Gluten Free Thai-Style Coconut Waffles

I'm back...sort of.  The wedding is over but I'm still busy with post-wedding projects and baby shower planning.  I co-hosted a shower about a month before my wedding, just got done with sis-in-law's shower (I did not host but did help out), and have another baby shower in a few weeks.  My mom came out to Denver with me on June 4.  She leaves in a few days so I have a few weeks before I fly back to San Diego again.  2012 has been a busy year filled with many significant life events for everyone around me.  I'm so excited for everyone!!  So in the meantime, I will be blogging from time to time using photos taken with an iPhone instead of a real camera.

I had a coconut sitting on my kitchen counter so my mom (she's visiting), decided to make coconut waffles.  These waffles (like many Asian desserts) are gluten free because they're made with rice flour instead of wheat flour.  The rice flour gives the waffles a very different texture.  They're light, crispy on the outside and soft and slightly chewy on the inside.  Mom said she tried using half rice flour and half wheat flour and it didn't taste very good.  She said my dad kept on commenting on how it wasn't very good after she repeatedly tried serving the same batch to him.  She eventually tossed them.

The measurements used are very unusual but it is the usual way I get recipes from my mom or grandmother.  I usually convert many of these recipes to conventional measurements but I like the novelty of using the coconut milk can as the measuring "cup." This recipe also makes enough batter to feed a crowd.  I made a third this time around and still ended up with about ten very large waffles.  We took the batter (the one with 3 bags of flour) over to my aunt's house with a waffle iron in tow and we actually ended up mixing up another batch while there and I ended up writing the recipe down for everyone.  They're that good.

The waffles can easily be made into Pandan Coconut Waffles with the addition of pandan extract.  To use fresh (frozen) pandan leaves, substitute some of the water in the recipe with the water from extracting the pandan leaves.  An easier (but not as tasty) method is to use bottled pandan extract usually sold pre-mixed with green food coloring.

Gluten Free Thai-Style Coconut Waffles

3 16 ounce bags of glutinous rice flour (or as I call it, the green bag)
1 19 ounce can Mae Ploy brand coconut milk
1 19 ounce can granulated sugar
7 large eggs
pinch salt
half a grated coconut*
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (mom doesn't usually use this but this was my addition and mom even admitted that it improved the look of the waffles)
2 19 ounce cans of water (don't use the entire 2 cans. start off with 1.5 cans and add more to make a thick but loose batter)
drop of yellow food coloring gel (optional but it gives the waffles a nice golden color)

Mix all ingredients and let sit 30 minutes or overnight.  Cook waffles according to waffle iron instructions.  I'm using an extra deep Belgian waffle iron from Waring Pro.

*Frozen grated coconut can be substituted but the shreds are a little finer.  These waffles are traditionally made with larger pieces of hand shredded coconut.  I used a fresh coconut but I coarsely chopped up in the food processor.