“Coconut black rice pudding” is one of our family favourite breakfast.
It’s always Sunday mornings and again that Sunday morning, the moment when I woke up, I just felt the positive energy was running through my whole body. Firstly, I tried to remember my dream and thought about what made me happy. I gave gratitude and felt grateful for what I have in life.
Walking into the kitchen, all I could think about was a super healthy breakfast for my dear family. I opened the pantry and saw an unopened bag of black rice that I had bought for a couple of months before and my eyes started to scan around the whole kitchen and they stopped at the ripe mangoes in the fruit bowl. My mind immediately traveled to the beautiful tropical lands from Vietnam to Thailand and Indonesia where the black rice pudding, mango and coconut are so very popular and that’s how my “Coconut black rice pudding” was born.
Comparing this pudding with the ones that I had tried in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam which are far too sweet for my taste as they contain lots and lots of sugar,this pudding has the natural sweetness from all the seasonal fruits I used. Not only that, I substituted sugar with maple syrup as a healthier option and also for all vegans who would like to try this recipe, too (however, you can use palm, coconut or just white sugar or even honey if you a non-vegan). In order to bring up a beautiful color and flavour for the pudding, I then used some roasted coconut flakes as well as a variety of fruits which are in season. After all, all the awesome ingredients have definitely given the pudding an awesome fruity, nutty flavour and seriously made it so refreshing yet nourishing.
Why don’t you give it a go? I’m sure you will fall in love with it all over again.
Here are some information about the black rice as well as its health benefits for you to consider to use it as one of your pantry food ingredients.
Black rice is a highly treasured rice variety originating from Asia for thousands of years. It has been said that in ancient China, Black Rice was among a number of foods that were set aside only for the Emperor and the Royal Family due to their quality or health benefits. No one else was allowed to eat these foods without approval from the Emperor. Probably that’s the reason why it has another name called “Forbidden rice”.
The rice has a touch of sweet, magical aromas, deliciously nutty taste, soft texture and a beautiful deep purple colour that makes it a striking presence in any dish. Besides that, the rice is rich in antioxidants, high in iron and fibre. It also contains full of protein and is wheat and gluten free with 98% fat free.
Today we can find this type of rice in many health food stores or supermarket across many non-Asian countries, too.
serves 6
prep time: 10 minutes cooking time: 60 minutes
total time: 1 hour – 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup / 200 gr black rice
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk (250 ml) (reserve a couple tablespoons for garnish, if desired)
- 3 cups water
- ½ table spoon salt
- 3 table spoons maple syrup (or other sweetener of your choice such as honey for non-vegan, palm suger or coconut sugar)
- 1/3 cup coconut flakes, lightly toasted
- 1 ripe mango
- 2 passion fruits
- 2 ripe figs (optional)
- pemogranate (optional)
- 2 ripe bananas
METHOD
1. Place rice in a bowl and rinse well with water by stirring in a counter clockwise motion. Do this repeatedly until the water is clear and clean. Drain well and pick out any odd grain
2. Place rice in a pot with salt, maple syrup and water. Gently bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook covered, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed for about an hour (you still want a little liquid). Add ½ of the coconut milk in and gently fold to combine. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. While the rice is cooking, prepare all the fruit that you would like to accompany the pudding.
4. To assemble, scoop out desired amount of black rice into a bowl, top with fruit, toasted coconut, and a drizzle of coconut milk.
