Fluffy coconut rice eluded me for years. And finally, I’ve cracked it! The trick is to use the oven rather than the stove. The coconut rice comes out super fluffy, not gluey and mushy. It’s just like you get at restaurants.
Coconut Rice
Truly fluffy coconut rice eluded me for years. I felt like I tried every variation possible, but when I lifted the lid, I’d stare at dismay at into a pot of mushy rice, thick with coconut milk scum. Usually with unevenly cooked rice grains – some hard, some overly soft – and almost always with a scorched base.
The making of my cookbook gave me the excuse I needed to commit to cracking coconut rice, once and for all. 30+ tests later, I’m so happy to say my team and I have cracked the secret code.
And every since then, I’ve never looked back. Fluffy coconut rice every. single. time WITHOUT FAIL!
The secret to fluffy coconut rice – BAKE IT
The trick to fuss-free fluffy coconut rice is to bake it rather than cook it on the stove. The coconut rice comes out perfectly fluffy every time, and no scorched pot!
How to make perfect coconut rice
Rinse the rice – this is a must to remove excess starch. I don’t do this when cooking normal white rice. It’s essential for coconut rice because coconut milk is thicker than water so it can make the rice a gluey mess. Just rinse the rice until the water is pretty clear. It will never be 100% clear.
Soak rice for 1 hour – this essentially gives the rice grains a bit of a head start in the water absorption phase. This is critical to ensure the rice cooks through evenly because coconut milk is thicker than water which makes it harder for the rice grains to absorb the liquid.
Can’t just use coconut milk – it’s just too thick, the rice can’t absorb it properly. It needs to be diluted with some water. I find the perfect flavour / rice texture is achieved by using 1 can (400ml/14oz) coconut milk with 1 cup of water (just over 2 1/2 cups) for 2 cups of rice.
Bring coconut milk and water to boil first – This is quite key as well! We need to heat the liquid before adding into the rice in a baking pan to get the cooking process started as soon as the rice is in the oven.
If you just pour cold water and room temperature coconut milk over the rice, it takes a good 10 to 15 minutes for the liquid to heat up in the oven during which time the rice is just wallowing in lukewarm liquids which causes it to bloat and cook unevenly.
Bake, covered with foil, for 40 minutes at 200°C/400°F (180°C fan). By covering the rice, we are essentially making steam rice just like you do on the stove. Except, we don’t to worry about scorching the base of the pot and the heat distributes much more evenly through the rice so it cooks through evenly!
Rest 15 minutes – Take the pan out of the oven and rest, covered in foil, for 15 minutes. This step is essential so do not skip it or shortcut the resting time. During the resting time, the rice will finish cooking through evenly and the wetness on the surface of the rice grains will be absorbed, leaving the rice fluffy.
And that, my friends, is the secret to fluffy coconut rice.
It’s a lot of words. But don’t worry, actually cooking it is super duper simple. Just pop it in the oven and leave it to do its thing!
How to rinse rice
I find it easiest to rinse rice in a bowl. Just pour the rice in a bowl and fill with water, then swish it around. Drain (just pour the water out best you can, no need to use a colander), then fill with water again and repeat 4 to 5 times until the water is pretty clear.
The water will never be completely clear! My rule of thumb is 4 to 5 refills of the bowl.
BONUS coconut milk powder option: There’s another way to make fluffy coconut rice on the stove using coconut milk powder. The result is not quite as fluffy as using the oven and the coconut flavour is not quite as intense. But it’s still very good, much better than stove-top using coconut milk, and a good option for those times when you don’t have an oven.
I’ve popped that extra recipe below the coconut milk recipe (ie scroll to bottom of post). It’s an extra because coconut milk powder isn’t as common as coconut milk. While I always have coconut milk on hand, I don’t usually have powder!
How to make Thai / Asian Coconut Rice
To get a true Asian restaurant coconut rice, the secret is to add pandan leaves. If you can’t find pandan leaves, kaffir limes leaves also add a similar fragrance.
This is what pandan leaves looks like. It’s sold at some Harris Farms in Australia, as well as Asian stores.
To prepare them for use, just knot them – this breaks the leaves, releasing the flavour so it infuses into the rice.
What to serve with coconut rice
Coconut rice is a rice dish that is used in cuisines such as Caribbean, Tropical (Hawaiian!) as well as South East Asian foods such as Thai and Malaysian foods.
But don’t let “rules” restrict you. Use it as you wish – and I promise you, it’s so delish, you can even eat it plain, straight out of the pot!
Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x
Coconut Rice will go great with…
Everything Thai and Vietnamese
Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Jerk Fish
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Restaurant Style Coconut Rice (Coconut Milk)
Ingredients
Coconut Rice
- 2 cups jasmine rice (Note 1)
- 400 ml / 14 oz coconut milk , full fat or light (Note 2)
- 1 cup water
- 5 tsp white sugar (Note 3)
- 1/2 tsp cooking / kosher salt
Asian Restaurant Style flavour – use ONE:
- 1 pandan leaves , knotted
- 2 kaffir lime leaves , crushed in hand
Optional Garnish:
- 1 tbsp desiccated coconut , toasted, to garnish
Instructions
- Rinse rice in water until the water runs pretty clear. (Note 1)
- Soak & drain – Drain rice then soak in water for 1 hour. Then drain in a colander and leave to drain well for 5 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F (180°C fan).
