Coconut Milk Recipes

Coconut milk should not be confused with coconut water or the transparent liquid that comes out of a coconut on breaking it open. Rather, the milk of coconut is the opaque, white fluid that is extracted from the grated white flesh of (mostly fresh and ripe) coconuts with some effort.

Coconut milk is a vital ingredient in several Brazilian, Burmese, Cambodian, Caribbean, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Pacific islands, Polynesian, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Thai, and Vietnamese delicacies. Coconut milk is known as santan in Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia, gata is the term used in Philippines, while in Thailand, it is called ga-ti.

Coconut milk is milk-white in color due to the high oil content and is generally sweet because of high-sugar content. There are namely two types of milk - thick milk (20 - 22% fat) and the thin milk (5 - 7% fat). The thick milk is used to make delicious desserts and sauces, while the thin milk is used to make soups.

Many Indian recipes recommend using the thin milk to cook chicken and fish. Coconut milk can be employed to make dishes belonging to any course of a full course meal (soup, salad, meat, and dessert). You can also make beverages - alcoholic and non-alcoholic - with this versatile ingredient. And, so shall you discover from the recipes given here.

Coconut milk contains an array of vitamins and minerals, such as folate and potassium. Raw coconut milk has 552 calories, canned coconut milk has 445 calories, while frozen milk has 485 calories. Coconut milk can be made at home. So, before getting to the dishes one can make using coconut milk, let's see how coconut milk can be obtained in your own kitchen.

Ingredients:
• Coconut, 2 cups (fresh, grated)
• Water, 1 cup (lukewarm)

Procedure:
In a blender, put the grated coconut and the lukewarm water. Blend well to make a paste. Sieve the blended coconut through a fine muslin cloth or a fine filter. The first milk you get is the thick milk.

If you want the thin milk, you can either dilute the thick milk by adding some water to it or you can blend the residual coconut that is in the filter with a cup of lukewarm water in a blender and filter the blended coconut. The milk can be refrigerated and stored for a couple of days.

Now we move on to the recipes.

This brilliantly versatile sauce works equally well as atop frittatas, base broths for soups when thinned out, inside spring rolls, as a dip with fried snacks, when added to the egg mixture for scrambled eggs, and a whole lot of other things. And, 2½ cups can be concocted in just 5 minutes and can be stored in the fridge for 7 days. Can you ask for more? I think not.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, 1 14-oz. can (full fat)
• Scallions, 8 (thinly sliced)
• Jalapeño pepper, 1 (medium, deseeded, chopped)
• Garlic clove, 1 (peeled, smashed)
• Cilantro, ½ cup (finely chopped)
• Lemon juice, 3 tbsp. + extra (freshly squeezed)
• Sunflower oil, 1 tbsp.
• Sea salt, ½ tsp. + extra (fine grain)

Procedure:

Add the garlic, chile, and sea salt into a food processor and blend until smooth. Next, add in the scallions, oil, and cilantro and spin them until you have a crude paste that is not absolutely smooth.

Scoop this paste into a bowl and pour in the coconut milk gradually. Use a wire whisk to mix the two together. Add the lemon juice after that, stir once more to mix. Season with more salt if needed and your spicy coconut milk sauce is ready.

A slightly different version of this sauce is as follows. This Indian adaptation goes well with the South Indian dishes of rice-based dosas as well as an accompaniment of idli and sambhar.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, 1 cup
• Curry leaves, 2
• Oil, 1 tbsp.
• Cornflour, 2 tsp.
• Green chili paste, 2 tsp.
• Lemon juice, 1 tsp.
• Cumin seeds, ½ tsp.
• Sugar, ½ tsp.
• Salt, to taste

Procedure:

Heat the oil in a small frypan and throw in the curry leaves, green chili paste, and cumin seeds. Sauté for a minute and gradually pour in the coconut milk along with the cornflour. Stir and allow the mixture to begin boiling.

Wait till it reaches the desired consistency. Add in the lemon juice, sugar, and salt at this juncture, stir once more to mix well, remove from heat, and serve hot.

Serve this with freshly cut crudités and freshly baked flatbread, as an accompaniment of rice, or use it as a spread, this dip is delectable either way. To be served hot though.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, 1 400-ml. tin
• Garlic cloves, 2 (peeled, crushed)
• Bird's eye chili, ½ (small, finely chopped, seeds included)
• Lime juice, yield of ½ a lime
• Chestnut mushrooms, 500 gms. (finely diced into 4-mm pieces)
• Crunchy peanut butter, 2 tbsp.
• Sunflower oil, 1 tbsp.
• Curry paste, 1 tbsp. (mild)
• Soy sauce
• Coriander (finely chopped)

Procedure:

Warm sunflower oil in a wok on high heat and brisk-sauté the diced mushrooms in it. The mushrooms will release a lot of water. Keep stirring and cooking until all the water vaporizes and then add in the garlic and the chili. Stir-fry for about a minute. After that, add the peanut butter and the mild curry paste and commingle well with a spatula.

