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.
Thanks for this fabulous recipe. It came out perfectly in the rice cooker.
Good to know Rachael! Thanks for letting me know! N x
if you follow the rinse, etc. directions can you use a rice cooker instead of the stove?
I haven’t tested a rice cooker Kim! N x
Hi, I love coconut rice and would love to make this, can I use dried pandan leaves? I cannot find fresh, greetings from NYC!
I think that would work Jeannie or you can leave them out altogether! N x
Thank you so much, I can’t wait to try it.
I have been cooking this recipe successfully for a while now, thank you.
A wonderful garnish I use is store bought fried shallots and sliced fresh spring onions. I stir through the shallots and onions just prior to serving and garnish the top with them as well. They add a wonderful texture and aroma to your delicious rice dish. Thanks again.
Bill.
That’s a great tip Bill! Thank you! N x
I followed the directions and it came out perfect. I shaved some raw coconut into it as well. Super great texture.
Hi Nagi. I want to try this recipe, and am wondering if I can cook this in a microwave rice cooker? I always cook rice in the microwave-please don’t judge me. 😃 Thanks for all the great recipes
I’m not judging!! But I haven’t ever used a microwave rice cooker so I’m not sure if this recipe will work in one! N x
Thank you for the speedy reply. I’ll give it a try and let you know. I usually end up with a burnt layer of rice when I try the stove top😞 I’m going to pair the coconut rice with a Massaman curry 🤞
If you get a burnt layer then I suspect your saucepan is not heavy enough – you need a really good quality one with a heavy base. You could also try getting a flame tamer (if it’s a gas cooktop) as that can make the difference in distributing the heat evenly. They are inexpensive and work well for making rice and stocks and things that need to simmer! N x
So good! I did not have kaffir lime leaves, so graded some lime. Its a keeper.
Fantastic Nathan!! I am happy that you enjoyed it! N x
I make this rice all the time…it’s SO delicious, but I use brown rice. I’ve seen the other comments about changing liquid amount, etc., and they’re a little complex and hit or miss.
Today I stumbled on the perfect solution. I use 1 1/2 cups of brown rice (today 1 cup jasmine brown and 1/2 cup plain brown long grain). Then I keep the liquid amounts the same. I cooked for an extra 10 minutes before taking off the heat to rest for 10. Perfect brown coconut rice!
Th ask Nagi – hope your back soon with some recipes. Miss you!
Super easy and delish coconut rice! Tasted just like the coconut rice from our local Thai restaurant. I didn’t put in the pandan or kaffir lime leaves as I didn’t have any. Mine did get quite crispy on the bottom so I’m not sure if I perhaps cooked it a little too high. Next time I’ll lower the temp a bit.
That happens sometimes depending on pan size and how hot your stovetop runs – try lowering the heat as you said! N x
Nagi, about panda leaves; I live near the beach in Queensland, can I just go out and cut leaves from a pandanus palm?
Oh Bernard – I don’t know! I am not sure if there are different types or if all are edible – I would hate to steer you wrong! N x
Nagi, thanks for your reply. I went online and found that pandan leaves are from just one species; pandanus amaryllifolius, common name fragrant pandan. So best not to just go down to the beach and cut off a leaf. There are nurseries here in Queensland that see. young pandan plants, I’m going to try to get one.
Bernard, I have tried chopping pandanus leaves in Queensland, but unfortunately there was no flavour. 🙁
Kilkeena, thanks for the comment and for your willingness to have a go!
How much water do you add to the 2cups of rice?
Scroll down to the recipe Sam for the exact quantities! N x
Followed recipe exactly and it came out perfectly
Thanks. I made it with coconut milk powder as described but had to add a lot more water at the end as the rice wasn’t yet cooked.
I made it and it was delicious. Followed the recipe and it was fluffy and not gluey at all. I added some toasted coconut and the reviews were all 10+
I’m happy you liked it Teresa! N x
Can I make this recipe in my electric rice cooker instead of on the stove?
Yes, I would also like to know whether we can make this in the rice cooker too. It would save time sitting over the stove. Thanks Nagi!
Came out perfectly!! Thanks Nagi!
My rice turned out perfect and smells amazing! Pairing it with teriyaki chicken and steamed broccoli! Thank you!
Delicious! I will make it again for sure.
Followed the recipe exactly and came out so incredibly perfect. Lovely flavor and excellent light, fluffy texture.
I am so happy you liked it Emmalee! N x
Such nice rice. I followed the directions to a T and lived the end result. I may add a little bit more liquid next time as the rice was a tiny bit too Al dente for us but didn’t stop us from devouring it!
How would you adjust these 2 recipes to cook in a rice cooker. I’d much rather use that than the stovetop
I’ve done the coconut milk recipe 10+ times in a rice cooker verbatim abs it’s come out perfect.