Serves 6
You must soak the rice or it will never get really soft. Overnight is OK, but a full 24 hours is best.
This recipe uses coconut milk. Attila the Dietitian (my wife) shudders just looking at the cans. Coconut oil is high in saturated fats, unlike other vegetable oils. I am no nutritionist and the Internet is filled with information that will bolster anyone’s point of view so I will leave you to decide whether to try it or not. However, I do recommend Nadeau’s Law, “Eat a lot of different things so you don’t accumulate too much of any one poison.” (Robert Nadeau, the nom de review of Mark Zanger, has been reviewing Boston restaurants since the mid-1970s.)
You can buy canned coconut milk in supermarkets and Asian stores. Look for the ones with the fewest additives. Coconut cream is what you use to make pina coladas, with Coco Rico the most common brand around these parts. It is sweet and pretty addictive if you like coconut.
2 cups black rice
3 cups water
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
½ cup brown sugar
5 tablespoons coconut cream
Wash the rice well. Place it in a bowl, add at least 2 inches of water to cover, then remove any floating chaff or rice grains. Cover and let sit overnight or up to 36 hours.
Drain the water and place the rice in a deep pot. Add the 3 cups water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the rice is just tender, about 20 minutes. The liquid will not be completely absorbed.
Mix the coconut milk and sugar and heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add to the rice and simmer for another 10 minutes without boiling. Mix in the coconut cream and let cool. There will be a lot of liquid still left. Don’t worry # the liquid will be absorbed as the pudding sits. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the pudding out if you are serving it immediately and the liquid bothers you.
Serve as is, or with coconut sauce:
Mix 3 tablespoons each of coconut cream and either half-and-half or light cream. Spoon over the rice pudding. Top with diced mango and toasted coconut.