Pour in the coconut milk and let a boil set in. Stir frequently to prevent burning and let the concoction bubble away for 30 minutes. It will have thickened considerably after that. Pour in the lime juice and soy sauce after that and stir to mix. Transfer this into a smallish bowl and garnish with coriander before serving.

Kramer: Well, a bowl of mulligatawny would hit the spot.
Elaine: Mulligatawny?
Kramer: Yeah. It's an Indian soup. It's simmered to perfection by one of the great soup artisans in the modern era.

~ Seinfeld (Season VII, Episode 6: The Soup Nazi)

Anglicized from the Tamil Milagu thanni meaning "pepper water", this soup was concocted by the Indians while attempting to come up with a soup that had a pronounced Indian touch to it for the British to enjoy. 6 servings. 35 minutes.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, 1 400-ml. tin
• Garlic, 4 cloves (ground)
• Cardamom, 4 pods (bruised)
• Green chilies, 2 (chopped)
• Apple, 1 (peeled, cored, chopped)
• Carrot, 1 (chopped)
• Onion, 1 (chopped)
• Potato, 1 (large, peeled, diced)

• Red lentils, 7 oz. (rinsed and drained)
• Chicken stock, 3½ pints
• Coriander, 1 dessert spoon (ground)
• Root ginger, 1 dessert spoon (grated)
• Curry leaves, 1 tbsp. (fresh, chopped)
• Lemon juice, 1 tbsp.
• Tamarind paste, 1 tbsp.
• Vegetable oil, 1 tbsp.
• Cumin, 1½ tsp. (ground)

• Turmeric, 1 tsp. (ground)
• Cinnamon, ¼ tsp. (ground)
• Cloves, ¼ tsp. (ground)
• Coriander, a handful (fresh, chopped)

Procedure:

Heat oil in a frypan on low and throw in the onion, garlic, ginger, green chilies, curry leaves, cardamom, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, and cloves. Sauté until the onion bits turn light brown in color.

Add the apple, carrot, potato, lentils, and stock to the pan at this point, cover, and let it steadily simmer for 15 minutes. After that, remove the curry leaves as well as the cardamom pods.

Now, pour this mixture into a food processor and purée it (you might have to do this in batches). Return it to the frypan and heat it on low again. Add the coconut milk gradually, followed by the lemon juice and tamarind. Stir while heating the mixture.

Cook until the soup warms up satisfactorily. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot. You can also add chicken bits to this soup to make it more filling.

The wonderful thing about this soup is that instead of acorn squash you can also use pumpkins or other smallish winter squash (like the sweet and nutty blue Hokkaido pumpkin, moist and sweet butternut squash, plump cheese pumpkins (a.k.a. Cinderella pumpkins), or tender kabocha squash.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, 1 14-oz. can
• Acorn squash, 2
• Butter, 3 tbsp. (unsalted, molten)
• Sea salt, 2 tsp. (fine grain)
• Water
• Red Thai curry paste, 2 - 3 tsp.

• Pepitas de calabaza (a.k.a. pumpkin seeds), to garnish (toasted)

Procedure:

Begin by placing racks in the middle of an oven and preheating it to 375º F.

Mizzle salt from top, and place the squash halves on a baking tray. Place the squash halves on a baking tray. Place the tray on the middle rack and roast the fruit roasting for approximately 60 minutes. When the fruit has cooked through and evenly tender, take the tray out and set it aside for cooling.

Once the fruit halves have cooled enough to be touched, scoop clumps of the flesh out and place in a pot. Pour in the coconut milk and a teaspoon of red curry paste and get the mixture heating over medium-high. Stir.

Once the mixture starts to simmer, transfer the concoction to a bowl and use a hand mixer to blend it into a pulpy, smooth, thick purée. Now, add a cup of water and blend again. Continue adding water a little bit at a time so that you arrive at a consistency you want. Keep blending after every addition.

Return the purée to the pot and let a slow simmer work its way until the entire thing is warmed through. Season with the rest of the curry paste and some more salt according to taste and serve hot. Serves six.

Now, there are various ways of toasting pumpkin seeds. One way is to whip an egg white, 2 teaspoons of curry powder, and ½ a teaspoon fine grained sea salt together until smooth and then toss a cup of fresh pumpkin seeds into the bowl. Commingle until the seeds are coated well with the egg white mixture.

Preheat an oven to 375º F. Line a baking tray with butter paper and then pick one caked seed at a time and place it on the tray. The seeds must be arranged in a single layer and baked for 12 minutes. Once golden, take them out of the oven and season with curry powder and salt and voila!

