovetop
- Start by rinsing the rice under cold water until the water is quite clear (the water will never be 100% clear).
- In a heavy-bottomed pot or saucepan, add the rice along with the coconut milk, water, and salt.
- Mix the ingredients until well combined, cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, stir once, lower the heat and cover. Set the timer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, turn off the heat, let the rice rest for 10 more minutes. Then fluff with a fork, and serve. I like to serve this coconut rice with lime wedges, as a squeeze of lime juice on the rice makes it taste even more amazing!
To make coconut rice in the Instant Pot
- Start by rinsing the rice under cold water to get rid of the starch and avoid a gummy texture.
- Add the rinsed rice to the Pot, followed by the coconut milk, water, and salt. Mix the ingredients until combined.
- Cook on "manual" on high pressure for 10 minutes. Then allow a natural release (It should take around 10 minutes).
- Once the rice is cooked, make sure to switch off "keep warm" setting to prevent sticking/scorching to the bottom of the pot. Let the rice sit for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork and serve.
Diana's Tips
- Once the rice is cooked, make sure to switch off "keep warm" setting to prevent sticking/scorching to the bottom of the pot.
- If cooking in a 8qt Instant Pot, make at least 2 cups of rice. If cooking in a 6qt Instant Pot, you can make 1 cup of rice without any problems.
- This rice freezes well, when reheating it just add a little bit of water.
- If using brown rice in the Instant Pot, increase the cooking time by 15 minutes (total cooking time 25 minutes + NR).
- You can substitute the jasmine rice with any long grain rice, basmati rice is a good option. Short grain rice won't work as it will get too gummy and sticky. Don't use risotto or paella rice.
Nutrition facts
Cookilicious
We love rice in any form and this recipe is very similar to our Indian coconut milk rice. Great post!
Taylor Kiser
Love the flavors going on in this rice! Will be a great side dish alongside grilled chicken!
Calleigh | The Fork bite
TBH, I never try recreating the coconut rice, now it prompted me to try this one in my instant pot. Rice is a staple on our table, and this will be next to my rice’s list. Thanks for sharing.
Julie Wallace
Yum! I love coconut rice, too. Thank you so much for the tip about how you must dilute the coconut milk with water. I never knew that, but it explains a lot. So this will sound random, but about a year ago, I decide to make ancho chile rice. I rehydrate the dried ancho chiles, then blend them with the water for a thick puree – the usual, right? It flavors chili so beautifully, surely it’ll be delicious with rice? Except that the puree was what I primarily used as the liquid to cook the rice, and the friggin’ rice never cooked. Seriously, I left it in the pot over an hour and it didn’t budge! Based on what you’re saying about coconut milk being too thick for proper absorption, I think that’s what happened with the ancho puree too – it is really thick. So anyways, very random, I know, but it just goes to show how universal cooking is – you can learn new things any time. So yes, thank you for the excellent tip there! 🙂
Jessica Formicola
Coconut is one of my favorite flavors, and this rice did not disappoint! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!