How to cook coconut rice, the Nigerian way!
Coconut rice is a popular dish in Nigeria. If you search the internet for how to cook coconut rice, you will see many variations from food blogs all over the world. Please note that the Nigerian version of this dish is the most delicious of them all. The good news is that you will learn and master this coconut rice recipe in no time at all.
Source: Sisiyemmie.com
What is coconut rice?
As the name implies, coconut rice is simply rice cooked in coconut milk. The result is creamy, spicy, aromatic, rice. If you are learning how to cook coconut rice, you should know that the preparation method differs from that of fried rice and Jollof rice because these other methods require extensive frying and coconut rice doesn’t.
When to serve coconut rice
Learning how to cook coconut rice will not serve you well if you don’t know when to show off your new skills. You can treat your family to this delicious dish during lunch or dinner. If there’s an upcoming party, plan to cook both jollof rice and coconut rice and serve them side by side.
Ingredients
3 cups long grain rice
2 medium-sized coconuts 0r 400ml coconut milk
Chicken, beef or iced fish
2 cups meat stock
I large onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
3 tablespoons crayfish, ground
4 Scotch bonnet peppers
Salt – to taste
2 seasoning cubes
1 tablespoon coconut oil
How to cook coconut rice the Nigerian Way
Step 1 – cooking the meat and extracting the stock
• Cook your chicken with 1 seasoning cube, 2 scotch bonnet peppers and chopped onions
• Cook the meat until tender
• Drain the stock from the meat and set stock aside
• Fry the meat in coconut oil until golden brown and set aside
Step 2 – preparing the coconut milk (if you are using fresh coconuts)
• Break the coconut and extract the flesh
• Chop the coconut flesh into bits and pour into a high-powered blender
• Alternatively, you can grate your coconut with a grater
• Pour the blended coconut from the blender into a bowl
• Add two cups of warm water to the bowl and stir
• Take a cheesecloth or filter and separate the milk from the coconut chaff
• Add one more cup of water and rinse the chaff again and sieve it to get more milk
• Set the milk aside and throw out the chaff
Step 3 – how to cook coconut rice
• Pour the coconut oil into a pot and fry for three minutes
• Add the chopped onions and then the tomatoes and cook until fragrant
• Add seasoning cubes and salt
• Pour the coconut milk into the pot and allow the mixture to boil
• Add the rice, crayfish and peppers and cook until the rice is done
• The rice should absorb all the ingredients but the end product should not be soggy
• You’ll know your rice is perfect when the soft grains don’t stick to each other
• Serve with fried meat and enjoy
If you are looking for the perfect Nigerian coconut rice recipe, search no further. This recipe provides a step by step guide on how to cook coconut rice.
Resource: Healthline.com
Also Read: Nigerian chicken pepper soup recipe
