Coconut Rice Pudding with Orange and Cardamom
I love making rice pudding on January 1st, after staying up late for New Years celebrations. I can shuffle out into the kitchen, sleepy-eyed, throw all the ingredients into the pot, and let the pudding simmer away all morning. It fills the house with the most heavenly scent, and observing the rice transform and thicken is a pleasure all in itself. Plus, the rice pudding can be breakfast, dessert, or even a standalone meal in a pinch. I love adding orange zest and cardamom to my rice pudding, since those flavors play so well with the creaminess of the rice and coconut milk, and I’ve included them in this recipe. The sugar that I prefer for the pudding (and in general) is coconut sugar, which yields a beautiful, malty flavor and a caramel color. Hope you’ll give this simple but magical preparation a try :)
Coconut Rice Pudding with Orange and Cardamom
serves 6
1/2 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup coconut sugar
zest from 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
sea salt
2 13.5 oz (380 g) cans full-fat coconut milk
5 cups water
Add the rice, sugar, orange zest, cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, a pinch of salt, coconut milk, and water to a large pot. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to establish a steady simmer and cook, uncovered and stirring often, for 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes, until thickened and creamy. Serve the rice pudding hot, warm, or cold.
Intuitive Cooking Takeaways
Other spices can be added instead of/in addition to the cinnamon and cardamom. I imagine that chai spices (ginger, cloves, star anise, nutmeg, turmeric, black pepper) would make a delicious addition. You can add dried fruit like raisins, dates, dried figs, prunes, or apricots for little bursts of sweetness and juiciness, or serve the pudding with fruit compote, or chia jam.