Arroz con coco is the signature rice dish of Colombia's Caribbean coast, from Cartagena to Santa Marta, where coconuts are abundant and African-descended coastal communities developed a distinctive cuisine around coconut, fish and rice. Rice is cooked in freshly extracted coconut milk (not water), with raisins, sugar and salt, producing a golden, slightly sweet, richly aromatic rice. The dish is served alongside fried fish (mojarra frita), sancocho or any coastal stew, the sweetness of the coconut rice balancing the salt and heat of the main dish. The preparation begins with grating fresh coconut, squeezing its milk by hand, and using that milk as the sole cooking liquid.
Golden, each grain plump and separate, the coconut milk giving a rich, faintly sweet, tropical aroma. The raisins add bursts of sweetness. Eaten with fried fish, the contrast of sweet rice and salty, crispy fish is the classic Caribbean Colombian combination.
The technique is rice cooked entirely in coconut milk. Fresh coconut is grated and squeezed with warm water to extract thick coconut milk. The milk replaces all water in the rice. Rice is sautéed briefly in oil or butter with the raisins, then the coconut milk is added along with sugar and salt. The pot is covered and simmered on low heat for 18 to 20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. The coconut milk's fat gives the rice its richness and golden colour; the sugar enhances the natural sweetness. Freshly squeezed coconut milk is essential; canned coconut milk is thinner and less aromatic.
Variations
Some use coconut cream for a richer version. A version with capers is saltier.
On the Palate
Where Arroz con Coco Cartagenero sits in the Colombian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
5 steps · 15 min
- 16 min
Grate the flesh of 1 mature coconut; squeeze with 400ml warm water to extract thick coconut milk; strain.
- 24 min
Sauté 300g rice in 2 tbsp butter with 50g raisins for 2 minutes.
Watch outSauté the rice in butter with the raisins two minutes until the grains turn translucent at the edges — this toast keeps them separate so the coconut rice doesn't clump.
- 35 min
Add the coconut milk, 1 tbsp sugar and salt; bring to a boil.
- 46 min
Cover and simmer on low heat 18 to 20 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
Watch outCover and cook on low till the coconut milk is fully absorbed, eighteen to twenty minutes — lift the lid too early and the bottom scorches before the top cooks.
- 53 min
Fluff and serve with fried fish.
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