Coconut Chai Rice Pudding Recipe

Regular rice pudding is a classic comfort food, but it is pretty plain, all things considered. If you want to take that blank canvas and turn it into something a bit more interesting, though, you can do as recipe developer Jessica Case does here and swap the milk out for coconut milk and add some chai spices such as star anise, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg, and pepper. 

"If you're a chai latte fan," says Case, "this recipe won't disappoint you." In fact, she would go so far as to describe the experience of eating it as akin to "getting a warm hug out of the bowl."

One note on the recipe: As it is, the dessert includes no dairy, thus making it suitable for vegan consumption. It's also gluten-free, as well. Case does say, however, "You can use whole milk or your choice of non-dairy milk instead of canned coconut milk, if you wish."

The main ingredients of the pudding itself are jasmine rice, coconut milk, and sugar (either coconut or brown). The chai-style seasonings, and there's quite a long list of these, include a cinnamon stick, star anise, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cardamom, nutmeg, ground cloves, salt, pepper, and vanilla.

Mix the rice with the water, cinnamon stick, and star anise in a pot and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the rice to the boiling water, then lower the temperature and cover the pot. Simmer the rice for about 15 minutes until it's steamed.

As the rice cooks, combine ¼ cup coconut milk with the vanilla extract and spices, stirring until it becomes a smooth paste. Case cautions, "Don't skip this step," and goes on to explain, "It prevents the spices from clustering together when you mix it with the steamed rice."

Stir 4 cups of coconut milk into the cooked rice along with the spice mixture. Simmer the rice with the coconut milk for 15 minutes uncovered. Avoid stirring the rice at this time because you actually do want it to stick together. Case says not to be put off by seeing skin form on top of the milk, as this is bound to happen.

After the 15 minutes is up, stir in the sugar and scrape any stuck-on rice off the bottom of the pot. Cook the rice for another 20 minutes, still lidless, but this time, you can stir it every so often. Once the pudding looks about as thick as yogurt, turn off the heat.

Take the cinnamon stick and star anise out of the pudding, then put it into a bowl and stick it in the refrigerator uncovered. Chill it for at least 3 hours, but up to 12 hours is okay if you prefer to delay dessert. Before you eat it, stir in the remaining coconut milk. If you want to dress it up, you can also sprinkle it with cinnamon or toasted coconut, or even shove a whole cinnamon stick into the top.

If you won't be eating all 6 helpings of pudding in a single sitting, Case advises, "Store any leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days." If that's still not enough time for you to eat the whole thing, you can always cut down the proportions to make a smaller amount using just 2, or even 1 can of coconut milk.