I found this recipe on PBS Food’s website. One of my favorite food memories is the first time I had coconut rice served wrapped in banana leaf during college in southern California. I can’t remember the restaurant but I remember being blown away. There was more to do with plain white rice than just serve it steamed. The light crunch of the toasted coconut and the sweet coconut milk enhanced rice to another level.

I’ve made coconut water rice before, meaning you swap the coconut water for the normal water in the recipe but I’d never used toasted coconut or coconut milk…and why not? It’s seriously delicious and now I know how they made that dish I had over a decade ago.

Toasting coconut is extremely easy, just keep the stovetop temperature a little below medium, stir often to avoid burning, and shake the pan now and then. You could make a bigger batch and save the leftovers in a plastic baggy or container to use sprinkled on top of fish for instance. It’s a great way to up your average rice and I hope you’ll give it a try. Here’s my easy coconut rice:

Easy Coconut Rice

Recipe by: Michael Natkin, Herbivoracious.com

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup jasmine, sushi or basmati rice, rinsed until water runs clear
• 3/4 cup organic coconut milk
• 3/4 cup unsweetened dried shredded coconut (I like Coral Bay Sweetened Shredded Coconut)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Prepare the rice in your usual way (rice cooker or stovetop), but substitute the coconut milk for the water.
2. Then add 1/4 cup more water to make up for the fact that the coconut milk has some solid content.
3. Meanwhile, carefully toast the dried coconut in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, or in a toaster oven. Stir frequently to be sure that it all browns nicely and none of it burns. This should take about 5 minutes.
4. Reserve a bit of the toasted coconut for garnish. Just before serving, stir in the rest of the toasted coconut and salt. Fluff rice, garnish with the reserved toasted coconut and serve.