Weekday meals always appear to be challenging: trying to make healthy, innovative and delicious dishes seems like a complicated quest. However, there is no need to panic. We tend to believe that in order to eat great meals we need to use fancy and crazy ingredients.

However, once you start to notice that you can make extraordinary dishes with simple ingredients that you already have in your pantry and some twists, cooking will no longer be a source of stress but one of joy and happiness.

Cooking with rice

One thing on which almost all of us can agree is having rice in our pantries.

Not only is this grain affordable, but it is also really versatile and it can be incorporated into almost any dish, be it savory or sweet. You can make batches of white rice, store it in the fridge for later and use it as a side dish to meats, seafood, chicken, vegetables, stews and soups. It is a great resource to have at hand during those busy weeknights when we want to eat something healthy but we don’t really feel like cooking.

What’s even better, is that making rice is super easy. Just bear in mind the ratio: one part of rice to two parts of liquid. This way, your rice will always end up fluffy and delicious. What may not be that easy is coming up with different ways of making it and not falling into plain white rice dishes over and over again; that’s where we come into your life: we bring you different ideas you may not have thought of, that have almost no difficulty at all for you to make and follow.

Simple recipes with a twist

There is nothing easier than making rice. And, as we have said before, making it in advance and having it stored can be your best ally when wanting to eat something flavorful but when you are also feeling tired.Today, we present a great rice recipe with a twist: coconut riceperfect for you to try this same week.

Coconut rice is the perfect easy dish you can customize however you like. It has a creamy texture and it is fluffy at the same time; it is a little bit sweet from the coconut milk or cream, and it pairs excellently with meats, seafood or any vegetable you want.

How to make it

The best part of this recipe is that it only calls for four ingredients and it is made in under thirty minutes.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups white rice.
  • 2 cans of coconut milk.
  • Salt to taste.
  • ½ cup of water.

Step by step

Rinse your rice. Make sure you remove the excess starch that rice has while you rinse it with water.
To a medium to a large pot, add water, a pinch of salt, coconut milk and rice.
Bring the liquids to a boil over high heat. Once the liquid is boiling, place a lid on top of your pot and lower the heat. Let the rice simmer for about fifteen minutes.
After those fifteen minutes have passed, do not remove the lid but turn off the heat. Leave the rice to steam for another ten to fifteen minutes.
After uncovering the pot, fluff the rice with a fork and it is ready to serve or to store!

If you want to make this even easier, follow this recipe on how to cook rice in a rice cooker.

Some extra tips

The best way to store rice is to let it cool completely and transfer it into a bag or a container. It is important to note that the bag should have a seal and that the container should have a lid.
This way, you can store your coconut rice for up to 5 days in the fridge.
To freeze coconut rice, let it cool completely as well and transfer it to a freezer-safe container. If you are storing it in a bag, we recommend you flatten the rice and make divisions with a knife, like cutting square portions, for easy unfreezing.
Best ways of eating coconut rice: add it as a side dish to meatballs; with lemongrass chickpea curry; with stir-fried Brussels sprouts, spinach, roasted sweet potatoes, and cauliflower; with ginger chicken; or you can even try it with mangoes and chocolate for a sweet dessert.