To make the fried rice croutons, mix the rice, water and garlic powder together in a rice cooker. Cook, using your rice cooker's instructions, until the rice is tender and water has evaporated. Transfer the rice to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator so the rice can "dry out" for about at least 2 hours, ideally overnight. This will make it more fry-able.

In a medium pot, heat the coconut oil, over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the shallots and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Next, add the garlic cloves, carrots, red curry and fresh ginger; stir until everything is thoroughly mixed and cook for about a minute, until very fragrant.

Mix in the veggie broth and coconut milk. Once the mixture reaches a slight simmer, turn the heat to low, cover the pot and allow to cook for 20 minutes, until the carrots are tender when poked with a fork.

If you have an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. If you don't have one, no biggie. Carefully add the soup to the blender (you'll have to do this in a few batches) and puree the soup, being sure you allow the hot air to escape (if not, you'll have a bit of an explosion on your hands). Adjust the soup's consistency, if you like. I added about 1/2 cup of veggie broth to thin it out just a bit. Next, salt to taste. (I added about 3/4 teaspoon of salt). Turn the heat to low to warm while you make the fried rice croutons.

At this point the rice should be dry. Line a 8x8-inch baking dish with foil. Press the rice onto the foil, creating one even layer. Give it a few more presses, just to be sure the rice is compact and adhering. Lift the foil out baking sheet (the rice should be a circular kind of shape); trim the sides with a knife and cut the compressed rice into squares (these don't have to be perfect).

In a sauté pan, pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When very hot, gently add the rice croutons and fry on each side until crispy, about 1 minute. Immediately transfer to a paper towel to drain and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining rice croutons (this amount should give you about 8).

Divide the soup between bowls and garnish each one with a sprinkling of freshly chopped cilantro and a few fried rice croutons.