RICES

Coconut Rice

low carb vegan recipe

This dish is inspired by my travels to the Lamu Archipelago off the east coast of Kenya, a magical and inspiring environment and culture.

1 cup ground coconut flakes
1 tbsp flavored extra virgin olive oil (I like green chili infused)
1 large onion
A dozen cooked garlic cloves
1 heaping tbsp of Super Spice
1 cup coconut milk (the lighter kind for drinking and coffee)
500g cooked riced cauliflower

Makes 4–6 servings.

Variation: use coconut oil instead of olive oil, if you crave more saturated fats in your diet.

Preheat the oven to 325°F/163°C.

On a flat baking sheet or pizza pan lined with parchment paper, spread out the ground coconut flakes evenly and bake for ~5 minutes until light brown, nicely golden or Pantone 18–1029 Tpx Toasted Coconut Color #916f56.

You can toast as much ground coconut as you want, as this is a handy dry ingredient that will last a while and you can use it in other dishes or just tell visitors, “Hey, know what? I toasted this coconut myself!”

In a large sauté pan with tall sides, add the olive oil and heat at low or high simmer heat.

Because I like to do things fast and lazy, I always make my coconut rice just after I’ve made my weekly vegetable broth, because I can immediately use the cooked onion and garlic cloves in this recipe. If you are less lazy, then sauté chopped onion until soft and translucent, adding minced garlic towards the end of the onion softening so it doesn’t overcook.

After ~1 minute using my lazy method (or ~10 minutes if you’re working harder), add the Super Spice and cook for ~1 minute so the spices start to release their flavor. Whether working lazy or non-lazily, make sure to thoroughly stir the onions and garlic in the olive oil to get the flavor, and also stir after adding the spice.

Add the coconut milk (remember, this is the lighter drinkable kind), stir and bring to a simmer for 2–3 minutes, then add in the cooked riced cauliflower. Simmer for ~8–10 minutes while the cooked riced cauliflower cooks a bit more in the simmering spiced coconut milk mixture.

Add in a heaping tbsp of the toasted ground coconut, which will absorb some of the liquid and make the rice less saucy. Stir for half a minute or so and you’re done. Garnish the rice in the bowls with some more toasted coconut on top. For a complete meal, top with baked marinated tofu slices.