Having a rice cooker has changed my life! And I now can make my rice cooker coconut rice with success!
I’ve only said this eight thousand times, but like, everyone in the world should own one because they are magical.
Five plus years ago, in the wee years of Simply Scratch, there was no way I would ever post a recipe for rice, let alone coconut rice. Why? Because I cannot make rice in a pan, pot, Dutch oven… anything. Not that I wouldn’t try, oh I’d try but it would be an epic disaster when it was done or not done because it would turn out under-cooked too sometimes. And it would (still does?) always baffle me when I would watch a show on Food Network and someone could effortlessly make rice on their stove top. Just. HOW?
But making fluffy, tender, perfectly cooked rice in a rice cooker? THAT I can do.
Just a last month I upgraded my old Aroma rice cooker for it’s much newer and digital version and I have zero regrets about it. I absolutely love it! So far I’ve made brown rice for vegetable fried rice, regular ol’ jasmine rice and now the oh-so-tasty coconut rice.
Coconut rice is one of my all time favorites, especially because it’s as easy as dumping in rice, coconut milk, water and salt, closing the lid and pressing a button. Who wouldn’t love that?
Depending on if I’m making Thai, Indian or something else entirely, I will use either basmati or jasmine rice but long grain white rice would work just as well. Today it’s basmati. I added 4 cups* of rice into a large mesh strainer and rinsed under cool water until the water runs clear (this takes a few minutes).
*note that most rice cookers come with their own specific measuring cup. If you don’t have one or (like me) have lost it, measure out four 3/4 cups. 3/4 of a cup is equivalent to the “cup” that is used with most rice cookers.
Add the rinsed rice to the rice cooker pot…
Add in the entire can of full fat coconut milk and then fill with water to the 4 cup waterline.
For a more savory coconut rice, try adding in a clove of minced garlic.
Close the lid, plug it in and press the white rice button. It’s as easy as that. Have I told you that I LOVE my rice cooker? I do.
So I was blogging 3 recipes in one day and TOTALLY forgot to grab a shot of the cooked rice in the rice cooker, so I will have to tell you verse show you: the coconut rice was so fluffy! Each grain separate, not clumped, gummy or sticky. Just how rice should be!
And it smelled AMAZING!
Now depending on your time or desire for the utmost coconut flavor… then I highly suggest sprinkling toasted unsweetened coconut over top. It adds texture, flavor and looks pretty when mixed throughout the rice.
Delicious!
To quote my husband:
“It’s been so long since I’ve enjoyed perfectly cooked rice that I forgot how much I like it.” – Pat McNamara 2012
(thank you rice cooker 😉 )
Enjoy! And if you give this Rice Cooker Coconut Rice recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Rice Cooker Coconut Rice
Ingredients
- 4 cups basmati rice, see notes
- 1 (15 ounce) can full fat coconut milk
- water
- kosher salt
- 1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut, optional
Instructions
- Measure rice into a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cool water for a few minutes, until the water runs clear.
- Place rice into the rice cooker along with coconut milk and salt. Fill the pot with water up to the 4 cup waterline.
- Close the lid, and depending on your brand of rice cooker, press the start or "white rice" button.
- Once rice is fully cooked, keep it on the warm setting while you quickly toast coconut in a dry skillet.
- Serve coconut rice in a large bowl and top with the toasted coconut.
Notes
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THANK YOU in advance for your support!
Rice can be a nightmare because of the nature of the grain. Let’s start with the washing, absolutely necessary for LONG grain rice but not short grain. The reason is a starch that’s part of the shell on long grain rice. If you don’t get that starch off, when the rice gets cold it hardens and feels like you are chewing sand. Trouble is that “enriched” rice has extra vitamins on it that get washed off too. I won’t bore you with the long winded explanation of the proper way to wash rice, much more involved than your method, but it persuaded me to switch to short-grain rice which doesn’t have that problem.
The next problem is that directions for rice to water ratio are only averages and it’s different for different amounts. The most accurate ratio I’ve seen is the one given by Alton Brown. 1 Cup Rice – 1 1/2 Cup Water, 2 Cups Rice – 2 3/4 Cups Water, 3 Cups Rice – 3 1/2 Cups Water (yes, the ratio goes and this is level measuring cups, not rice cooker cups.). This is for WHITE rice, BROWN rice uses 1/4 cup less than the chart above for each.
This doesn’t even count needing to use a pot with a tight fitting lid (so too much steam doesn’t escape), NEVER opening the pot from the moment you close it until 5 minutes after you’ve taken it off the heat (sounds strange but it’s important) or fluffing the rice immediately after you open the pot with a fork. Even then the rice might still have a little excess water (showing the rice was a little old before use) but it will still be perfectly edible and taste good.
I’m with you, the rice cooker is a LOT simpler!
Wow! Thanks for the tips and all the info!
I made coconut rice in my rice cooker before and I ruin it. It didn’t cook all the way and when I put more water became mushy and wasn’t pleasant at all.
I used this recipe last week and it was under cook again. But I put more water and i cookies it in brown rice function and I solved the problem. I would say even it is white rice i would use brown rice function for cooking coconut rice.
That’s crazy to me, Kalya. I’ve never once had undercooked coconut rice using my rice cooker. But that’s a good tip to know! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I don’t understand your instructions to cook for 30 days? Typo?
Definitely a typo! Could you imagine
Very simple recipe for great tasting coconut rice. I used regular white rice since in my rice cooker (since I did not have basmati) and it was perfect!. I served with curried drumsticks with coconut milk done in a slow cooker and according to my daughter it was the best meal I had made in a long time. Like you I swear by my rice cooker. This is definitely a keeper!
Thank you, Kathy-Ann! Thank you for taking the time to make this recipe and leave such an great review. 🙂
This sounds wonderful, but this is a massive recipe… How could I half it?
OMG this looks amazing! I can’t wait to try this out tonight! 🙂
Whether you are a rice-lover or a health food enthusiast, the electric rice cooker is one appliance you will not regret investing in. By automating the entire process of cooking rice, this countertop machine has eliminated the need for continually hovering over the stove, ensuring that you don’t end up with mushy overcooked rice or hard-centered undercooked rice. With the electric rice cooker on board, you can treat yourself to fluffy, delicious rice every time.
My daughter bought us a simple rice cooker and I love the improvement in my rice. I use one cup of water to one cup of rice. What quantity of coconut milk should I use? 4 cups is way too much for 2 of us.
Could I use brown rice instead of white? I was going to use my rice cooker with the measurements for brown rice. The liquid ratio is different.