Coconut milk

[lmarshal1]

We went with our daughter to a store (the word doesn't do it justice!) called Jungle Jim's in a suburb of Cincinnatti. It has every food item known to man, I would guess. It has large sections devoted to every ethnic cookery I ever heard of, even a section devoted to hundreds of hot sauces. Very interesting place.

Anyway, I got a can of coconut milk, something I have never used, because I saw something about its use here. Now I can't seem to remember the spot. So...how does one use coconut milk? lkm

[Malawry]

Let me count the ways:

Use it in place of all or part of the regular milk in pastry cream, and stuff choux buns with it for coconut profiteroles

Use it in place of all or part of the regular milk in pudding, and serve it with dark bitter chocolate sauce

Use it as part of the liquid in a curry--Thai style or Indian style, either is great

Add it to broth and Asian seasonings, put in some chicken and some julienned vegetables for a great soup

Use it to make a marinade for tofu or chicken that you turn into satays

I always keep coconut milk on hand.

[Rachel Perlow]

Just want to make sure this is unsweetened coconut milk, right? Not Coco Lopez (used in Pina Coladas).

In addition to Malawry's list, I like to use it as part of the liquid when making rice for asian meals.

[andiesenji]

I suggest you try this site:

Recipes by Ingredient

Enter "Coconut Milk" into the "Search Ingredients" window and you will get 2 + pages of recipes.

I have made the Jamaican curried bananas and it is unusual and very tasty.

I have also made the grilled pork satay with curried peanut sauce and it is a favorite.

The coconut flan is also easy and very good. (Salerno's coconut flan).

I use coconut milk in the liquid to cook regular rice, brown rice, a mixture of grains and seeds and nuts and also for stewing chicken or pork.

I have a friend who makes a killer dish with scallops poached in coconut milk. She doesn't have a recipe as it changes every time she makes it, uses different seasonings from curry to chipotle peppers.

Edited August 28, 2004 by andiesenji (log)

[viva]

Just made a thai-ish curry with scallops in a coconut milk, serrano, basil, & lemongrass sauce. I adore coconut milk - I get the lite version as I usually cannot tell the difference.

[lmarshal1]

Thank you all for the ideas and the website. How much of the liquid in rice can be coconut milk? I think I read something about using it that way on the Chinese forum but not what proportion. And does it stick more easily when made that way? Also, had no idea that there was a light version. If I can cut fat, I do, unless the ingredient makes for a dish that tastes like cardboard or library paste. I'd rather use the regular ingredient and eat less of the finished dish.

Andiesenji: Thanks for the website. Excellent. So easy to use! lkm

Edited August 28, 2004 by lmarshal1 (log)

[andiesenji]

For most rice dishes I use half and half, coconut milk and water or coconut milk and chicken stock, etc.

If I am cooking sticky (Thai Sweet) rice I use mostly all coconut milk, with just about 1/4 can of water to rinse out the can after emptying the coconut milk which has to be shaken well because there are always some solids that settle into one end.

[Richard Kilgore]

I am glad you started this topic. I was about to start one on coconut milk vs coconut cream, but tagging it on here should suffice.

I was picking up some coconut cream at an Asian market and asked another shopper which brand she liked. She said she always used coconut cream instead and just thinned it if she needed something thinner. But I thought I read someone here say they were not interchangeable. Can someone shed a little light here?

Thanks.

[msphoebe]

Tom Kha Gai (Thai Chicken Soup with Coconut Milk) is easy and delicious.

Sticky rice, served either with mango or coconut egg custard, is divine.

[deibu]

The difference is that cream of coconut has tons of sugar added to it. Also, I believe they use the "meat" of the coconut to make the liquid. It is very, very sweet in taste because of all the added sugar. However, it is by far the best way to make a pina colada.

[andiesenji]

The coconut "cream" she is referring to is probably the frozen coconut milk which is very thick like cream but has no sweetener added. It is available only in Asian markets.

