Coconut Black Rice with shrimp and Asparagus

This recipe looked and sounded good in the magazine and on my plate.  Quite frankly I found it a little boring.  The rice that was cooked with coconut milk didn’t taste any different than when I cook it in plain water.  Jim thought it was hot.  I did not add the optional crushed red pepper or the toasted coconut.  The squeeze of lime at the end gave it flavor.  

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C uncooked black rice

1 C unsweetened coconut milk

3/4 t salt

2 T vegetable oil

1 T finely chopped serrano chile pepper

2 t grated fresh ginger

8 oz. asparagus cut into 1” pieces

1# shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 C lime juice

2 scallions chopped

Toasted coconut (optional)

Crushed red pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the rice, 1 1/2 C water, coconut milk and salt to a boil.  Stir and reduce the heat.  Simmer, covered until tender, 25-30 minutes.  Remove from the heat, and let stand 10 minutes.  
2. Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat 1 T of the oil over medium heat.Add the Serrano chile and ginger, and cook for 30 seconds.
3. Add the asparagus, and increase the heat to medium-high.  Cook and stir until tender, about 4 minutes, and transfer to a large platter.
4. Add the remaining 1 T oil to the skillet.  Add the shrimp in a single layer, and cook until opaque, 3-4 minutes.  (I would not do over 2 minutes.)
5. Fluff the rice with a fork and transfer it to the platter with the asparagus.  Drizzle with lime juice.  Top with shrimp and scallions.
6. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and crushed red pepper if using.