Coconut Rice with Prawns
Dinner | Chinese
This is one of those dinners that proves the rice cooker can do way more than just cook plain rice. We’re making the whole meal in the same machine. Sweet coconut jasmine rice in the bottom, prawns marinated in Old Bay and lime steamed on top from the back half of the cycle, and a fresh tomato salsa with red onion, coriander and lime stirred through at the end to cut the richness. Start to finish it’s about 30 minutes and most of that is hands-off while the cooker does the work.
Ingredients
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 400ml coconut milk
- 200ml water
- white pepper and salt
- 4 Allspice berries
- 15 large prawns/shrimp, deveined
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- ½ tbsp all bay seasoning
- 1 ½ limes
- 2 plum tomatoes
- ¼ large red onion
- ½ bunch coriander
Directions
- Rinse the rice under cold water twice or until the water runs clear. Drain all the water before placing the rice into the rice cooker. Add the coconut milk to the rice cooker. Add the water to the empty tin of coconut and swirl to rinse the can. Tip this coconut water into the rice cooker.
- To the rice cooker, add the allspice berries, a few cracks of white pepper and a pinch of salt to season.
- Close the lid, then turn the cooker on. While the rice is cooking, make the marinade the prawns and the salsa to accompany the rice.
- For the marinade, place the prawns into a bowl with the olive oil, a pinch of salt, all bay seasoning and the zest of a lime. Mix well and place aside to marinade for 10 minutes.
- To make the salsa, slice the tomatoes in half and remove the core. Slice each half into four wedges, lengthwise and dice. Finely dice the red onion. Chiffonard all the coriander leaves and separate into two. Keep half aside for the rice later on. Mix all together with the juice of a lime and a pinch of salt.
- Once most of the excess liquid has evaporated from the rice cooker, add the marinated prawn to the top of the rice cooker and remove the allspice berries. Close the lid and continue cooking until the rice is soft and the prawns are cooked through.
- Add the remaining coriander and fluff with a rice paddle.
- Serve in a bowl with the salsa and a wedge of lime.
Recipe notes
Allspice:
Also known as pimenta, this isn’t a blend like the name suggests. It’s a single berry from the pimenta tree that tastes like a mix of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and pepper. If you don’t have any in the cupboard, a small pinch of each of those four spices is a solid substitute. Remember to fish them out before adding the prawns so the flavour doesn’t overpower the rice.
Prawns:
I always buy them already shelled and deveined for this dish. It saves about 10 minutes of prep and keeps the cleanup quick. Just don’t buy pre-cooked. We’re cooking them in the rice cooker and pre-cooked prawns will end up tough and rubbery. Frozen raw prawns work too, just thaw them properly in the fridge or in cold water first.
Old Bay seasoning:
This is the prawn marinade hero, a US seasoning blend of celery salt, paprika, mustard and other warm spices that pairs beautifully with seafood. Most supermarkets stock it in the spice aisle these days. If you can’t find any, mix ½ tsp smoked paprika, ¼ tsp celery salt, ¼ tsp garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne for a close substitute.