Coconut Rice by Asian Home Gourmet

It does not cross my mind to buy a pre-mixed pack for coconut rice (nasi lemak) because I think it is a pretty simple dish to prepare. What you basically need are rice, a can of coconut milk, right measurement of water and a pint of salt. You may add 1 tbsp of oil as desired but I skip the oil, because the coconut milk is good enough to provide the moist and grease to the rice.

I saw the Asian Home Gourmet's Coconut Rice pre-mixed pack in the Asian grocer. Out of curiosity, I bought a packet to try. I would like to find out how different the coconut rice would taste (cooked from the pre-mixed pack) as compared to the home-cooked version.

To my surprise, the nasi lemak tastes good especially in terms of the saltiness and coconut-y level (lemak). I was first put-off a bit by the ‘candy smell’ released during the cooking process. I therefore added 1 tbsp of pandan powder to suppress the smell, at the same time, enhance the fragrant and color (mild green) of the coconut rice. It is totally fine to skip the pandan juice/powder as the conventional coconut rice is normally plain in color.

(3-4 serving)
Ingredients
1 packet of Asian Home Gourmet Coconut Rice powder mix
2 1/4 cups uncooked rice
1 tbsp of vegetable oil (any type of oil)
1 tbsp of pandan powder for coloring (optional)
water (varies by cooking methods)

Directions (using Rice Cooker)
1. Wash the rice and pour in right amount of water according to the rice cooker’s water measurement.
2. Pour in the spice mix and a tbsp of oil. Stir to mix everything and start cooking.

Direction (using normal pot)
1. Wash the rice. In a pot, pour in the washed rice, spice mix, water (3 cups) and oil.
2. Bring to boil and stir once. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 min or until cooked.
3. Leave to stand for 5 minutes. Stir to mix and the rice is ready to be served.

The pack is perfect for those who are interested to make coconut rice but not sure about the right measurement of water/coconut milk or seasoning. The pre-mixed pack has it all. It is truly convenient as you do not need to decide between light or full coconut milk.