Lemongrass-Scented Coconut Rice

Preparation 1. Place the rice in a 1-1/2- or 2-quart saucepan. Fill the pot halfway with cold water. If any rice hulls or small twigs float to the surface, scoop them aside with your hand and discard them. Gently swirl your fingers through the rice until the water becomes cloudy with the rice's surface starch, about 20 seconds. Be careful not to massage the rice aggressively—you don't want to crack or break the grains. Allow the rice to settle for a few seconds. Tilt the pot over a sink and drain out all the water, cupping the rice with your hand to prevent it from spilling out of the pot. Repeat this process with three more changes of water. The water after the first 2 rinses will be quite cloudy; by the fourth rinse, it will be much less so. The water need not run completely clear by the final rinse—slightly cloudy is fine. Leave the rinsed rice in the pot. 2. To the rinsed rice, add the tied lemongrass, the cooking water, the coconut milk, the salt, and the daun salam leaves (if using). Stir well to combine, making sure that the lemongrass stalks and daun salam leaves are submerged in as much of the rice as possible. 3. Place the pot over high heat and, stirring constantly with a large spoon to prevent the rice at the bottom of the pot from scorching or burning, bring the liquid to a rolling, noisy boil. Allow the rice to boil vigorously for fifteen seconds, continuing to stir constantly. (It's essential that you stir constantly, otherwise the fats and proteins in the coconut milk will cause the rice at the bottom of the pot to become gummy and stick together, which will ultimately lead to the final dish having a scorched or burned bottom layer.) Immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cover the pot tightly with the lid. Continue cooking for 15 minutes. Don't be tempted to lift or remove the lid during this time—you'll lose essential cooking steam if you do. 4. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the rice to continue to steam, covered, away from the heat for an additional 10 minutes. 5. Open the pot and discard the lemongrass and daun salam leaves. Fold the rice over gently with a spoon, distributing the aromatic flavors which may be concentrated in pockets in the rice. Transfer the rice to a deep serving bowl, fluffing it gently with a fork and lifting it into a high, peaked mound. Serve hot or warm. (If serving the rice warm, keep it covered with aluminum foil until then.) Cook's Note:Daun salam leaves are an indispensable herb in Indonesian cooking, especially in Java, Indonesia, their native place. Added fresh or dried to dishes, they impart a subtle spicy, woodsy flavor that has no counterpart in the West. When fresh, the leaves are dark green and three to four inches long. When dry, they are brittle, crinkly, and dusty, silvery green in color. Both fresh and dried leaves are used interchangeably in Indonesian kitchens. Chinese and Southeast Asian grocery stores sell dried daun salam imported from Indonesia in small plastic bags clearly marked "Daun Salam—Indian Bay Leaves." The leaves can also be ordered from indomart.us. Fresh daun salam leaves are unavailable in North America. Adapted with permission from Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore

Preparation 1. Place the rice in a 1-1/2- or 2-quart saucepan. Fill the pot halfway with cold water. If any rice hulls or small twigs float to the surface, scoop them aside with your hand and discard them. Gently swirl your fingers through the rice until the water becomes cloudy with the rice's surface starch, about 20 seconds. Be careful not to massage the rice aggressively—you don't want to crack or break the grains. Allow the rice to settle for a few seconds. Tilt the pot over a sink and drain out all the water, cupping the rice with your hand to prevent it from spilling out of the pot. Repeat this process with three more changes of water. The water after the first 2 rinses will be quite cloudy; by the fourth rinse, it will be much less so. The water need not run completely clear by the final rinse—slightly cloudy is fine. Leave the rinsed rice in the pot. 2. To the rinsed rice, add the tied lemongrass, the cooking water, the coconut milk, the salt, and the daun salam leaves (if using). Stir well to combine, making sure that the lemongrass stalks and daun salam leaves are submerged in as much of the rice as possible. 3. Place the pot over high heat and, stirring constantly with a large spoon to prevent the rice at the bottom of the pot from scorching or burning, bring the liquid to a rolling, noisy boil. Allow the rice to boil vigorously for fifteen seconds, continuing to stir constantly. (It's essential that you stir constantly, otherwise the fats and proteins in the coconut milk will cause the rice at the bottom of the pot to become gummy and stick together, which will ultimately lead to the final dish having a scorched or burned bottom layer.) Immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cover the pot tightly with the lid. Continue cooking for 15 minutes. Don't be tempted to lift or remove the lid during this time—you'll lose essential cooking steam if you do. 4. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the rice to continue to steam, covered, away from the heat for an additional 10 minutes. 5. Open the pot and discard the lemongrass and daun salam leaves. Fold the rice over gently with a spoon, distributing the aromatic flavors which may be concentrated in pockets in the rice. Transfer the rice to a deep serving bowl, fluffing it gently with a fork and lifting it into a high, peaked mound. Serve hot or warm. (If serving the rice warm, keep it covered with aluminum foil until then.) Cook's Note:Daun salam leaves are an indispensable herb in Indonesian cooking, especially in Java, Indonesia, their native place. Added fresh or dried to dishes, they impart a subtle spicy, woodsy flavor that has no counterpart in the West. When fresh, the leaves are dark green and three to four inches long. When dry, they are brittle, crinkly, and dusty, silvery green in color. Both fresh and dried leaves are used interchangeably in Indonesian kitchens. Chinese and Southeast Asian grocery stores sell dried daun salam imported from Indonesia in small plastic bags clearly marked "Daun Salam—Indian Bay Leaves." The leaves can also be ordered from indomart.us. Fresh daun salam leaves are unavailable in North America. Adapted with permission from Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore