CAMEROONIAN COCONUT RICE

That was really a weird way of saying Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! You guys, we took a long break from connecting with you here but now we're back! Happy new year 2018! We are starting this new year with this Cameroonian Coconut Rice straight from our mother’s kitchen!

This is one of those meals that mama made occasionally while we were growing up. And each time she did, we were so happy because this coconut rice is truly special.

Coconut rice is a one pot dish that is mainly made up of coconut milk and rice, as the name suggests. If we were to choose a dish among fried rice, coconut rice and jollof rice, we would definitely go for coconut rice! The coconutty flavor that is all over the rice makes it so mouth watering. Reason why we have a number of coconut rice recipes on the blog:

• Easy coconut rice (to be eaten with stews and curries)
• Coconut fried rice (vegan insanely satisfying coconut rice – always a hit at parties and potlucks!)

Coconut is one of our fave flavors and we're sure you know that already. We enjoy almost everything made with coconuts: coconut drinks, coconut cookies, coconut cake, everything coconutty!

This coconut rice recipe with African flavors is quite easy to make. Once you successfully extract your coconut milk from the coconuts, you are good to go! The rice is simmered in freshly extracted coconut milk, beef and a few spices. All you need is one pot, 10 ingredients and one hour to make this African coconut rice recipe. Yay for one-pot meals!

One key tip in making your one-pot coconut rice is use very little spices/seasoning. Don’t use a lot of spices with big and bold flavors because they will overpower the coconutty taste. Coconut rice should taste like coconut!

How it comes together

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*This recipe was first published in September 2014. It has been updated with new photos, tips, a video and a recipe card.

• Yield: 8 servings
• Prep: 40 minutes
• Cook: 20 minutes
• Total: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 3 cups rice, we used parboiled rice
• 1 medium brown coconut
• 1 pound beef - cut into one inch pieces, about half a kg
• 5 cloves garlic - peeled
• 1/2 inch ginger - peeled
• 1 medium onion
• 2 seasoning cubes (Maggi), about 4g per cube - substitute with 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 hot (habanero) pepper, optional
• 1 carrot - diced
• 10 green beans - diced

Method

1. Crack open the coconut by hitting several times around its perimeter using the blunt side of a butcher knife. Be sure to have a bowl nearby to catch the coconut water when it starts dripping. See video to watch how we open a coconut.
2. Microwave the coconut on high for 2 minutes. Then use a pairing knife to separate the coconut meat from the shell.
3. Cut the coconut meat into about 1 inch slices then place in a blender. Add in 3 cups of water and blend till totally crushed. Pass the crushed coconut through a fine sieve to extract the coconut milk. Add in 2 more cups of water to the coconut milk and blend again to extract more milk. Pass through a fine sieve then set aside the remaining coconut chaff for use if eventually needed.
4. Note that you may or may not need more coconut milk depending on how much liquid your rice needs to cook completely. If you happen to need more milk. Simply add water to the chaff and blend again then pass through a sieve to extract the milk.
5. Place the coconut milk in a pot. Add in seasoning cubes/bouillon powder, and salt. Add in the beef then bring to a boil on medium heat.
6. While the milk comes to a boil, blender together garlic, ginger, half the onion and habanero pepper if using. Chop the other half onion. Also wash the rice 2 to 3 times to remove the starch. Add the rice, chopped onion and spice blend to the boiling coconut milk. Cover and let it cook until the rice is done - about 15 minutes.
7. When the rice is done, gently fluff with a spoon then add the carrot and green beans and mix to combine. Turn off the heat and enjoy warm.