Thai Coconut Rice

Thai coconut rice is a staple at any Thai restaurant and I always order it when I have curry! This deliciously perfumed rice is the perfect foil to rich flavoursome curry. The subtle natural sweetness of the coconut milk is brought forth by a little salt and palm sugar. The fragrance is a delicious combination of kaffir lime and coconut. This underrated rice will elevate any curry to another level.

Tips and Tricks

If you’ve always wanted to try making your own fluffy and delicious Thai coconut rice at home, here are some tips and tricks to make it a success!

The coconut milk – I really recommend using full fat and not skim/ lite because the flavonoids of coconut that perfumes the rice is hiding in the coconut fat! If you use lite coconut milk, it means less coconut fat and therefore less fragrance and flavour!
Wash your rice – I always wash my rice no matter what type I am cooking. This isn’t because your rice is dirty, in fact rice is usually pretty clean. But have you ever noticed how cloudy the water gets when you first start washing your rice? That’s from the excess starch which is what we are washing off when we wash rice. All this excess starch can make your rice gluey and unpleasant if it’s not washed off adequately!
Trust the process – I know it’s tempting to sneak a peek but keeping the steam and heat in with a lid while you cook the rice is crucial! It helps the rice grains absorb the right amount of moisture and cook through properly and evenly. That way each grain will be perfectly light and fluffy.

Aromats

To truly get the same fragrance and flavour that you get at Thai restaurants, I highly recommend the inclusion of aromatic leaves. Specifically pandan or kaffir lime leaves. In my recipe I use kaffir lime leaves as I find this to be more accessible in Australia. Pandan leaves can be hard to source, although not impossible. I once had a pandan plant but it died unfortunately 🙁 Please do not use pandan essence as it is quite different to real pandan leaf fragrance and it will turn your rice a bright green!

For a feast to delight your senses, serve your Thai coconut rice with a delicious curry, like one of my favourites – Massaman Beef Cheeks.

Print Recipe

Coconut Jasmine Rice

Deliciously fragrant Coconut rice that pairs perfectly with curries

Course: Rice, Side Dish

Cuisine: Asian, Thai

Keyword: Coconut, Rice, Side Dish

Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

400 ml coconut milk
2 cups Jasmine Rice please note, metric cups not rice cup
1/2 cup water
4 kaffir lime leaves optional
1 tsp salt
20 g palm sugar substitute with white sugar

Instructions

In a medium pot, wash the rice three or four times, until the water runs clear. Then add enough water to cover it and soak for 15-20mins.
Drain the rice and add in the coconut milk, 1/2 cup of water, salt and sugar. Scrunch up the kaffir lime leaves to release the fragrance and add it to the rice.
Set the pot over medium heat and bring the rice to a boil. Once all the liquid starts to simmer and ripple, stir the rice gently once and put on the lid. Reduce the heat to low and cook undisturbed for 13 minutes.
After 13 minutes, remove it from the heat but DON'T OPEN THE LID! Let the rice rest for 10 mins and it will continue to cook and absorb the residual moisture. After 10 mins, remove the lid and gently fluff the rice. Remove and discard the kaffir lime leaves.

Notes

This recipe will serve 6-8 people if served with curry.
You can increase the amount of sugar if you would like it to taste sweeter like in the restaurants. But I think 20g of palm sugar is just enough to give it a sweet hint and bring out the coconut milk’s natural sweetness

Thai Coconut Rice