Happy Friday! I always laugh when people wish me a Happy Friday – especially since it happens every 7 days. And yet, when someone wishes me Happy Friday I am thrilled because … it’s Friday!! The weekend!
It’s the middle of August and summer holidays are undeniably winding down for some. School supplies are in the stores. I think school might even be starting for some schools in less than a couple of weeks from now. I hope you’re all cramming as much summer fun into these last couple of weeks and weekends before life has to return to normal and cooler weather (inevitably) shows up. Any last minute camping trips or holidays anywhere? We are going to have a busy weekend here just catching up on all the little (and not so little) things we’ve kept putting off all summer long.
So without further ado, here’s this week’s {fast friday} recipe. It’s a nice and easy one!
Mmmm coconut rice. We do love coconut rice. I like coconut anything, though.
The coconut rice we order at our favorite Thai restaurant is sweeter than this. I’ve seen some recipes online that add a lot more sugar to. I’m not interested in adding sugar to sweeten a rice that’s meant to go with savoury dishes. This version of coconut rice has a nice coconut flavor, a creaminess, but it’s not super sticky or overly sweet. For us, it tastes nicely balanced. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
I haven’t tried making this on the stovetop yet. I am lazy. I like to set the rice cooker and ignore it until it’s all done. The instructions I provide are for a rice cooker only.
A quick note about toasting the coconut. I toast my own. It’s simple and really quick. You can use a baking sheet. Just spread the coconut on a baking sheet and toast at 300 degrees F for about 8-10 minutes, watching very closely. You can also use a dry skillet and toast the coconut on the stovetop over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes, watching very closely.
- 2 cups jasmine rice
- 1 x 398mL (14 oz) can coconut milk (2½ cups)
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsweetened toasted coconut, divided
- Combine jasmine rice, coconut milk, water, sweetener and 3 tablespoons of toasted coconut in the rice cooker. Stir to combine.
- Set rice cooker to cook.
- Once the rice cooker is done cooking, let the rice sit covered for 10 more minutes.
- Fluff the rice with a fork and toss in the remaining 2 tablespoons of toasted coconut.
- Serve hot with your favorite Thai dishes.
Sounds wonderful Megan! Wondering about the toasted coconut. That you do yourself, right? That’s not a product you buy.
I assume you put the coconut in a dry frying pan and cook coconut until brown?
Thanks!
Oh, BTW, would you be willing to tell what brand rice cooker you have? I’d like to buy one and don’t want to be disappointed.
Here in Colorado, our kids are back in school this week, next week for some!
Thanks!
Leslie
Hi Leslie,
Yes, I toast my own coconut. I didn’t think about including steps to do that in this post. I should have so I’ll update my post to include it.
You can toast the coconut on a baking sheet at 300F for just about 8-10 minutes, keeping a very close eye on it. I toast mine in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes, watching it closely as well.
As for which brand of rice cooker I recommend, that’s a funny one. I actually don’t have anything fancy at all. I bought a small cheap one and it does the trick. I know others who cook a lot of rice or like tons of options really like the Zojirushi rice cookers but I honestly don’t know how much they cost and haven’t used them personally. They look really impressive though!
I hope that helps!