hot sticky coco rice
a perfect base for a bowl of delicious nutrients
Trivia time: for many, many years I did not eat rice. Not the brown stuff, not the fried kind, not even the stuff “hidden” inside a burrito, and never the kind that had a cute little San-Francisco jingle. To my little kid brain, those little kernels were a waste of space with no flavor, and certainly had no reason to be on my plate. It was mushy, had no real nutritional value, and was always served underneath a bland crockpot stew or a can of chop suey. Then, I fell in love with sushi. While that helped change my mind about rice a teensy bit for a small while, it wasn’t until I started cooking myself that I realized why exactly I had shied away from rice my entire life: it was never seasoned properly or served at a correct temperature.
The greatest master of rice in my opinion is Chef Kazunori Nozawa, and you can taste his expertise at famed sushi restaurants Sugarfish or Kazunori.1 The rice itself is so scrumptiously delicious that you all might’ve heard the recent influencer-drama when he asked to order a side of white rice off the kid’s menu and was denied because he……well, is no longer a child. But the main point is that Chef Nozawa’s rice blows my mind because it actually tastes like something. It’s plump and shiny from steaming, a bit tangy from the vinegar, balanced with both sugar and salt, served steaming hot so you don’t lose a bit of that sweet aroma.
Now I’ll be honest, this recipe is not for that infamous rice. But I am giving you another recipe for a staple option for your repertoire: coconut rice. (This recipe came as a shock even to me, since I was quite an irritating child: I also used to strictly refuse coconut, unless it came in this form.) There are plenty of ways to utilize this delicious, simple building block from your pantry, and if you’re also not a fan of rice or coconut, see if I can change your mind. Pair with whatever you’ve got on-hand and dinner could be completed rather quickly, or plan ahead according to theme and invite some friends over….either way, this basic starch helps stretch your produce and proteins to accommodate more meals or mouths. Try it:
Served alongside ginger-scallion chicken thighs with charred spring onions
To build Asian-glazed salmon bowls, complete with fried shishito peppers
Stirred into a spicy chickpea curry, topped with fried shallots
Underneath a whole fried fish with nuoc cham and crushed peanuts
Topped with a fried egg and sesame seeds, served with seaweed papers for scooping
With jerk-marinated tofu, served inside crisp butter lettuce leaves with pickled daikon and fresh herbs
As leftovers when you slow-bake it into crispy rice for Nam Khao Tod
Next to a frozen Trader Joe’s meal to complete a quick dinner
Stuffed inside a hollow pineapple with fried shrimp for a dinner party stunner
Got another idea? Hit this button now and tell me:
Now, if you’re one of the few people I know who own a rice cooker, this is where I sign off. You can disregard the below instructions, but maybe *cautiously* try replacing your liquid with coconut milk as I suggested. Either way, you can probably learn like me and add a pinch of salt and garlic powder to your cooker without any damage. But I warn you: please read your instruction manual –– I have no idea if milk solids will clog and curdle inside your machine! We’re an old-fashioned kitchen around here and don’t rely on rice often enough to justify the space of a rice cooker. I promise you: a simple saucepan and lid work just fine. Now off you go...it’s probably time to plan your grocery list over some sushi!
INGREDIENTS
2 cups long grain white rice, rinsed2
15 oz coconut milk
1 tsp kosher salt
2-3 large garlic cloves, smashed
1” piece of ginger, smashed
1” piece of lemongrass, smashed
INSTRUCTIONS
Begin by adding all of your ingredients to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cover tightly. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer.
Let rice steam until all liquid has been absorbed.3 Keep covered until ready to serve.
To serve: fluff the rice with a fork to release any remaining steam. Serve alongside nearly anything: fried eggs, grilled meats, curry-bean burritos…go for it!
Let it be known: while Sugarfish is typically regarded as the better, more extravagant option, I myself usually prefer KazuNori and their perfected menu of handrolls. But Sugarfish will forever hold a special part of my heart for introducing me to my favorite sushi of all time: kampachi nigiri, served over the famed rice with a dollop of yuzu koshu and citrus salt.
Rinse your rice: I like to do this by placing all my dry rice inside a fine-mesh strainer placed over a large bowl. I let the faucet run over the rice until the water, constantly stirring the rice in the strainer and emptying the bowl below about three times, or until the water runs clear.
Keep the lid on –– it’s not as pertinent to check it as often as you think. If anything, hold the lid tight and give the pan a swirl to help move things around without letting that precious steam escape.