Coconut Cream (Cracked or not) vs Coconut Oil for Thai food

[rotuts]

Ive studied all the Coconut threads re cracking the cream and its use for a saute of spices and spice mixtures to eventually make a Thai-ish dish.

its my understanding from this is that you want an oil to saute the spices in to release the fat-soluble oils from those spices into the oil which would be at a higher temp than a water-based mixture ( coconut cream ).

Trader joes has this product:

'Virgin' Coconut Oil in a jar which i just noticed and will try:

its fairly hard at room temp and I will keep it in the coldest part of the refrig. it does indeed taste of coconut! this seems to pre-clude the hunt for fresh or frozen coconut cream, but might not have the full coconut flavor profile of coconut cream

Ill then use Tj's reduced fat coconut milk to finish the dish.

does this make reasonable sense?

[Katie Meadow]

I took an intensive week-long Thai cooking class from Kasma Loha-unchit. She never used coconut oil for frying, only Golden Lion Peanut oil, her favorite. She did use canned coconut cream for various dishes. She would often dry-fry spices in a cast iron skillet to boost the flavor.

[Hassouni]

Yes, it'll work - keep in mind a lot of frying in coconut-producing countries is done in coconut oil. That said, it's not the same flavor as straight-up coconut milk, but it's pretty similar. If you have difficulty in finding cans of coconut milk that have a good layer of coconut cream on top, it's a good strategy. Chaokoh typically has at least half the can as very thick coconut cream, FWIW.

By the way, there's no need to keep it in the fridge, it's pretty stable.

PS: Coconut oil is crucial, however, for Keralan cooking, which is quite delicious

Edited August 17, 2013 by Hassouni (log)

[rotuts]

thanks. and as an added bene, I can get both the oil and the reduced fat milk at Trader Joe's. they only seem to have the reduced

fat milk Ill make up the difference with the oil.

Ill use the frig as this amount will last a long time here and might get less oxidized that way.

I will keep my eyes peeled for Chaokoh for completeness sake.

Edited August 17, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[heidih]

I had been eyeing that product at TJ's. Let us know how it works out. In terms of the coconut milk I find the low fat one at TJ to be on the bland side. I want to smell coconut when I open a can and usually grab the brand Hassouini mentions as it is almost always on special sale at the big Chinese market - and tastes good.

[rotuts]

things like this at TJ's are always worth trying if they catch your eye and seem to fit in a plan you might have.

after all, you can take them back if you don't fined them suitable.

I've taken a few things back in my day.

[Hassouni]

Chaokoh is definitely the most consistently rich and coconutty of the canned brands. Pretty commonly available too. Frozen coconut milk is even tastier, but I don't often use it.

[rotuts]

I'll look for it. thanks

I've learned that 'reduced fat' might be a theoretically good idea, as we all might eat too much, but 'full flavor' is better if one can just eat a little less of it.

difficult as it is

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have a can of Chaokoh in the pantry (otherwise known as my bedroom) that someone kindly gave me in 2006. It may be older than that. The can is sound, if a bit dusty, and I don't see an expiration date. Would it be safe to use?

I worry because some years ago I had a can of coconut milk (no idea what brand) explode in a kitchen cabinet. Coated everything in the cabinet with coconut, blew the cabinet door and coated the wall as well. Parts of the ceiling too.

[rotuts]

How much do these cans cost?

USA 1.79 $$ more ??? less ???

get another one and move on.

[heidih]

I am with rotuts just because these are manufactured in a developing country and though improvements are vast, for the $1 I usually pay I think it is a write-off.

[scubadoo97]

I made a chicken stir fry and used coconut oil to sauté the meat and veg. There was a definite coconut flavor. And with herbs from the garden like lemon balm it was a good sub for lemon grass. Although it was not my intent the dish had a Thai flavor which was nice

[JoNorvelleWalker]

How much do these cans cost?

USA 1.79 $$ more ??? less ???

get another one and move on.

It's marked in grease pencil $1.49. Wonder what they cost these days?

[rotuts]

probably less, On Sale !

BTW I love the GP that you have used.

i get BestFoods/ Hellmann's mayo on 'Sale'

it comes around twice a year much cheaper and keeps 'for ever'

Ive always forgotten to do the GP on these so I Know When To Buy!

