“Why do we even eat rice? It’s tasteless!”
If you come to think of it, rice is too boring to eat on its own. It is just a plain white soft food — bland. It always needs another food so it can be enjoyable to eat. But, what if we cook rice using another liquid? Scrap the water and use coconut water. Will it taste differently? Of course! And it is an interesting discovery! Rice never tasted this good!
In order to satisfy the cravings of people for more flavor, many had discovered recipes to add twist to normal meals cooked on a daily basis. And since coconut products are richly available in the country, many Filipino households already adopted the idea of cooking rice with coconut milk for a change. But we have to admit that the recipe is hard to perfect since coconut milk has sugar. When the rice absorbs the moisture, sugar that is left sticks to casseroles and pans causing the rice to burn.
From that discovery, it is now clearly understood that our parents and home cooks can’t always add that flavorful taste to our regular cups of rice especially during the 90s era. It is considered a luxury for a normal Filipino household to own an electronic rice cooker. Rice preparation was really never that easy to do no matter how simple it may impact our taste buds upon consumption. Since the discovery of cooking rice using coconut water, and not milk, we had seemed to finally have a perfect solution.
The idea is to simply replace normal tap water to coconut water when cooking rice. The liquid is almost as clear as water and contains less sugar compared to coconut milk. The ratio used is the same as the ratio when cooking rice using water. The following are some recipe suggestions that people practice when cooking rice with coconut water.
- Some recipes might suggest adding spices like salt, ginger, pepper and butter for a better flavorful effect on the overall taste even though plain coconut water already does the magic.
- Depending on the desired texture of the rice, one may take the cooking pot off of the heat as soon as all liquids are absorbed already. It is then left for some time to steam. Fluffing the rice using a fork is advised to achieve a parboiled rice texture.
- Others add tiny bits of coconut flakes if more coconutty flavor is desired.
- Coconut-water rice is best served together with stir-fried or grilled pork and chicken recipes especially if the cuisines are spicy for the sweetness of the rice complements it.
Once desired sweetness of rice is achieved, one may enjoy sumptuous meals and still get lots of benefits from coconut water. Most common benefits include helping one’s hydration, aids in lowering blood pressure, may help prevent kidney stones and consume antioxidant properties that benefits the liver. Indeed, using coconut water when cooking rice is advantageous both for our taste buds and for our health. It will affect our body as well as when we drink plain coconut water.
Your daily meals will never be the same with rice cooked with coconut water. Make that ordinary rice extraordinary with Greenville Agro’s Coconut Water!