Karl’s Coconut Rice

I am making a dinner with a lot of restrictions this week—no onions, garlic, bell peppers, “hot” spices—because daughter Miriam has been ill. I finally settled on making chicken satay lettuce wraps and I wanted a side starch dish for the carb-eaters. I had decided to use some coconut milk in the main dish, but this left me with most of a can of coconut milk left over. What to do with it?

Karl’s Coconut Rice

Coconut rice seemed like the idea. Many of the recipes I looked at were just rice and coconut milk. Some recipes added onion or garlic—but one of the restrictions of this meal is that I could use neither of these ingredients. Since my main dish was South Asian, I decided that my rice should be as well. I finally decided on cardamom, ginger and lemongrass—flavorful without being overly “spicy.”

Karl’s Coconut Rice

Ingredients

1 cup jasmine rice

1½ cups coconut milk (13.5 oz. can minus ¼ cup for the satay sauce)
¼ cup water
5 cardamom pods, cracked open
5 coins fresh ginger
1 tsp. lemon grass, powder
½ tsp. powdered ginger
¼ tsp. Kosher salt

2-3 sprigs of cilantro

Directions

1. Rinse the rice and place it in a rice steamer.

Tip: While you may do this in a regular pot with a tight fitting lid a rice steamer is a very useful kitchen aid—press the button and walk away for perfect rice

2. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and start the steamer.

Note: The coconut milk separates into coconut water and a thick cream. After 10 minutes stir the rice to mix the cream—that will float to the top of the pot—into the rice.

3. When the rice is done, transfer it to a serving bowl and garnish with some sprigs of cilantro.