Rice with Coconut

Crack open the fresh coconut and drain the coconut water into a measuring cup, reserving it separately. Scrape the white coconut flesh from the shell with a knife and cut into small chunks.

Place the coconut chunks in a blender with 4 cups of boiling water. Blend on high speed until the coconut is finely pulverized and the mixture becomes a cloudy white liquid, approximately 2 minutes.

Strain the blended coconut mixture through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a bowl, pressing firmly to extract as much coconut milk as possible. Set the milk aside and discard the solids.

Measure the extracted coconut milk and combine it with the reserved coconut water and additional water to equal 3 1/2 cups total. Stir to combine thoroughly.

Rinse the rice under cold running water in a fine-mesh strainer, stirring gently with your fingers until the water runs mostly clear. This removes excess starch.

Pour the coconut liquid mixture into a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Add the rinsed rice, salt, and sugar to the boiling coconut liquid. Stir well to distribute the rice evenly and prevent clumping.

Reduce heat to low and cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid. Simmer gently for 20 minutes without lifting the lid, allowing the rice to absorb the coconut liquid.

Remove from heat and let rest, covered, for 5 minutes to allow any remaining liquid to be fully absorbed and the grains to firm up.

Fluff the rice gently with a fork, breaking up any clumps. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt or sugar if needed before serving.