- Rice in pan – Place the rice in a 20cm / 8" square pan (metal or ceramic). Add pandam or kaffir, if using.
- Heat coconut milk – Heat coconut milk, water, sugar and salt in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar.
- Bake 40 minutes – Working quickly (to minimise heat loss), pour hot liquid over rice, stir quickly to spread rice evenly. Cover with foil then bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
- Rest 15 minutes – Remove the pan from the oven. Take a quick peek to ensure the liquid has been absorbed (tilt pan to check). There will be coconut cream on the surface – that's normal. Rest rice, covered, for 15 minutes. Do not shortcut this!
- Fluff with rubber spatula. Garnish with toasted coconut, if using, then serve. Marvel at fluffy rice!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
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Fluffy Coconut Rice – Coconut POWDER
Ingredients
- 1 cup jasmine rice (or long grain) (see notes)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 packet coconut milk powder (1.75 oz / 50 g) (see notes)
- 2 kaffir lime leaves , crumpled in your hand OR 3 pandam leaves, knotted – OPTIONAL, for Asian restaurant style
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp desiccated coconut , toasted, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over high heat. Place lid on.
- When it comes to the boil (watch it, you don’t want it to boil over), turn down the heat to low / medium low so it is simmering gently.
- Leave it to simmer for 12 to 15 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed.
- Remove from heat and rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Fluff with fork. Garnish with toasted coconut, if using, then serve.
Hello, when letting the rice soak for 20m as mentioned, is that done with the fourth rinse water then drained and the rice then added to coconut milk/water mixture for cooking? Or do you soak for 20m in the coconut milk/water after rinsing and then cook?
An amazing recipe! It was my first attempt in coconut rice and I don’t think I will try to make it any other way, this is just perfect. I used basmati rice and kaffir lime leaves because that’s what I had on hand. Thank you for the recipe!
This was very good ..1st time making jasmine rice recipe was easy to follow and it came out perfect..I will be making it again and will try toasted coconut or the extract.Thank you
This recipe made a very good coconut rice!
Used a 12″ saucepan and after 24 minutes (14 on heat, 10 off heat) the rice was soft and fluffy, not soggy, hard or sticky.
I was able to find the lime leaves at an Indian supermarket and will see about adding a little more coconut flavoring as the coconut milk I used yielded a subtle taste of coconut.
Thanks for sharing!
This is the best rice I’ve ever made. I used the large saucepan and it was perfect, I followed all the directions to a tee and I am so happy with the results.
Thank you for experimenting to get perfectly cooked coconut rice. Fabulous. I served it with Lion Head .Meat Balls, which have a coconut sauce. Yum!
Hi Nagi – I’m going to try your suggested way of cooking coconut rice. Can I spice it up a little with chilli or what would you suggest?
Thanks for all your brilliant recipes.
How would this work in a rice cooker, Nagi? Ps big fan, thanks for all you do!
Just made this and the flavor and texture are great. I’ll be using this as my go to rice recipe.
I did notice someone else asked but I didn’t see a reply…does this freeze well?
Hi Nagi – I haven’t tried the recipie for coconut rice yet but just before I do I wanted to know if you can freeze this ? I normally freeze left over basmati rice (or when I batch cook it) in sealed bags or boxes with no issues on defrost but not sure if the coconut will make a difference?
Brilliant recipe the rice was perfectly cooked no Sticking together. Thank you it’s now my go to coconut rice recipe
I prepared this dish exactly as presented in the recipe and…… it was indeed perfect! This is how I am going to make rice from now on. Excellent!
Very excited to try this recipe! Just wanted to check is the coconut milk the one for drinking or the much thicker one that comes in a tin?
I paired it with Hawaiian Chicken and I loved it! My only tweak was that I used coconut sugar instead of white-it turned out great!
This recipe is foolproof and requires minimal effort. I put everything into a rice cooker on white rice setting and it was perfect first time.
I’ll definitely make this again. Thank you!
Both times my long grain white rice wasn’t nearly cooked enough, still crunchy, I’m following to a “T”, what am I doing wrong? And how can I salvage my current batch? I didn’t want to throw it out twice!
Hi Andrea – I suspect it might be the size of your saucepan. I have been testing rice recipes in different sizes of pans and even 2cm can make a difference on this rice. What size is the saucepan you are using and is it one with a heavy base? N x
This happened to me also – twice. What size pan is appropriate? I didn’t see it in the recipe.
Hi Nagi, I am having the same problem. I am using a scanpan 20cm saucepan. Thank you
Comments say 20 minute rice soak, recipe said 15. Result was slightly crunchy (undercooked). I made for 6 people, 15 minute soak, 14 minute cook, 10 minute rest. I want to try again because it tasted great (toasted coconut).
Delicious! My husband actually asked how I got my rice to be fluffy because it’s gluey and sticky when he makes it. I just wish it had a little bit more coconut flavor so next time I will probably not omit the sugar as I did this time to enhance the sweetness.
Yes that little bit of sweetness ramps up the coconut factor! N x
this recipe is great. I add a couple teaspoons of turmeric..
when I take the lid off, I stir in a half cup of room temp currants, so pretty, rich and fragrant,
Great tips Ginger – thanks!! N x
Genius recipe!!! Perfect!
Thank you!!!!
I’m going camping, can you cook this and then re-heat by adding more coconut milk?