Why it works: Rice and coconut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,048 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine, which smells cocoa, roasted. The science ↓
The recipe
6 servingsIngredients
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Bruise the lemongrass stalk with the side of a knife or a rolling pin to release its aroma, then cut it into two or three pieces.
Add the rinsed and drained rice, coconut milk, lemongrass, bay leaves, ground turmeric and a pinch of salt to a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring once or twice so the rice does not stick to the bottom.
Reduce the heat to low, cover tightly and simmer for 18 to 20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.
Turn off the heat and let the rice rest, covered, for 10 minutes so it finishes steaming.
Remove the lemongrass pieces and bay leaves, then fluff the rice with a fork before serving.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Rice + coconuttop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,048 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
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Rice + turmerictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,929 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Rice + milktop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together7,354 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Coconut + turmerictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,028 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
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Coconut + milktop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,642 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the turmeric
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, coconut, milk):
- Cinnamonbetter flavor fit
- Turmericthe original
- Corianderabout as good a flavor fit
- Gingerabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, coconut, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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