Puamana coconut rice | Something New For Dinner
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Puamana coconut rice

6 votes, average: 5.00 out of 56 votes, average: 5.00 out of 56 votes, average: 5.00 out of 56 votes, average: 5.00 out of 56 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5

(6 RATINGS)

8 COMMENTS
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SKILL LEVEL :
Easy but takes some time

Highlighting the cornerstone flavors of Thai cooking

Thai-inspired, my coconut rice is bursting with traditional Thai sweet, salty, sour and bitter flavors.  It is a great accompaniment to fish, particularly my bamboo basket-steamed fish with lime sauce and vegetables.  I would not count this dish as my healthiest dish as it uses white rice and sweetened coconut, but it is a tasty indulgence you can justify when you pair it with fish.  You can substitute healthier unsweetened coconut for the sweetened coconut, but it doesn't produce quite the flavor contrast and balance to the  lime, ginger, green onion and cilantro that makes this dish.

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Preparation

Do not use a rice cooker to make this rice.  I've tried -- it all turns to mush.  The rice must be made on the stove top.  Rinse your rice until it runs clear.  There is a lot of chopping involved, so if you have a food processor use it!  If you don't have a food processor handy, enlist your family and friends.  Give everyone a vegetable or fruit to chop and you'll be done in no time.  Don't be afraid of the salt quantity.  It is needed to counterbalance the coconut milk.  For a great way to peel ginger, check out my Einstein tip for peeling ginger root.  My favorite tools for zesting citrus are microplanes and citrus presses for juicing citrus.

Maui no ka 'oi

Puamana is a neighborhood in West Maui that is walking distance to old Lahaina.  I named this dish for Carrie, my book club friend who generously hosts a week-long book club meeting at her home in Puamana every year.  It is a great time to relax and do a lot of cooking, hiking, surfing and stand-up paddle boarding.  And we read a little bit too!  We always make this rice dish along with a whole-fish opakapaka.  And a mai tai or two.  Yum!

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Puamana coconut rice

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 1 review

Sweet, sour, bitter and salty, this Thai-influenced rice dish is a delectable accompaniment to fish.

  • Author: Something New For Dinner
  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 14-ounce cans of coconut milk (don’t use the lite stuff)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 cups jasmine rice, washed and drained
  • 1 /2 t sea salt
  • 1 head garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 3″ stick of ginger, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
  • 2 t canola oil
  • 3 stalks green onion, sliced and minced
  • 1/2 bunch of cilantro, washed. No need to remove all the stems.
  • 23 limes, zest and juice
  • 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut (or unsweetened if you are feeling virtuous)
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped pineapple or mango, or both

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put coconut milk, water, rice and salt in a covered pan. Bring just to a boil and reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Watch carefully as the coconut milk boils over easily. After 15 minutes, the rice may still appear to be soupy. Give it a stir and it will absorb a lot of the moisture that is in the top of the pan. Put the cover back on and allow to rest off the heat while you finish chopping and toasting the rest of the goodies.
  2. Spread your coconut evenly in the bottom of a baking dish. Toast for a few minutes, stirring every minute and watching carefully so it does not burn. Be warned it can burn fast. When you open the oven your eyes will be blasted with acrid heat. I don’t know why toasting coconut does this, but you will see what I mean. I recommend not getting your face too close when you first open the oven.
  3. Next, get to chopping your ginger and garlic. Hopefully you are using a food processor. A food processor quickly take the ginger and garlic down to a fine mince. Just remember to pulse. If you are cutting by hand, chop, do not grate the ginger. Grating just turns the ginger into a stringy mess.
  4. Saute the ginger and garlic in canola oil for 5 minutes until cooked. Stirring frequently taking care not to burn.
  5. Chop the cilantro and green onion. You can pulse the cilantro a couple times in the food processor if you wish, but I hand chop the green onion because I like the way the green onion rings look when they are hand-chopped.
  6. In a large bowl combine rice, garlic and ginger sauté, lime juice, lime zest, green onion, cilantro, toasted coconut and pineapple or mango.
THIS SERVES WELL WITH

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8 COMMENTS

Comments

  1. jean says:

    i love this rice. i’ve made it twice already. my husband loves it as well. can’t wait to make it for my next dinner party. thank you as always.

  2. Nancy Greene says:

    Love this rice ! So yummy

  3. Anne R says:

    Well worth the effort! It’s a big hit with dinner guests and my family. I make a double batch now so we have leftovers. Reheats easily. I make the mango only version.

    1. Kim Pawell says:

      So glad you enjoyed the Puamana rice Anne. I also have a Cauliflower version you might enjoy if you are trying to avoid carbs, or just love cauliflower rice.

  4. Kathy says:

    Sounds great – am looking forward to making it. By “one head of garlic” do you mean one clove or one whole bulb? Thanks!

    1. Kim Pawell says:

      Hi Kathy, I use a whole head of garlic in this recipe. It gets sauteed with the ginger and gives the rice a wonderful flavor. If you feel that is too much garlic for you feel free to cut back. I hope you enjoy this rice as much as we do!

  5. Carrie R says:

    This coconut rice is a family favorite! It’s as fun to make as it is to eat. The aroma of toasted coconut brings everyone into the kitchen, and the rice is the perfect compliment to any fish.






    1. Kim Pawell says:

      Hi Carrie, Thanks for the great review. I don’t make this dish very often anymore, especially under covid when it it generally just JP and I. But when I do I wonder why I don’t make it more often. It is definitely comfort food and fitting in times of the pandemic!

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