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Coconut Rice with Chives: How to Make Fluffy Coconut Rice

By on June 1, 2009 in She Deglutenizes, She Steams, She Thais, She Veges

how to make coconut rice recipe
The best coconut rice, in my opinion, is made from quality long grain rice (that would be old crop Jasmine rice, if you ask me) and fresh coconut milk extracted from finely-grated mature coconut meat. The rice-liquid ratio is 1:2 or 1:1.5 depending on whether the rice is an old or new crop as the former has lower moisture content than the latter and therefore requires more liquid.

Depending on what you like, several different perfuming or flavoring agents may be added to the rice as it cooks: smashed fresh garlic, bruised fresh pandan leaves, smashed fresh cilantro roots, crispy fried shallots, etc. If you grew up in Southeast Asia, chance are you’ve had at least 4-5 different varieties of coconut rice. Each culture, each sub-culture, each household has its own version.

This one of mine has added fresh chives. It’s not the most traditional flavor, but I happen to think chives and coconut go very well together. Also, the method which I use is a little different from what is considered the standard. That is to say, while most recipes instruct you to cook long grain rice with coconut milk in lieu of plain water, mine holds off on the coconut milk until the very end.

I’m not very picky about the type of rice. (Having said that, I have to say Thai Jasmine rice will forever remain the love of my life. I may sometimes get infatuated with Basmati or Mochigome, but my dalliances with anything but Thai Jasmine have invariably proven short-lived; I always come crawling back to my true love.) I am, however, very picky about the texture of cooked rice. I can’t stand wet, gummy rice – a sign of over-hydration and/or too much starch in the liquid in which the rice is cooked. It’s similar to what happens to pasta when it’s cooked too long in too little water, and we all know how tragic that is.

how to make coconut rice recipe

[Coconut rice served with grilled skirt steak marinated in soy sauce, ground coriander, and garlic.]

It could be just me. Perhaps other people have better luck making nice, fluffy coconut rice with canned coconut milk than I do. While I’ve never had problem making good coconut rice with freshly extracted coconut milk, every time I cook coconut rice with canned coconut milk (even my favorite brand which I normally consider godly and blameless), it often comes out wet and gummy. And since freshly-extracted coconut milk from freshly-grated coconut meat isn’t readily available where I live, canned coconut milk is my only option. As for spray-dried coconut milk powder, I think it has very little taste. The other problem is that regardless of whether the rice comes out wet and gummy or partially undercooked (which sometimes happens when I make a misguided attempt to reduce the wetness by using less coconut milk), the rice at the bottom invariably gets over-browned and sticks to the pot or the rice cooker. This makes me cranky.

I have recently learned to do things differently: I do not add coconut milk until the very end. This is the only method which has consistently yielded perfectly-cooked rice, fluffy and thoroughly perfumed with coconut milk with no hard, brown crust at the bottom of the rice pot. The coconut milk is added at the moment when the rice has absorbed all of the water or broth, yet is still not quite fully cooked, which means it is still capable of taking on additional moisture without turning wet and gummy. The use of broth is optional; it’s just an extra step to enhance the flavor. What’s not optional, however, is the rinsing of the rice. Rinsing helps wash off some of the starch which would otherwise get released into the cooking liquid and cause the gumminess. (Imagine what it’s like to cook your rice in starchy liquid similar to cornstarch or Wonder flour slurry.) I rinse my raw rice until the water runs clear.

how to make coconut rice recipeCoconut Rice with Fresh Chives
(Makes 4-5 cups)
Printable Version

2 cups uncooked long grain rice, preferably Thai Jasmine or Basmati
2 3/4 cups water or unsalted chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup good canned coconut milk, not the “light” variety which is too thin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
3/4 cup snipped fresh chives

  • Put the rice in a heavy-bottomed pot or a rice cooker container and rinse it until the water is clear.
  • Add the water or broth into the pot, stir, and bring the rice mixture to a boil, uncovered, over medium-high heat. Turn down the heat to one notch above the lowest setting and cover the pot. In about 15 minutes, the rice should have already absorbed most or all of the liquid. Add the coconut milk, salt, and black pepper; stir very gently once and put the lid back on.
  • Let the rice cook for another 10 minutes or until it appears cooked and all the liquid has been absorbed.
  • Take the pot off the heat and let the rice rest for 10 minutes.
  • Add the fresh chives and give the rice a quick stir; put the lid back on but cover only partially to let some of the steam out.
  • When the rice has cooled down a little, fluff with a fork.
  • This method works well if you cook your rice in a rice cooker as well. You just have to remember to add the coconut milk about 5 minutes before the rice cooker goes ding.
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    How to Choose the Right Mango for Thai Mango and Coconut Sticky Rice

    By on March 16, 2009 in She Deglutenizes, She Steams, She Stocks a Thai Pantry, She Thais, She Veges

    mango for Thai sweet sticky rice recipe
    Southeast and South Asian people are usually gentle and polite — sometimes to the point of being shy and withdrawn — in social situations. But if you put them all together in one place and one happens to make a bad move of claiming the types of mango (banana, coconut, etc.) found in his/her country are superior to those found in the rest of the region, things could get awkward at best and ugly at worst. So even if I do think Thai mangoes are the best, I rarely say that out loud.

