Savory Coconut Rice

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.

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, though, you’ll need to adjust the cooking times as it takes longer to cook.
• Coconut milk – For best results, I recommend using full-fat canned coconut milk. If that’s not available, you could use light coconut milk or coconut milk sold in cartons in 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 absorb it easily, so you will have to dilute it with water.
• Salt – As this is savory rice, add a dash of salt!

HOW TO MAKE COCONUT RICE

1. 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.
2. Add the rice, coconut milk, water, and salt to a heavy-bottomed pot or saucepan.
3. 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 can certainly make exceptionally fluffy coconut rice in just 20 minutes!

1. 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).
2. Add the rinsed rice to the Pot, followed by the coconut milk, water, and salt. Mix the ingredients
3. Cook on manual – high pressure – 10 minutes. Then allow a natural release.
4. Once the rice is cooked, switch off the “keep warm” setting to prevent it from sticking 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.

Recipe Tips

• 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 sitting in the can, so make sure to shake the can well (or mix the coconut milk once opened) before using it.
• Use room-temperature water, and the coconut milk should be at the same temperature. Coconut milk can curdle if the water is too cold or if the coconut milk is too cold.
• The rice-to-liquid ratio 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. Then, fluff it with a fork, and it’s ready to be served.
• Once the cooking is finished, you might find some coconut milk sitting at the top. Don’t panic! That usually happens, but it doesn’t mean that your rice has not yet been cooked. Once you fluff the rice with the fork, everything will be gone, and your rice will be perfect.
• Serve with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

WHAT TO SERVE THIS RICE WITH?

Kidney bean curry

Chickpea and potato curry

Eggplant and chickpea curry

Honey garlic salmon

Honey garlic chicken

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.

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

5 from 6 votes

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Coconut Rice

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 15 minutes mins

Author: Diana

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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!

8 servings

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!

Ingredients 

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• ▢ 2 cups (400 g) Jasmine rice
• ▢ 13.6 ounce can (400 ml can) coconut milk whole fat
• ▢ ½ cup (120 ml) water
• ▢ 1 teaspoon 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.

Notes:

• 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 Information

Calories: 283kcal, Carbohydrates: 39g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Sodium: 301mg, Potassium: 184mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin C: 1.4mg, Calcium: 21mg, Iron: 1.2mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

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