Coconut Curry Rice: An Easy Weeknight Staple

This bowl of bright yellow yumminess is kinda a food obsession. Our local natural food stores serves a version of this on their hot bar, and one day I just decided I needed to make it at home. And now I kinda want to eat it everyday. A quick grain staple, it can be served with tofu and veggies on the side, or inside a wrap with greens and a sauce, or maybe even in summer rolls for a fun flavor mashup.

This is one of the few recipes that I choose white rice over brown rice. While there are some arguments against eating white rice, I find that it’s a nice comfort food, and when it’s served with veggies there is enough fiber to make up for that which is missing.

Brown rice is great – check out this post to get the method I use to make perfect brown rice– but it doesn’t absorb flavors like white rice. Since the hull is removed along with the bran, the white rice is sweeter and a bit more permeable. All the better for these great flavors to penetrate the grain! For this recipe I prefer stovetop, but this could easily be made in a rice cooker.

A note about curry powder: curry powder is an Indian spice blend made from turmeric, cumin, chilies, cinnamon and a variety of other spices. There are as many types of curry blends as there are families in India (that is to say, a lot!), so you just need to try them all to find which ones you like! If you know you’re a spice wuss like me, choose mild; if you’re a heat connoisseur, choose a spicy curry powder. I like the Frontier Co-op blend that I can find in the at my local natural foods store, but check your local stores and see what’s available.

Coconut Curry Rice

1 cup jasmine white rice or basmati rice
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup finely diced carrot
2 Tablespoon finely diced onion
1 Tablespoon curry powder
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup minced cilantro

1. Rinse rice in a mesh strainer or bowl until water runs clear. Set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine coconut milk, water, carrot, onion, curry powder and salt. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Add rinsed rise and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 10 minutes.
3. After 10 minutes, turn off heat, but let rest on stove for 10 minutes more.
4. Turn out into a bowl, and stir in cilantro. Enjoy immediately, or keep leftovers (if they last) for up to about five days.

Yield: about 2 cups rice

This post was retroactively sponsored by Janes’s Kitchen Miracles