Thai Coconut Rice & A Wonderful Mothers Day

Simple coconut rice that's light, fluffy, and so flavorful. Coconut rice is an easy side dish that compliments any Asian and Thai meal.
Happy Tuesday everyone!!! I hope y'all had a wonderful Mothers Day? I know I did. We really didn't do anything special but it was still a great day. 
My husband and kids took me to eat at Cracker Barrel. 

We spent the rest of the day at home and grilled for dinner. My Mackenzie was so thoughtful and used her $5 that she got from the tooth fairy to buy me a present. She is such a sweet girl and always thinks of others. 

While at Cracker she bought me a spoon rest and salt and pepper shakers. She paid for it at the register and had it tucked away in a gift bag all by herself. So Sweet!

For dinner we made Soy Honey Chicken and Thai Coconut Rice. In the past I haven't the best of luck making coconut rice. For some reason it never turns out and is thick or gooey.  While on my Face book page I asked my readers for some coconut rice advice and they delivered, so thank you to everyone that commented. 

I took two recipes and all the advice and came up with a pretty great version of my favorite rice. Everyone loved it including my daughter. 
I couldn't believe she liked the toasted coconut, because she dislikes so many foods due to their texture. So high five for me!!!!!!!!!! This coconut rice recipe is definitely a keeper.

I also wanted to show you two beautiful Mothers Day Cards my son Carson gave me. Both of them are so cute. On the the first one he had to answer a few question about me.

My mom always says: Thank you
My mom looks pretty when: She puts make up on
(I had to laugh at that one)
My mom likes to cook: Chicken
My mom makes me laugh when: She laughs
I love my mom because: She loves me

The second card had little bumble bee thumb prints on the front. And on the inside it said... My Mom is Thumbody Special. So sweet! I love to get homemade gifts that my kiddos make in school. They work so hard on making them and they mean so much to me. Before I go I wanted to include some step by step photos of how to make the Thai Coconut Rice.

Rinse the rice to remove the starch using a strainer. This will keep the rice from becoming gummy. Over medium heat add the oil to the bottom of a deep-sided pot. Make sure the pot has a tight fitting lid (this is a must here).

Add the rice and toast for about 5 minutes (just as you do for Spanish rice). Add the coconut milk, water, and sugar. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes stirring occasionally the first 5 minutes.

After 20 minutes turn off and remove from the heat. Cover with a dish towel and let the pot of rice rest on the stove for about 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and stir in the toasted coconut and salt and pepper if desired.

Save a little of the toasted coconut for garnish.


 


13 comments

Unknown said…
Glad you had a great Mothers Day!! I too love the Cracker Barrel! This rice sounds delicious : )
Sounds good Tina - I know I'd love it!

Cracker Barrel is certainly the place to go for a good country breakfast. We had lunch at a restaurant across the street from one on Mother's Day and CB was PACKED! I think that is so sweet & thoughtful of your daughter. You raised her right!

The cards are just precious!!
Brandie said…
Yay! Glad you finally were able to find a good coconut rice recipe. Sounds delicious!
I just LOVED looking at their cards. Aren't they just the sweetest?!?!
Love the mother's day cards! So sweet!
Sheila Lehmenkuler said…
I love Cracker Barrel, never had a bad meal there. Thanksgiving dinner there is absolutely awesome.
Christina said…
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Cracker Barrel!! The gift shop area is the best--always great stuff! Sheila, I totally agree about Thanksgiving! My family had the best day with take out on Thanksgiving...awesome food with no fuss/muss and a very relaxing day at home!
What a lovely post! I am SO excited for this recipe - I have a can of coconut milk in the pantry that needs to be used...and this sounds so tasty. The cards are adorable - how sweet to be so loved & honored on Mom's Day. I never leave Cracker Barrel empty handed either. =)
Anonymous said…
Sounds like you had a wonderful Mother's Day, how sweet of your daughter to buy you a present with her tooth fairy money - don't you just LOVE times like that! The rice sounds amazing, we love coconut anything around here so can't wait to try
Mary x
Lisa said…
This is so neat. I ate this at a restaurant once and wondered how to make it myself. Now I've got your recipe and I'm delighted.
Tina Butler said…
The rice was so yummy and I loved the addition of the toasted coconut. I have really struggled making coconut rice in the past, so I am so excited that this turned out. Rinsing & toasting the rice and adding a towel to steam it a bit really helped. I saw that done on the food network once and remembered it. So glad I did.
Hi Tina, Happy Mother's Day! Glad that you had an enjoyable day with the family. Your children are really sweet! The coconut rice looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Carolyn said…
I've tried this rice and it's so good! Thanks for the recipe!

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Cheryl Mayn said…
Thank you for posting this!

Rice is a particular favorite for my husband and myself so I am very glad to see this.
Have you ever made this with chicken broth instead of water?
I ask because I am on a low/no sodium diet and every change I get I use no sodium broth over water. (Always trying to get as much 'flavor' to meals as I can; not everything can have cayenne or chili powder in it let alone lime or lemon.)

I enjoy 'Mommy's Kitchen' very much and your 'Sliders' recipe was a HIT. Thank again!!