This soup is not served as the first course of a meal. Rather, it is served alongside plain or flavored rice.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, 2 cups (thin)
• Coconut milk, 1½ cups (thick)
• Curry leaves, 6
• Onions, 2 (sliced)
• Green chilies, 2 (slit and seeded)
• Lemon juice, 2 tbsp.
• Shrimp powder, 2 tbsp.
• Ginger, 1 tbsp. (ground)
• Oil, 1 tsp.
• Turmeric powder, ½ tsp.
• Salt, to taste

Procedure:

In a thick-bottomed pan, heat oil and sauté onions till they turn soft. Reduce the heat and add the curry leaves and ginger; sauté for a minute. Add the thin coconut milk and all the other ingredients other than thick coconut milk and lemon. Bring this mixture to boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add thick milk and stir to prevent the soup from curdling. Remove it from heat and add lemon juice; mix well. You can garnish it with coriander leaves and serve.

Also called Lotek in Javanese and Sundanese, quickly make 6 servings of this salad with the following ingredients.

Ingredients:
• Coconut milk, 7 fl. oz.
• Wonton wrappers, 18 (fried for 40 seconds in very hot oil, extra oil drained off)
• Garlic cloves, 4
• Shallots, 4 (peeled, finely chopped)
• Potatoes, 2 (peeled, cubed)

• Lemongrass stalks, 2 (tough outer stalk discarded, inner stalk chopped)
• Cucumber, 1 (halved horizontally, deseeded, chopped into crescents)
• Iceberg lettuce, 1 (chopped)
• Lime juice, yield of 2 limes

• Ginger, 1 2" piece (fresh, julienned)
• Crunchy peanut butter, 10½ oz.
• Tofu, 9 oz. (firm, cut into 2" pieces, fried for 3 minutes until golden-brown, and extra oil soaked)
• Caster sugar, 3½ oz.
• Water, 2 fl. oz. (cold)
• Beansprouts, 2 tbsp.
• Coriander leaves, 1 tbsp. (fresh, chopped)
• Vegetable oil, 2 tsp.
• Turmeric, 1 tsp. (ground)
• Paprika, a pinch

Procedure:

In a pan, heat 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil on medium and throw in the shallots, garlic, and ginger. Sauté for 3 minutes after which the veggies will soften. Blend these in a processor until you have a smooth concoction at hand. Add the coconut milk, lemon juice, peanut butter, lemongrass, paprika, and sugar to the shallot mixture and blend again.

Now, use a teaspoon to add the cold water to the dressing bit by bit. Pulsate the mixture after every two spoonfuls of water added. Once the dressing reaches the consistency of double cream, stop adding water.

Rub the turmeric on the potato pieces and boil for 20 minutes until cooked completely. Drain on kitchen paper.

Now, in a salad bowl, add the cooked potatoes, wonton wrappers, tofu, lettuce, beansprouts, cucumber, and coriander. Toss well to commingle. Mizzle dressing from top and toss again. Serve in 4 shallow bowls.

4 servings. 20 minutes. Total health ensured.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, 1 cup
• Green onions, 5 (green parts trimmed and reserved)
• Serrano chile, 1 (stemmed, seeded)
• Garlic clove, 1 (peeled, crushed)
• Yellow runner beans, 16 oz. (cut into 1" pieces in an oblique or diagonal line of direction, cooked in salted water for ½ a minute, rinsed, drained well)
• Tofu cubes, 1½ cups (tiny pan-fried)

• Pepitas de calabaza (a.k.a. pumpkin seeds), ½ cup (toasted)
• Lemon juice, 2 tbsp. (freshly squeezed)
• Sunflower oil, 1 tbsp.
• Sea salt, ¾ tsp. (fine grain)
• Cilantro, a big handful
• Basil flower, to garnish

Procedure:

Add the onions, chile, garlic, sunflower oil, sea salt, and cilantro into the food processor and blend well until smooth. Pour in the coconut milk and lemon juice and blend again until well-mixed.

In a large mixing bowl, throw in the cooked beans, the tofu, and the pumpkin seeds and toss once. Drizzle half the dressing on the salad and toss once. Add some more dressing if you wish to. You will have some leftover. Add the basil flowers last and toss lightly one last time before serving.

Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, 1 cup
• Green cardamom pods, 6 (lightly crushed)
• Cloves, 5 (whole)
• Cinnamon, 1 1" stick
• Onion, 1 (large, finely chopped)
• Water, 1¾ cups

• Basmati rice, 1½ cups (sorted and washed)
• Cilantro, 2 tbsp. (finely chopped)
• Coconut, 2 tbsp. (fresh, grated)
• Peanut oil, 2 tbsp.
• Salt, 2 tsp. + extra
• Goan vindaloo powder, 1 tsp. (garam masala would also work)

Procedure:

Heat a smallish skillet over medium heat and add the grated coconut to the pan. Sauté the coconut for 2 minutes and once it gives off the quintessential coconut-y fragrance, take it off the heat and keep aside.

Now warm the oil on medium-high and add the cardamom pods, cloves, and cinnamon to the frypan. Stir-fry these spices for a minute and a half until disperse a spicy aroma and then add in the chopped onions. Sauté for a good 5 minutes by which the onion bits will have turned goldenish.

Mix in the rice and pour the water and coconut milk over it. Sprinkle some salt, stir to mix, and wait for the mixture to start boiling. Once it has reached boiling point, bring the heat down to low and place a lid on the pan. