~513 cal · 6g protein · 50g carbs · 34g fat (estimated, per serving)
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Creamy coconut rice in a bowl
🇰🇮 Tarawa
On the low coral atolls of Kiribati, the coconut is everything, and breakfast reflects it: rice cooked down in rich coconut milk and sweetened with kamaimai, the dark syrup boiled from coconut toddy. Creamy and faintly caramel, it is a comforting way to begin the day where little else grows.
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Make it yours
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 4 —
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1 cup short-grain rice
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2 cups coconut milk
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1 cup water
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1/4 cup coconut toddy syrup (kamaimai) or sugar
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1 pinch pinch of salt
Instructions
1
Rinse the rice, then combine with the water and a pinch of salt and bring to a gentle simmer.
2
When the water is nearly absorbed, pour in the coconut milk and cook low, stirring, until creamy.
3
Stir in the coconut toddy syrup (or sugar) and cook a couple more minutes to sweeten.
4
Serve warm, loosening with a little coconut milk if the rice tightens as it sits.
I-Kiribati atoll cooking, Tarawa.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
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Tarawa. An atoll capital of swamp taro and reef fish.
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Kiribati. Scattered atolls living on fish, coconut, and swamp taro.
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Oceania. Island kitchens where coconut and the sea rule.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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