Coconut Rice

Ingredients

2 cups aged basmati long-grained rice (Royal Brand recommended)

2 tsp neutral oil

2-3 tsp grated ginger

1-2 tsp grated garlic

8 lime leaves (available fresh or frozen in Asian grocery stores, especially favored by Thai cooks) crushed in your hand to release
essential oils and flavor

2 stalks lemongrass, cut into 3” pieces [outside woody layer removed], lightly bruised with the back of a chef’s knife

1 ½ cups coconut milk (13.5 fluid ounce can) Do not shake the can before opening.

2 cups chicken broth or water

½ tsp salt

1-2 tsp sugar

½ – 1 tsp turmeric

Optional: daun salam, often called Indonesian bay leaf

Instructions

Wash the rice with room temperature water while gently stirring it with your hand. Drain and repeat several times, until the water runs clear of excess starch.

Cover the rice with room temperature water and let it sit for at least an hour, preferably two.

This step slowly wakes up the rice.

– Zak

Drain the rice well.

Using a 2-3 quart stockpot with a heavy bottom and tight fitting lid, set it over medium heat. Add 2 tsp oil. Open, but do not shake or mix the can of coconut milk. The fat will have solidified at the top of the can. Scoop out about ¼ cup of the coconut cream and add it to the stockpot.

Add the ginger and garlic in this coconut oil mixture and sauté until fragrant. Take care not to burn the garlic, which would give your rice a bitter taste. Stir in the washed and drained rice, and sauté briefly. Add the turmeric, salt, sugar, lime leaves, optional bay leaf and lemongrass stalks that have been bruised to release their flavor. Continue to gently sauté all the ingredients for a minute.

Add the chicken stock or water and the remaining coconut milk, gently folding the rice into the liquid. Increase the heat to high.

Once the contents come to a boil, decrease the heat to the lowest setting, cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer for 11 minutes.

Don’t be alarmed when you open the pot and see the film of coconut milk that’s settled on top. When you gently fluff the cooked rice, this disappears. I use chopsticks for this, to avoid breaking the tender grains. Remove the lime leaves and lemongrass stalks.

If you are using the coconut rice for a stir-fry, cool it completely, overnight if possible. I usually cook a batch of rice and enjoy it steamed the first night and stir-fried a day or two later.