AI-generated image
Koko alaisa
Samoan rice cooked in cocoa and coconut cream
Koko alaisa is a Samoan breakfast and Sunday to'ona'i (after-church lunch) favourite, rice simmered in koko Samoa, the island's own roasted cocoa paste, with coconut cream, sugar and sometimes orange leaves for perfume. It is rich, chocolatey and comforting, like a warm chocolate rice pudding, and is often eaten alongside savoury food. If you can't find koko Samoa in a Pacific shop, use unsweetened 100% cocoa chocolate. A common mistake is letting it catch on the bottom; stir often in the last 15 minutes. Chef's tip: a strip of orange peel simmered with the rice gives the true island aroma.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 9 oz short-grain or medium-grain ricerinsed
- 5 cups water
- 2 ⅛ oz koko Samoa (cocoa paste) or 100% cocoa chocolategrated
- 1 ¼ cups coconut cream
- 2 ⅞ oz sugar
- 1 pinch salt
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (2)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Bring 5 cups water to the boil and whisk in 2 ⅛ oz koko Samoa (cocoa paste) or 100% cocoa chocolate until dissolved and smooth.
5 minStep 2: Add 9 oz short-grain or medium-grain rice and 1 strip of orange peel and simmer, stirring now and then, for 20 minutes until the rice is soft.
20 minStep 3: Stir in 1 ¼ cups coconut cream, 2 ⅞ oz sugar and 1 pinch salt and simmer for 10–12 minutes more, stirring often, until thick and creamy like porridge.
12 minStep 4: Remove the peel and serve warm in bowls.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 60 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does koko alaisa take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of short-grain or medium-grain rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Bsissa
A tin of bsissa sits in many Tunisian kitchen cupboards, from Tunis flats to farmhouses in the south: a finely ground flour of roasted barley, roasted chickpeas and spices such as coriander, fennel and aniseed. In the morning a few spoonfuls are worked with olive oil and something sweet into a nutty, crumbly paste, or stirred with water into a thick drink, and it keeps you going until lunch. Travellers and pilgrims once carried it for the road. Roasting your own flour takes 15 minutes and makes a jar that lasts weeks. Sugar and dates keep it vegan; some families use honey. Chef's tip: roast the flours separately over a low heat and stir constantly; the moment they smell like toasted biscuits and turn light tan, tip them out of the pan.
Tunisian
Sabudana khichdi
Sabudana khichdi is the dish that sees Maharashtra through every vrat (fast), from Navratri to Ekadashi, but it's so good that people eat it any day of the week. Soaked sago pearls are tossed in a pan with crushed roasted peanuts, cubes of potato, cumin and green chilli until each pearl turns glassy and separate, then finished with lemon and coriander. It's soft, chewy, nutty and gently hot. Fasting rules vary from family to family, so check yours; this version uses rock salt and no asafoetida, onion or garlic. Traditionally it's cooked in ghee; use ghee instead of oil if you aren't keeping it vegan. Chef's tip: soak the sago in just enough water to cover by the height of the pearls themselves, no more; too much water is the reason khichdi turns into one sticky lump.
Indian
Doi chira
Nothing is cooked for doi chira, which is why it has been the breakfast of farmers and fishermen in Barisal for generations: flattened rice is rinsed, softened in thick, slightly sour curd and sweetened with jaggery or sugar, then mashed together with a ripe banana. The texture is soft and creamy with a little chew from the rice flakes, and the taste is cool, sweet and tangy. It is eaten on hot summer mornings, at village fairs and as part of the Pohela Boishakh spread, and it is a favourite of children and of anyone fasting who wants something gentle. The usual misstep is soaking the chira for too long, which turns it to paste; a quick rinse is all it needs before the curd does the rest. Chef's tip: use thick-cut chira, not the thin kind for frying, so the flakes hold their shape.
Bangladeshi