Premise: 8/17/17
I’m in the Hospital right now writing this. Lemme explain!
My girlfriend’s dad is on his 4th round of Chemotherapy, and as he’s getting his infusion, I’m here thinking about the Coconut shrimp he’s eating. Crunchy coconut flakes, Bird’s Eye Chili, big jumbo shrimp, and coconut cream. A Thai mixture of sweet, spicy, and shrimpy lusciousness. All I can think about is how good those shrimp would go with Risotto. Not just any risotto, THAI Coconut Risotto!!
I’ve never had it. Never even made it!
But it sounds fantastic. Not in the “oh this is great” sense of the word, but the “I just found a Unicorn and it let me pet him” sense. I need to make this now, the vision becomes almost palpable: creamy risotto, onions, garlic, maybe some lemongrass in the stock. Coconut cream and flakes for creaminess and texture. And then just the presence of heat from the Bird’s Eye Chili (optional!)
There’s not a lot of results for Thai Coconut Risotto on Google: Jamie Oliver has a Thai Risotto recipe that sounds very similar, but otherwise its a compilation of Yellow, Green, Vegetable, and Red Curry Risottos.
Forward to present day:
Now for texture! Traditional risotto has a nice salty addition of shaved Parmesan to offset the velvetiness of the rice. In this case, toasted coconut works!
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Thai Coconut Risotto
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This Thai Coconut Risotto recipe is the love child of Thai Food and Italian obsession for creamy al dente rice. Its lemon, shallots, coconut, and chili joy!
Ingredients
8 oz Arborio Rice
4 oz Olive Oil
1 Onion Chopped
1 oz Lemongrass chopped fine
8 oz Chicken Stock
5 oz Coconut Milk
6 oz Rice Wine
3 oz Coconut Cream
1 oz Lime juice & Lime zest
1 oz Fresh basil or Cilantro
Instructions
Saute the onions in Olive Oil until translucent and add the lemongrass. Add the rice and coat with the oil, toasting it. Add the wine and stir until its evenly distributed. Lower the heat to a simmer, and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed. Do the same with the stock, adding it ladle by ladle until the liquid is absorbed each time.
When the rice is tender, but not soft, add the coconut cream the same way, ladle by ladle, you many not need all of it. Add the coconut cream at the end, add herbs and let it rest for 5 minutes. Top with toasted coconut flakes.
Notes
Cilantro, Lemon zest, and lime juice are great boosts to lighten the flavors and balance the risotto.
- Method: Risotto
- Cuisine: Fusion
A little about me
I’m a chef and a former psychologist. I spent years studying how we experience food to make the best eating experiences possible- and I show you how to eat well on this site. I host secret popups in Miami, FL teaching people how to approach good food that’s never been done before.
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Hi Maury. I’m about to make this recipe for Thai coconut risotto. (You’re description seems to hit the nail on the head for me). I do want to give it a kick though, and you mentioned adding chili to it. I don’t see it mentioned in the actual recipe and I’m wondering how much is a good amount and when to add it. Also, do you think red curry paste would be appropriate to use instead of the chili? I don’t want to experiment and waste good ingredients and would rather defer to your opinion.
★★★★★
Hi Ellen!
I would not use red curry paste, it has a very dense and complicated set of flavors that will completely obliterate the flavor of the coconut. Depending on how hot you like it, I would suggest toasting some red chili flakes in a pan, to make them aromatic, and add it at the end. If you want something slightly hotter but with more complexity, I would try this Sichuan chili oil. Just drizzle it at the end and do not stir! (that way you get variations in the dish, spicy and cool and back to spicy). I’m including a link here to make it easier to get. Cant wait to read the results! Best of luck!
Sichuan Chili Oil link: https://amzn.to/31wknv6