Edited August 18, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[Darienne]

Not if you live outside a small city in East Central Ontario. Boy do I wish. Never found Chaokoh around here at all.

[Syzygies]

I took an intensive week-long Thai cooking class from Kasma Loha-unchit. She never used coconut oil for frying, only Golden Lion Peanut oil, her favorite. She did use canned coconut cream for various dishes. She would often dry-fry spices in a cast iron skillet to boost the flavor.

I've also taken a number of week-long Thai cooking classes from Kasma Loha-unchit. Highly recommended:

Thai Food and Travel.

She did keep around tubs of Spectrum Organic Shortening, which I've been buying ever since. This is also derived from coconut (palm), but it is softer, more like Crisco or lard. Kasma would use this for desserts, but we experimented with substituting it for peanut oil in savory courses. For desserts one got a higher quality and more flavorful crust when frying. The effect on savory stir-frying was judged to be an expensive improvement, but not transparent if one were used to peanut oil. And arguably the "right" oil for stir-fries would be lard rendered at home from scraps from one's precious meat supply. As in the old days, before corporate soy oil invaded Asia.

I've used all of the above, and I'd recommend the palm shortening over coconut oil, for the OP's purpose. Not traditional, but a worthy experiment.

I'll also plead guilty to a breach of tradition: While I love to pound pastes from scratch, a Vita-Prep commercial blender can do that hour's work in five minutes. However, it needs a bit of liquid to work. I pour coconut cream from the can into the blender, ending up with both the paste and the initial oil for cooking the paste. This works, as I suspected with reasoning similar to the OP's.

(Try this with an ordinary home blender, and you'll quickly realize why people are willing to pay $500 for a Vita-Prep.)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

probably less, On Sale !

BTW I love the GP that you have used.

i get BestFoods/ Hellmann's mayo on 'Sale'

it comes around twice a year much cheaper and keeps 'for ever'

Ive always forgotten to do the GP on these so I Know When To Buy!

Wasn't me who marked the can. I assume it was the store so they knew how much to sell it for.

[mgaretz]

How much do these cans cost?

USA 1.79 $$ more ??? less ???

get another one and move on.

It's marked in grease pencil $1.49. Wonder what they cost these days?

I just got back from 99 Ranch (our Asian market chain) and it was on sale for.... Wait for it.... $1.49

[jsager01]

I've also taken a number of week-long Thai cooking classes from Kasma Loha-unchit. Highly recommended:

us dishes. She would often dry-fry spices in a cast iron skillet to boost the flavor.

Thai Food and Travel.

She did keep around tubs of Spectrum Organic Shortening, which I've been buying ever since. This is also derived from coconut (palm), but it is softer, more like Crisco or lard. Kasma would use this for desserts, but we experimented with substituting it for peanut oil in savory courses. For desserts one got a higher quality and more flavorful crust when frying. The effect on savory stir-frying was judged to be an expensive improvement, but not transparent if one were used to peanut oil. And arguably the "right" oil for stir-fries would be lard rendered at home from scraps from one's precious meat supply. As in the old days, before corporate soy oil invaded Asia.

I have not used it, but as far as i can determine, Spectrum Organic Shortening is refined/processed oil from the fruit of a species of palm, commonly refered to as oil palm (Elaeis guineensis), and the oil is commonly referred to as palm oil. On the other hand the botanical name of the coconut palm is Cocos nucifera and as far as i am aware its oil product is never referred to as palm oil, but simply as coconut oil. To add to the confusion, palm sugar as available in the western countries, is frequently made from the sap of the cut flowers of the coconut palm.

The oil palm industry is a major agribusiness (corporate farming) in S.E. Asia, West Africa, and S America, so i doubt the validity of Spectrum's claim to it being organic.

There is the so-called 'red palm oil' which is unrefined palm oil and the oil of choice in many west African cuisines. In stews and braises, it gives the reddish color similar to curries, but the flavor profile is distinctly different. It is available in most reputable grocery stores specializing in west African products. It is also credited as a valuable source of anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, etc., ie a very healthy and nutritious cooking oil, and diet supplement. BUT, this is not the same as the highly refined, deodorized Spectrum product. However, for the OP's requirements, the spectrum may be preferable.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I've been searching locally and Chaokoh is not to be found. So I guess the price is moot.