This recipe for Sweet and Savory Coconut Rice is an old-school Our Best Bites classic that is pretty much my go-to side dish with any summery, tropical meal.
It’s one of those recipes I just know by heart and always have the ingredients for in my pantry (if you love tropical rice, another delicious standby is our Lime-Cilantro Pineapple Rice!)
I originally posted this recipe over 10 years ago when my 12-year-old looked like this:
and my 14-year-old had little feet like this:
And my 7 year old wasn’t even a twinkle in my eye, as my dad would say.
So now that we all feel really old, let’s eat carbs!
Combine rice, water,
coconut milk,
salt, sugar,
and vinegar, in a saucepan and bring to a boil Turn heat to low and cover for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Allow to stand 5 minutes. Add green onions, black pepper (if desired), and additional salt if necessary.
Sweet and Savory Coconut Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups Jasmine or Basmati rice
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Splash of white or rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- Handful of chopped green onions plus chopped green onion tops for garnish
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine rice, coconut milk, water, salt, vinegar, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil Turn heat to low and cover for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Allow to stand 5 minutes. Add green onions, black pepper (if desired), and additional salt if necessary.
- Serve with any Asian or tropical-inspired food.
Serve with any Asian or tropical-inspired food, like…
- Teriyaki Chicken or Beef
- Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers
- Sweet and Savory Flank Steak
- Asian BBQ Chicken
- Chili-Lime Mango Chicken Skewers
- Spicy Honey Chicken
- Dr. Pepper Pork Tenderloin
- Or just check out our Asian, Latin, Tropical, and Grilled sections and see if anything grabs you (metaphorically, not literally…if something from our site literally grabs you, then please alert a medical professional.)
Questions & Reviews
we are cooking for a ward luau want to combine coconut rice with pineapple can I put all ingredients in rice cooker and then add can pineapple after rice is cooked or should I add all at once I so enjoy your cookbooks Haven’t had anything we haven’t liked!!!
I like to add it after!
Made this with some grilled chicken tonight and my 4-year-old proclaimed it was the best rice ever and asked when I was going to make it again!!
I could swear I saw this Coconut Rice recipe posted with some Coconut Lime Chicken, but now I can’t find the chicken. Can you help?
Do you have the second cookbook? I’m almost positive that’s where it is. 🙂
if you pop all these ingredients in your rice cooker, it turns out AMAZING! the whole kitchen smells like coconut and jasmine and awesome! My kids come running from all corners of the house and sit at the table waiting for the thing to ding. 🙂
Gah! I have been dying to make this, but I can’t find coconut milk anywhere. Is coconut milk by chance the same as coconut juice? or cream of coconut? (aka coco lopez) probably not. Yes, I live in the desert where we have like nothing available.
Natasha, coconut milk should be pretty easy to find, most grocery stores sell it these days. It’s NOT the same as coconut juice, or cream of coconut- definitely don’t use either of those. Coconut milk is usually in cans in the Asian foods aisle, or you can now buy it in the dairy section near the milk in a carton (look for Silk brand). If you have any trouble, just as a grocery store employee, you should be able to find it!
Sarah, I made this today with your Asian BBQ chicken and it tasted wonderful! Only issue I had was that my rice came out mushy and sticky. What did do wrong? I even added the splash of white vinegar. I did mix it a few times just I make sure the bottom wasn’t burning. This does happen even to plain white rice I try to make. Hopefully someone could help me! 🙂
It might be your rice, try rinsing it with cold water before cooking it. That will remove some the starch that sometimes makes rice sticky.
Also, do you live at a low elevation? I’ve discovered since being in Louisiana that I don’t need as much water or it comes out exactly like you’re describing. Either way, try cutting back on the liquid by about 2 tablespoons and see if that helps.
I know you posted this recipe forever ago, but we seriously make this all the time!! It is sooo good! Thanks for the great recipe!
OK I picked up a half gallon of coconut milk next to the “almond milk” and the “soy milks” at my store is that the right stuff. You mention yours comes in a can???
I love this recipe! However, my family just switched over to brown rice. Have any suggestions on how much liquid to add to compensate for the brown rice? Should I double the liquid or just add another cup or so? Thank you!!!
Oh, gosh, I honestly don’t know. *If* it were me, for this recipe, I would swap out the rice for quinoa. You’re still getting the whole grains, but the cooking method, flavor, and texture are more like white rice; you wouldn’t have to worry so much about the liquid amounts or the timing being off, you know?
I have made this a few times and my Samoan husband loves it. He would eat it every day if he could as it reminds him of home. 🙂 Thank you!!!