Recipe: Lemon Grass-Coconut Rice Pudding edit

Yield: 8 servings

edit Ingredients

2	ounces can coconut milk - (14 ea)
1	cup whole milk
½	vanilla bean split
1	cinnamon stick
¼	cup chopped fresh ginger wrapped in
	cheesecloth
1	lemon grass stalk cut 4 pieces
1	cup Calrose rice
4	egg yolks
4	eggs
¾	cup sugar
½	cup butter - (1 stick)
¾	cup unsweetened shredded coconut plus
2	tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
½	cup sugar
3	tablespoons flour
3 ½	tablespoons melted butter
2	tablespoons fresh orange juice
¼	cup sugar
¼	cup water
½	papaya peeled, seeded,
	and cubed
½	mango peeled, seeded,
	and cubed
¾	cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
	Pudding (listed above)
	Coconut Tuile Cookies (listed above)
	Mango-Papaya Sauce (listed above)
1	mango seeded, and
	finely chopped
1	papaya seeded, and
	finely chopped

edit Preparation

Step 1	Pudding: In a large pot, combine the milks, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, ginger and lemon grass. Bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes, then turn the heat off. Let the mixture steep for 10 minutes.
Step 2	Add the rice to the milk mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook until the rice is soft in the center but not mushy, about 30 minutes.
Step 3	Mix the egg yolks, eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Remove the cinnamon stick, lemon grass, vanilla bean and ginger from the rice mixture. Slowly pour the rice mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
Step 4	Pour the mixture back into the pot. Continue cooking until it begins to thicken, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
Step 5	Pour the pudding into a clean large bowl and add the butter. Stir until the butter is melted. Cool in an ice bath.
Step 6	Coconut Tuile Cookies: Mix the coconut, sugar and flour in a large bowl. Add the melted butter and orange juice and mix well. Let the mixture stand for 1 hour, covered.
Step 7	Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Spread 1 1/2-inch circles of batter on the paper. Bake until golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. (Cookies will spread to 3 to 3 1/2 inches wide.) Cool and remove from pan. Set aside. (
Step 8	Makes about 25 cookies)
Step 9	Mango-Papaya Sauce: In a small saucepan, make a simple syrup by bringing the sugar and water to a boil, then lowering the heat and simmering until the sugar dissolves. Cool.
Step 10	Combine the syrup in a blender with the papaya and mango. Puree until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, then stir in the orange juice. (Makes 1 1/2 cups)
Step 11	Assembly: Spoon about 2 heaping tablespoons of chilled pudding onto each dessert plate. Place a cookie on top. Add 2 tablespoons of pudding on top of the cookie, then add another cookie and top with 1 heaping tablespoon of pudding.
Step 12	Spoon the mango-papaya sauce around the pudding and on the edges of the cookies. Combine the chopped mango and papaya and sprinkle about one-fourth cup of the fruit over and around each dessert.
Step 13	This recipe yields 8 servings.