Asian Coconut Rice

HELPFUL TIPS NOT MENTIONED: Being Asian, cooking rice is a skill I guess you're born with because I totally don't see why ANYONE had issues with burning the rice, it being uncooked, soggy, or whatever. I cook rice the same way each time, and it comes out perfect. In saucepan, combine rice, coconut milk, water, sugar & salt. Basically the liquids should reach the middle of the white semi-circle on your finger nail (but not reaching your cuticle). This is also assuming you've got the rice in the pot leveled, and the tip of your index finger is touching the top of the rice NOT the bottom of the pan. This is at least how I was raised to always know how much water to put in rice for it to always come out right. Bring to boil then simmer covered for 20 min. You cook until rice is tender. After 20 minutes, if there is still liquid or a bit soggy, I turn up the heat a tad, cover, and cook until absorbed and fluffy. Always works! Nothing difficult! Then mix in almonds accents (found in salad section, basically a bag of seasoned almonds to top salads) which adds the right amount of flavor to accompany the coconut taste.

Hi.. I am from Malaysia. I would like to share this information, the rice is called 'Nasi Lemak'(Coconut Rice), one of the traditional breakfast in Asia especially in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. It comes with condiments (boiled egg, cucumber slices, crispy anchovies and peanut). Nasi Lemak is not complete without spicy 'sambal'(chilli cooked in a specific way). So this recipe is actually not complete and I cant imagine people eat the rice just by itself ( and sugar in rice??).. For those who would like to try this recipe, my advise is to omit the sugar and salt. Have it together with Chicken/Beef Rendang or fried chicken. The best is to go with the ORIGINAL way (with the sambal).

I was curious about this recipe and decided to try it one night with some pineapple and apricot chicken. My family loved it! This is the only rice they want to eat now. We have a lot of stir fry with vegetables and chicken, and if I don't make this rice, I get in trouble. The only thing I will say is that I have never had to cook this rice for 18-20 minutes. I start checking mine at 10 minutes, and it almost burns at 12 minutes. Great alternative to plain white rice!

I'll admit, when I first tasted this I was disappointed - it was very bland. I think it smelled so good while it was cooking (honestly, it smelled like I was baking coconut cookies) that the mild, subtle flavor was almost a let-down. HOWEVER, as stated in some of the other reviews, this is supposed to be a dish that compliments other Asian cuisine, and in that respect it is a 5-star recipe. Serve this with something spicy (I made it with Easy Chicken Satay and Baked Pork - minus the pork - Spring Rolls from this site) and it is perfection! My guests raved about the rice and I ended up appreciating it more when accompanied by something spicy. I used light coconut milk, and almost made a big mistake by bringing to a boil over HIGH heat (started to burn!) instead of medium heat, but caught it just in time. My rice cooked in about 10 minutes. Will definitely make this again.

I didn't like this recipe. I thought it was too sweet and overpowered the taste of everything else. Also, the rice was undercooked and sticky. I tried adding a little more water to give it time to finish cooking, but it really didn't help. I will not make again.

I realize that this recipe is supposed to have a very subtle coconut flavor, but I was looking for a real bang for my buck since I was serving this with my Polynesian themed dinner, so for extra flavor I stirred in a few drops of coconut extract and a handful of sweetened shredded coconut. With that it came out perfect- exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

I really didn't like this recipe. There was not enough moisture and the rice wouldn't cook.

This went well with our teriyaki chicken. I used basmati rice and added some butter. My husband suggested using ghee (clarified butter) rather than regular butter to give some added flavor. I may give his suggestion a try next time. Will use again. Thanks SILVREZS.

Tasty, pretty and fragrant, this is a beautiful Asian method of preparing basic rice. It must just be that our taste buds are unfamiliar with this combination of flavors that made this unappealing for us...purely a subjective thing. I do think, however, that even in a general sense this would be much improved without the sugar. As a rescue for the leftovers, a coconut rice pudding would have been fantastic. Unfortunately, hubs is not a fan of rice pudding, so the remaining rice went down the disposal. I did appreciate introducing something different to our palates, so no regrets in trying it.

This recipe is great. We have tried several others and they don't come out very well. Use lite coconut milk for a lighter recipe , we like it best this way.