Coconut rice is now my family’s go-to dinner starch, second only to sweet potatoes. It can be jazzed up many ways. Add mangos and call it Thai food, fermented red chili paste and call it Vietnamese.
My favorite way to serve coconut rice is with lime and cilantro, so that’s what I’m sharing here.
Coconut Lime Rice: The Recipe
Yields 7 1/2 to 8 cups cooked rice.
The Players
- 2 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
- 2 cups coconut milk (where to buy BPA-free coconut milk)
- 3 cups purified water (where to buy water purifiers)
- 1 small lime, juiced
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
- salt, to taste (where to buy real salt)
The How-To
1. Bring rice, coconut milk, water, and salt to boil in a 2 or 3 qt. pot. Cover and reduce heat to simmer.
2. Simmer, covered, for 22 minutes.
3. Leaving lid on the pot, remove from heat and let sit for an additional 15 minutes.
4. Remove lid. Fluff with fork. Add lime juice and cilantro, stirring until mixed. Serve hot and ENJOY!
Fast Pressure-Cooker Method
If you own a pressure cooker (this is mine), follow these instructions for a faster preparation.
1. Combine rice, coconut milk, water, and salt in your pressure cooker.
2. Bring to high pressure and cook for 9 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and release steam normally (no cold-water quick release).
4. When de-pressurized, remove lid. Fluff with fork. Add lime juice and cilantro, stirring until mixed. Serve hot and ENJOY!
PLEASE NOTE: I believe pressure cookers are a perfectly healthy way to prepare meals. However, I know many may not have one or want to use one, so I provided regular stove-top instructions, too.
(photo by dishingupdelights)
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Does it taste sweet?
No. People make a sweet coconut rice by adding sugar or fruit (like mango), but this is definitely savory! You can hardly even taste the coconut. It’s just a nice compliment.
Do you have any reservations about using rice because of the arsenic levels in it? As a GF family, we used to eat rice an awful lot, but now I try to fix it only one or two times a month because I’m afraid of overdosing my kids’ developing immune systems with arsenic, and the current research says that there is virtually no rice that doesn’t contain some amount of arsenic, although imported rice is better.
Here are my thoughts on arsenic in rice.
I’ve loved this kind of rice for a long time. We make it as a side for chicken or beef satay with peanut sauce. Delicious!
http://mindfulmama.org/2013/07/21/creamy-coconut-ginger-rice/
So sorry I meant to write in that reply!! I love this idea- and I actually made something similar a week ago! I added ground chicken (what I had on hand) and red pepper and green onion! It was super tasty. Using coconut milk makes it sooo creamy!! Thanks!
Silly question, but do you soak your rice for 12 hours before preparing or does this just pertain to oats and beans?? This recipe looks delish and I will be making it soon!! Thanks so much!
I just read Beautiful Babies and am engaging in the recommended preconception diet. Thank you for the wonderful resource. I thought I’d check out your blog. I’m surprised to see a recipe with white rice…. There isn’t really any nutritional substance to white rice. Why not use brown?
Hi Melissa,
There are pros and cons to both.
Brown rice DOES contain more micro-nutrients, but (like all whole grains) it also contains more anti-nutrients. So, if you’re not fermenting the rice before cooking it to cut down the anti-nutrients, you’ll actually get LESS nutrients from the brown rice than you would the white. Also, according to the consumer reports studies released last year, brown rice is considerably higher in arsenic than white rice.
And, I’d hardly call white rice devoid of nutritional substance. It’s a great source of resistant starches.
For more on this, please read:
http://chriskresser.com/arsenic-in-rice-how-concerned-should-you-be
Obviously white rice isn’t very nutrient-dense, but then again neither is brown rice (or any grain or most fruits & vegetables). Yet, no one denies that these plant foods play a vital part in our diet. They help cleanse, detoxify, provide energy, and generally keep our diets balanced.
Think I am going to try this in a rice cooker. Sounds delicious!
Ooh, yum! I’m so glad that people stepping back from total terror of carbs. We eat a lot of variations on coconut rice lately, especially since I’m pregnant with #2 and craving all things Vietnamese food like they’re going out of style. I made a Burmese variation the other night that is in the hopper for my own blog. Thanks so much for the recipe, and for your inspiring work. ~Kirsten in SFCA
This looks like an awesome recipe. I’m going to try it. What kind of meat would pair the rice with?
As someone who lives at high altitude I was very grateful for this recipe and link to article about pressure cookers. My beloved pressure cooker has been gathering dust for several years and I am looking forward to using it again. I am especially excited about making stock in it.
Does this come out watery? Seems like a lot of fluid to me compared to traditional rice. Thanks
MY fav rice!!
I’m saving this recipe 😉
Coconut-Lime Rice recipe.
I love coconut lime rice
Kclynn Sansburn