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Instant Pot

Coconut Rice with Red Beans and Scallions

6 Servings

FAST: 50 minutes
Slow: 2¾ to 3¼ hours 15 minutes active

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This flavorful, colorful side was inspired by resanbinsi, a rice and red bean dish that hails from the Caribbean coast of Honduras and Nicaragua. We approximate the delicate sweetness and subtle richness of fresh coconut milk with a combination of coconut oil and coconut water; unrefined coconut oil lends the fullest flavor, but regular refined oil works, too. This is an excellent accompaniment to grilled seafood, chicken or pork, or turn it into dinner by topping the rice with fried eggs and offering lime wedges and hot sauce alongside.

6

Servings

Tip

Don't substitute coconut milk for the coconut water. The richness of coconut milk—even light coconut milk—will result in a heavy, almost gummy texture. When cooking is done, don't leave the inner pot in the housing. In this case, the residual heat had a tendency to overcook the grains; it's best to remove the insert before allowing the rice to rest.

FAST: 50 minutes
Slow: 2¾ to 3¼ hours

15 minutes active

Ingredients

  • 3

    tablespoons coconut oil (preferably unrefined), melted

  • cups long-grain white rice, rinsed and drained

Directions

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Reviews
Tim M.

Could I use a rice cooker to make this recipe if I don't have an instant pot?

April D.

Tim - some rice cookers have a "slow cook" function, in which case you could follow our "Slow" instructions using your rice cooker. If your rice cooker doesn't have a designated slow cook function, then you can sauté the rice, scallions, garlic, bell pepper and cilantro stems right in the pot of your rice cooker, then add the coconut water, sugar, cumin, salt and pepper and proceed to cook the rice following manufacturer's instructions; if those instructions recommend more liquid, add coconut water or water to reach the correct ratio of rice:water. When your rice is cooked, you can proceed with the final step.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

Amanda D.

If I needed to make twelve servings rather than six using the fast method, how should I adjust the recipe? Thanks in advance!

Lynn C.

Hi Amanda -

We haven't tested doubling this recipe and, unfortunately, it's not as simple as just doubling the ingredients when it comes to cooking rice. Rice absorbs water at a specific ratio (typically 1:1, but this can be variable depending on the amount of liquid in other ingredients added when pressure cooking) and the amount of water that evaporates during cooking is finite as well. So simply doubling the rice and water would result in mushy rice because there is an excess of water in the pot. Unfortunately, since we didn't do any testing here, we can't provide you the exact amount of rice and coconut water to ensure perfectly cooked rice when doubling this recipe. Also of note - whenever doubling a pressure cooker recipe, make sure the amount of food in the pot does not exceed the "maximum fill" line.

Best,
The Milk Street Team