Hawaiian Rice Balls

Oh yummmmmm.... I love rice... I love coconut... When my friend Sondra brought these to a party a couple years back I was instantly in love. They go great as a side dish to just about anything and are also a perfect snack. While you can eat them as soon as they're made, I recommend letting them chill in the refrigerator for several hours - they really firm up nicely and don't make such a mess that way.

You will need:
2 cups uncooked white rice - recipe calls for Calrose and I've found it really does work best
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut - you can use fresh or the packaged kind
Additional coconut to roll the rice balls in
Water to cook the rice, according to package directions

First - cook the rice - follow the directions and make sure that it's good & sticky when it's done - do NOT undercook this!!

Mix the rice, sugar, salt and 1/2 cup coconut together in a bowl - you can use a spoon to get it all mixed. I usually place the rice on top of everything else

Mix well, then bring out the potato masher to really "smush" it up - don't worry about breaking or crushing the rice grains - the starches released will help hold the balls together.

After it's well mixed, it'll look glossy. Allow it to cool well before handling - it doesn't have to be cold, but you don't want it warm to the touch - room temperature, or close to it - is just fine.  Form the rice into balls - I make them about the size of a golf ball, but you can make them whatever size you want - from a tennis ball down to a cherry tomato. Whatever floats your boat. Hint!!! You can NOT roll them into a ball - you have to sort of push them (form them) into the general shape. Trying to roll them just causes them to fall apart.

Next, roll them in more coconut.

Place in a dish or on a tray - Mine went into a 9x11 pan.

Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and refrigerate several hours or overnight. Best served cold.

I got 30 of these about the size of a golf ball from this recipe... I could have gotten probably 36 if I hadn't snacked on some and if I'd made them a bit more consistent in size. Oh well, it was worth it!

Oh... and just a word of caution - these are pretty messy to make - I had to make a point of NOT licking my fingers till I was completely done - almost more than I could take. I also try to use one hand and a spoon to press it together - that way you still have one clean(ish) hand to do things like turn on the water, answer the phone etc..... Or you can just ignore the phone like I do.