Mango Rice

I am making a full confession right now.
I have issues with rice.
There. I said it.
I can make gourmet meals, tackle complicated recipes, cook for 250 people but I have trouble making rice. Something so simple gives me so much trouble. People have suggested that maybe it's because rice needs to be timed perfectly and have exact proportions and I do not cook like that. I throw ingredients in pots without measuring, never use timers and often rely on my sense of smell to tell me when something is ready. Well, let me tell you, I am an expert on what burned rice smells like. But I refuse to give up. I will keep cooking rice until I am a rice making expert and no, I will not buy a rice maker to help me on this mission. Oddly enough though, the rice fairy was with me  as I made this mango rice. Maybe it was the mango, maybe it was that I had enough patience to be near the stove the whole time or maybe crossing my fingers actually worked this time because my rice came out PERFECT! No random hard uncooked grains, no burnt chunks at the bottom and no starchy clumping-yay!! Likely, this was a fluke but who knows, maybe my rice luck has changed.

This mango  rice is very simple, yet the mango and coconut milk give it a little interesting and exotic touch. I served it as a side dish to my chicken with mushrooms and curry which was a little spicy because I thought the sweet mango would compliment the spicy chicken well and it did.  Because the mango is actually cooked with the rice you don't have to use a perfectly ripe mango- it will still come out sweet and delicious. Truthfully, I could have probably added a cup of sugar to the mixture and called it dessert but I'll save that experiment for a different time. Enjoy!


2 tsp oil
1 1/2 cups rice
1 can coconut milk (about 400 ml)
2/3 cup chicken stock or water
1 tsp salt
pinch of white pepper
one large mango, diced

In a saucepan heat the oil. Saute the rice in the oil for two minutes. Add the coconut milk, stock, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil fold in the mango, cover and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes or until the water has been absorbed. Shut the flame and let the rice steam for 5 minutes before opening the pot.