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Coconut milk is an essential ingredient in
South-east Asian cooking. The coconut was called the
nut of India until the Portuguese, stuck by its
appearance, changed its name to "coco", meaning
clown or monkey. Fresh coconuts are available at
certain times of the year in oriental stores and
supermarkets. The liquid you can hear sloshing about
inside the nut when it is shaken is coconut juice,
not coconut milk. As any traveler who has tasted it
will attest, the juice makes a refreshing drink,
especially when tapped from a fresh green coconut.
It can also be made into palm wine, which can be
pretty potent.
An average size coconut weighs about
675 g/ 1 1/2 lb. If it is fresh, it will be full of
liquid, so test by shaking well before buying. To
open a coconut, hold it in the palm of your hand,
with the "eyes" just above your thumb. The fault
line runs between the eyes. Hold the coconut over a
bowl to catch the juice, then carefully strike the
line with the unsharpened side of a clever or a
hammer. If you have done this correctly, the coconut
will break neatly into two pieces. Taste a little of
the white flesh to make sure that the coconut is
fresh, as on rare occasions the flesh may have
become rancid. Slip a palette knife between the
outer husk and the flesh and prize out the pieces of
fresh coconut. The thin brown skin on these pieces
can be removed with a potato peeler, if you like.
Coconut milk and cream
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Coconut milk &
cream are both made from the grated flesh of the
coconut, and in the East, it is possible to buy
bags of freshly grated coconut for just this
purpose. Warm water is added and the coconut is
squeezed repeatedly until the mixture is cloudy
and has a wonderful coconut flavor. When
strained, this is coconut milk. If the milk is
left to stand, coconut cream will float to the
surface in much the same way as regular cream
does on whole milk.
Coconut milk is now available in
cartoons and cans, and even in countries with a
plentiful supply of coconuts cooks often use
theses product for convenience and speed. The
quality is excellent, and it is even possible to
buy a version that is 88 percent fat free.
Creamed coconut
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Creamed coconut comes in 200 g/ 7 oz
blocks. This is a very useful product, as small
quantities can be cut off and added to dishes to
supply a little richness just before serving. When a
very small quantity of coconut milk is called for
dissolve 50 g/ 2 oz creamed coconut in 100 ml/ 3 1/2
fl oz / scant 1/2 cup hot water. Coconut cream can
be made in the same way, but the amount of creamed
coconut should be increased to 75 g/ 3 oz.
Ready-to-use coconut cream comes in cartoons and is
a magical ingredient where a rich coconut aroma and
flavor are required. In many Thai curries the spices
are initially fried in bubbling coconut cream
instead of the more usual oil.
Coconut is widely used in South-east
Asian cooking. The milk is used as a cooking medium
instead of stock in a variety of dishes, and it is
also added at the end of cooking to enrich stews and
curries. It can be cooked with rice, to make a
savory accompaniment, or as the basic for rice
cakes, and also to make a delicious creamy rice
pudding. In Thailand, coconut milk is often used to
make aromatic soups.
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