I often buy this, thaw it and dilute it half and half with water. It tastes much fresher than the canned stuff but is not as handy to use but you should really try it to see if you like it better.

frozen coconut milk

For some desserts, it is far superior.

I make a coconut sorbet which I use to top pineapple upside-down cake (a sort of pina-colada dessert) and this works as well as fresh grated.

Back in 1991 there was a problem with contamination but there has been a big change in how the material is processed and it is tested at every step to be sure of purity.

[Richard Kilgore]

Thanks, Andie. This is a canned product she showed me: Savoy Coconut Cream, and the Ingredients lists Coconut Milk, Water and a preservative, and it is made in Thailand. I am not sure how it is different than the cans labeled Coconut Milk.

I'll pick up some of the frozen and try it out, too. Thanks for the tip.

[...tm...]

My understanding is that both coconut creme and coconut milk are made by extracting ground coconut with hot water. The first time the coconut is steeped in water the resulting liquid strained from the coconut is very thick and called coconut creme. Of course, it depends on the ratio of water to coconut. The second extraction is thinner and called coconut milk. I think that a lot of the confusion comes from the fact that in American supermarkets the most common coconut product is the sweetened coconut milk for pina coladas.

[Malawry]

I believe the pina colada stuff is labeled "cream of coconut," not "coconut cream."

The stuff from the freezer section makes the BEST coconut sorbet. Just mix with enough simple syrup to sweeten to your liking and freeze in an ice-cream maker. Awesome.

[Laksa]

I wonder if anyone here has tried using the frozen coconut cream in curries or nasi lemak rice? It appears to me that a number here find the frozen stuff to be superior to canned coconut milk.

andiesenji, do you have a favorite brand of frozen coconut cream?

[msphoebe]

Coconut cream can be found inside a can of good coconut milk. It floats to the top and sticks to the sides of the can. See the link below for lots of good information on coconut milk / cream.

http://thaifoodandtravel.com/ingredients/cocmilk.html

Edited August 29, 2004 by msphoebe (log)

[andiesenji]

I wonder if anyone here has tried using the frozen coconut cream in curries or nasi lemak rice?  It appears to me that a number here find the frozen stuff to be superior to canned coconut milk.

andiesenji, do you have a favorite brand of frozen coconut cream?

I think they are all very similar. I have two packages in the freezer but other than a sticker that says coconut milk, all of the printing is in characters that I can't read.

I trust the grocer to know what he is selling.

I use it in all kinds of rice and grain dishes.

Hot breakfast cereal made with diluted coconut milk is very, very good.

I also use coconut oil for cooking/flavoring some things as I find that keeping to a sort of flavor "theme" with some things is a great advantage.

Coconut oil is quite expensive but to me is worth it. I mentioned it on another thread, (Chewing The Fat) it adds a great deal to some foods.Coconut oil

Edited August 29, 2004 by andiesenji (log)

[tupac17616]

I have only used coconut milk one time, just a few weeks ago, in fact. I made a Jasmine Rice Pudding which called for two cans of coconut milk. Very simple recipe. I served the results up in partially hollowed out fresh coconut shells. Every last bit of the pudding was promptly disposed of by my family and I.

[SobaAddict70]

Try it in either flan or panna cotta. You'll be glad you did.

Soba

[Jaymes]

Tom Kha Gai (Thai Chicken Soup with Coconut Milk) is easy and delicious.

Absolutely. My VERY favorite. Gawd I love that stuff.

[lmarshal1]

SobaAddict: Do you use coconut milk in flan to replace all the milk or just part of it? Thanks. lkm

[SobaAddict70]

half milk and half coconut milk, but feel free to mix the proportions.

Soba

[Kapuliperson]

Wow. You should visit the Philippines/India/other Southeast Asian countries. They've got so many ways of using coconut milk. Some of which- they boil taro roots and leaves with it or they make this sweetend rice with it called "bibinka" and all these really good sweets. But of course you can also just use it with your curry. Just stick it in along with all the other ingredients (use instead of water) and cook the usual way. Good stuff.