Coconut Black Rice Pudding

 

I finally got around to making this coconut black rice pudding! I could not find Thai black rice (which is variegated so that not all the grains are black); I used Chinese black rice. This was delicious! You could serve it with mango, but just the coconut here is nice. If you want, you can reserve a bit of the coconut cream from the top of the can to top the rice pudding. Anyway, this was not the kids’ favorite, but I thought this was delicious!

2 to 2 ½ cups water
1 cup Thai black rice
1 cup light or full-fat coconut milk
¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes (I omitted them and used shredded coconut instead)
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
½ tsp. salt

In a medium saucepan, mix 2 cups water, rice and coconut milk, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes or until rice is tender, stirring occasionally. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, make sure to keep a close eye, adding extra water, ¼ cup at a time, if the rice gets too dry.

Meanwhile, toast the coconut. Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Place the coconut on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes or until golden-brown, stirring once during baking.

When the rice is tender, add the sugar and salt. Simmer for a couple more minutes, or until pudding is desired texture. (Add a little more water for a looser pudding; let cook several more minutes for a drier pudding.) Taste and adjust seasoning. Spoon into individual bowls, top with toasted coconut flakes, and serve.