Sometimes you try and try and try and you just can't find the perfect recipe. Other times your disasters turn out to be successes. That's the story of my rice pudding. I have been trying to make a creamy rice pudding and each time it has come out grainy or chewy, never quite right. I've tried using different kinds of rice, different kinds of milk, baking it, steaming it, cooking it on the stove-top and finally using a pressure cooker.
This had to be at least my fourth attempt. I was expecting the arborio to give it a "risotto" like texture but it didn't. I also was expecting it to be fairly dense. It isn't. When I first opened the pressure cooker I thought it was way too mushy and liquidy, but as it cooled it firmed up quite a bit and the end result was very creamy and rich.
So it's with great pride that I can say I have finally conquered rice pudding! This is one of those simple recipes that only has 4 ingredients, well, five if you count the water. And they probably all live in your cupboard so even when you don't have fresh milk in the house you can make this one. The only tricky part is, you need a pressure cooker. But if you are looking for a recipe to make with your pressure cooker, or even a reason to invest in a pressure cooker, this is the one.
Note:If you want to try making this without the a pressure cooker, I imagine you could make it in a rice cooker or tightly covered pot over a low flame, you might need to increase the cooking time and perhaps the liquid, let me know how your experiments turn out!
Creamy Coconut Rice Pudding
serves 4-6
Ingredients
1/2 cup arborio rice
1 can unsweetened coconut milk (13.5 oz)
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Mix the rice, coconut milk, sugar and water in a pressure cooker. Put the lid on and bring up to full pressure then lower to a low pressure for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool on the stove for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and stir. It will seem very liquid, but it will thicken when it cools. Let cool to room temperature, stir in vanilla then refrigerate.
Enjoy!
