Coconut Lime Rice is a great side dish for Thai or Indian inspired meals. The citrus fruit adds a sweet bright note.
Coconut Lime Rice is something you can prepare quickly in a rice cooker while you are making a main dish. I paired this with my Bbq Baked Tofu and it was delicious. After I post this recipe, I will get to work on that one.
By adding a cinnamon stick to the coconut milk while the rice cooked, I made it taste a bit like horchata. You could even have this for breakfast or dessert.
This recipe is the ratio for white or jasmine rice. If using brown rice, you will need more liquid and cook it for longer. Follow your specific cooking directions, and replace water with equal parts coconut milk.
There is a vegetarian Thai restaurant near my house I visited when it first opened. The owner was cooking the food with the enthusiasm of someone who loves sharing recipes passed down across generations.
His Coconut Lime Rice was a thing of beauty. A perfect, citrusy summer dish. The sticky mango rice was a winner too. He could also bake tofu to an excellent blend of crunch and softness. Unfortunately, the next few times I went in, he was nowhere to be found and his new cook had not grasped the nuances of preparing delicate things like tofu.
The restaurant remains deserted besides the gum chewing cashier, the befuddled cook, and the sour faced waitress. Add an unfortunate smell that permeates the poorly ventilated space and I fear this place won’t be around much longer.
I guess I will have to try to re-create his dish at home. Here you go:
- 2 cups rice
- 1 13.5 oz. can light coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ¼ tsp. salt
- zest of 1 lime
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- ½ cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
- Combine rice, coconut milk, water, cinnamon stick, and salt in rice cooker
- While rice cooks, add shredded coconut to dry pan and toast, stir, about 3 minutes
- Once rice is done add lime zest and juice, Fluff with fork. Let stand 10 minutes
- Sprinkle toasted coconut over each serving
Cooking tunes: Mad Sin – Amphigory, Demented Are Go – Kicked Out of Hell, The Cramps – Stay Sick
Writing tunes: Punk 1977 / 2007 – disc 3 (Roots & Rarities), Stiff Little Fingers – All The Best