Introduction

Once I realized that coconut rice was just rice boiled in a coconut milk/water mixture, I thought, well, why can’t I do that with oatmeal?

And it turns out you can. Coconut milk adds some nice fat to oatmeal and it tastes great. Plus, this recipe is pretty easy to make - it’s just boiling oatmeal. I make a large batch as described here and it nearly lasts me a whole work week.

Materials

Large Measuring Glass Large Pot 1-cup measure Large, coverable bowl for storage Stirring spoon

Ingredients

Pantry

3 C Oatmeal 1 14-ounce can of coconut milk

Steps

Pour the can of coconut milk into your large measuring glass, then fill with water until you have 9C total of liquid. My measuring glass only goes to 8C, so I just eyeball it.

The only concern with the total volume of liquid here is the creaminess or dryness of the oatmeal. The amount of liquid is well above what most oatmeals recommend (most I’ve found use a 2:1 ratio). A fair amount of experimentation lead me to prefer creamier oatmeal, and determined that 9C of liquid gives me a creamier oatmeal. Less liquid makes it a little drier and tougher. You can feel free to experiment with the amount of liquid to suit your tastes.

Pour the liquid into the pot and set it to high heat. Once it starts boiling, pour the oats in and reduce the heat to low to avoid boilovers. Set a timer for 15 minutes and just let it be.

At the end of the 15 minutes give the oats a stir to determine if they’re done. I typically need to leave it on boil longer than 15 minutes, but the determinor is the thickness of the oat mixture. When you stir, there should be a bit of resistance. If it feels too runny, keep it on the heat for a while longer, though note that it will thicken as it cools as well. You’ll get a feel for the right consistency with practice.

When done cooking, turn off the heat but leave the pot on the burner and let it cool for 20 minutes or so. Once it’s at a decent temperature and a bit thicker, transfer it to your storage bowl and put it in the fridge.

Portion it out for breakfast - I usually find that about 2C is what I’ll eat for a decent breakfast. For maximum pleasure, add in raisins, craisins, brown sugar, or my favorite: candied almonds (recipe coming soon!)