    Okay, I’m going to remain ducking under the table until you Malaysian, Indonesian, Indian, Filipino readers put away your broomsticks.

    This time of year, those in Thailand are starting to see more and more mangoes in the market and I’m here in Chicago totally depressed. The beginning of the mango season in Thailand can only be described as magnificent in the most literal meaning of its Latin etymology. At least, there was excitement to that degree in our family. We love mangoes and durians, as do most other Thai families. The fact that the mango season is closely followed by the durian season only increases the joy ten-folds. It’s like nature’s way of apologizing for turning on the heat and humidity full blast during the months of April and May.

    [As a side comment, though I can see why durian is referred to as the king of fruits, whoever took the liberty of crowning mangosteen the queen of fruits has some explaining to do. I just don’t understand why the much, much more delicious mango doesn’t make it into the royal fruity palace.]

    In the backyard of the house in which I grew up there were at least five different kinds of mango trees. They started budding and blooming in the colder months of December through mid-February. Then the withered flowers gave way to baby mangoes the size of the tip of your pinkie. At a risk of sounding like a kid who didn’t have a life, one of my favorite things to do was checking on the growth of the mangoes every morning before I left for school. By the time April rolled around, these wee mangoes would have grown into full-sized mangoes, ready for harvest.

    My grandmother would snap full-grown, yet green, mangoes right off the branches, one by one, with a bamboo basket attached to the tip of a long pole. For the ones meant to be consumed when green, we would eat them right away. For those meant to be eaten when fully ripe, we would let them ripen, undisturbed, in the basement.

    The Thai people are very picky when it comes to mango. (I have previously stepped on some international toes by expressing my shamelessly-bigoted opinion in my post on mango-lime jam). Thailand might be a country that seems to get a new prime minister and cabinet every Tuesday afternoon as we take our time deciding just what kind of democracy we dig the most, but certain things remain static.

    Mango rules are one example of things that never change. Though these rules are not written, they’re instinctively followed. Certain types of mango are made to be eaten when they’re green; certain types are made to be eaten when they’re ripe. Certain types of green mango are to be served in paper-thin slices; certain types are to be cut into long spears. Certain types of mango are used exclusively to make mango-based chutneys, relishes, or dipping sauces. We’re a bunch of neurotic mango sticklers, I guess.

    The mango rules kick in big time when it comes to choosing the right types of mango to pair with sweet coconut sticky rice. As far as I know, only two types of mangoes are principally used for this very purpose: Ok-Rong and Nam-Dokmai.

    Though pairing other types of mango with the coconut sticky rice probably would not result in one being murdered and buried in an unmarked grave, it would most definitely result in the perpetrator being stared down by a mob of miffed Thais. Respectable Thai restaurants in the US always pull this dessert off the menu when good mangoes are out of season. That tells you something.


    The closest thing to the aforementioned Ok-Rong and Nam-Dokmai is Manila or Ataulfo mangoes (shown here) which are widely available in the US. They’re light green when green (oh, so helpful …) and dark yellow with a tint of orange when ripe. In stark contrast to the disgusting greenish-reddish mangoes that are available all year round in the US, Ataulfo mangoes have all the characteristics of good eating mangoes: meaty, non-fibrous, fragrant, and very sweet. If you see this type of mango at your local grocery store, by all means, buy them by the case.

    The mangoes shown here present an example of what ripe mangoes look like. However, personally, I would let them sit on the kitchen counter for 2-3 more days until the taut skin turns a bit wrinkly. That is when I know they are perfectly ripe and sweet with no trace of tartness left. Only then will they be good enough to pair with the sweet coconut sticky rice. Biting into a piece of tart mango and sweet sticky rice is one of the biggest food bummers of all time, in my opinion.

    There are many kinds of mango in the market, but only few are suitable mates for your coconut sticky rice. So, to quote the Grail Knight from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, choose wisely.

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    Steamed Squash Rice Cakes

    By on November 29, 2008 in She Deglutenizes, She Steams, She Thais, She Veges


    These little squash cakes are inspired by khanom tan (ขนมตาล), a traditional Thai dessert made of rice flour, the pulp of the toddy palm fruit, palm sugar, and coconut milk. The batter, traditionally made with no leavening agent other than the wild yeast that comes with the fruit, is left to ferment in the sun for a couple of hours to create the natural “sourdough” effects. After that, they get steamed in little cups made from fresh banana leaves. Continue Reading →

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