School’s out for summer, and the garden is starting to take shape. The weather feels lovely, and typically at this time of the year, I’m feeling excited for summer travels, to have summer barbecues in the backyard, and go on adventures near and far. But as we all know, this summer is quite different to say the least! I think we’re all just trying to make the best of whatever situation we find ourselves in. With my continued adventure living with cancer, I feel grateful that I’m off for the summer and can stay at home right now and try to stay healthy (which I know is not a situation everyone can be in, so I don’t take that for granted!). Part of how I’m keeping myself occupied is by lavishing love and attention on my garden, my pup, and by experimenting with delicious new creations in the kitchen.
Since we can only dream of tropical vacations at this point (unless you’re lucky enough to live in someplace delightfully vacation-y), why not daydream a bit and bring fill-in-the-blank tropical paradise to wherever we may be? What’s your imaginary tropical getaway location? I think I’ll go to the beautiful island of Bora Bora, where mangoes are plentiful. Lately, I’ve been into creating simpler recipes that come together quickly, since I’ve been cooking much more now that both the mister and I are eating all 3 meals a day at home almost every day. Enter this tropical mango coconut rice!
All you have to do is dice up some mango (fresh or frozen), toast the coconut, and toss in some fresh cilantro, green onions and lime juice and your tropical paradise awaits! It has the perfect balance of sweetness and roastiness from the coconut, juicy summery mango, balanced with fresh cilantro and lime. It makes a great side dish for some homemade coconut shrimp (I love this recipe at Sally’s Baking Addiction) or grilled fish tacos.
Sending you lots of good vibes in this crazy world, and hope you can enjoy a bit of a culinary vacation with this tropical rice!
- 2 cups uncooked jasmine rice
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 1 mango, peeled and diced (or 2 atulfo/champagne mangos, or substitute frozen thawed)
- 3 green onions, sliced (white and green parts)
- small bunch of cilantro, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, from about 1½ limes, more or less to taste
- ¾ teaspoon salt, to taste
- Rinse the rice in a few changes of water, then cook according to package directions. Transfer cooked rice to a large bowl.
- Toast the coconut in a frying pan over medium heat, supervising closely and stirring often, until light golden brown and fragrant.
- Add the toasted coconut, mango, green onions, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Stir and toss ingredients together until evenly dispersed. Adjust the lime juice and salt to taste.
