sweet and salty coconut rice
There are a million foods I love. But I can EVENTUALLY get full off fried chicken. I can EVENTUALLY fill up on mac and cheese. But I for real cannot stop myself from eating this until every grain of rice in the immediate vicinity has been consumed. My plate, other plates, sides of the pot it was cooked in. Did any fall on the floor? That is now mine. Someone get up to go to the bathroom? Your rice is now mine. Too engaged in conversation to watch your plate? Mine.
There is just an incredible amount of stuff this dish can go with in this book but ohhhhh my god: a scoop or nine under the Pineapple-Grilled Short Ribs makes my weak heart pitter-patter.
If you aren’t sold from that pitch, you need a therapist. You can see mine; she’s great, kinda pricey, but she is also a dog.*
* If you know my dogs and you’re wondering, it’s Puddy. Pippa doesn’t care about your issues. Penny has her own. Puddy just floats through life.
ingredients
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1½ cups jasmine rice, rinsed and drained
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk (full-fat, not light)
¼ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
steps
In a dry skillet, toast the coconut over medium-low heat, stirring, until lightly browned and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes.
Transfer to a plate to cool (if you leave it in the skillet it might burn).
In a medium saucepan, combine the rice, coconut milk, 1¾ cups water (1 empty coconut milk can full!), sugar, and salt and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.
Reduce the heat to a barely bubbling simmer, cover, and simmer until the rice is cooked and the liquid is absorbed (there may be a bubbly layer of coconut cream on top of the cooked rice, so poke through it to make sure the rice is cooked), about 20 minutes.
Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork, re-cover the saucepan, and let stand for 5 minutes.
Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the toasted coconut.