making coconut rice for a crowd?

Do any of you have a favorite recipe?
I tried to make a big batch(6 cups) of jasmine rice and coco milk in my auto rice cooker...Came out kinda mushy and bland...I was thinking of just cooking the rice by itself, and then mixing in some dried coconut milk powder, with some extra toasted coconut mixed in. anyone tried that?

For this, use a pot, not the auto-steamer, and I would use parboiled rice, not white. Use chicken broth in place of much of the water (more taste). Yes, try adding lightly toasted shredded coconut. Coconut milk is very oily/fatty and makes it mushier, if you use too much. Add some curry powder and chopped onion. Simmer, and after it's cooked, stir in pineapple chunks, cubed mango. I've also added green peas and diced carrots, before (while it's simmering).

[ Edited by: Limbo Lizard 2009-08-06 18:48 ]

MMMMMMMMM that makes me hungry.Ill have to try that!

I like the idea of the chicken broth, but we will most likely have vegetarians in the crowd. maybe a veggie or miso broth instead?
mango and pineapple. yum. what about using jasmine rice, and after it's cooked in broth, adding some coconut cream?
sound great though..with the toasted coconut...good enough to roll around in!

I think substituting a veggie or miso type broth would work fine. You're just trying to add a base of flavor, including some saltiness.
I love "sticky" white rice, including Jasmine, to go with Chinese and other Asian dishes. I haven't been without a rice steamer for 30 years. But the stickiness makes it hard to stir or mix other things into it. It can start to turn into a mass of starchy goo. That's why I use the parboiled rice (Uncle Ben's) for this particular recipe. It will tolerate coconut milk (coconut cream?) better, too.
If, by "coconut cream", you meant the sweetened Coco Lopez-type, I haven't tried that, but it's worth a test batch, I suppose. I'd think it might just be too sweet. I like an overall taste of curry and broth/salty flavor, with the bits of pineapple/mango/coconut providing intense sweet accents. I'm over-analyzing this...
Just experiment with a smaller test batch - 2 cups, cooked - of whatever idea you want to try, including the Jasmine rice, and see how it works out. Then tell us what you finally went with, and how it went over with your guests. Good luck

[ Edited by: Limbo Lizard 2009-08-10 21:14 ]

Did a test batch with a bit of miso powder,cardamom, and galanga powder, some salt and onion powder.
still kind of bland but not mushy...added some more salt, some toasted coconut, green onion, and top dressesd it all with a small amont of coconut cream (A higher fat coconut milk).
getting closer!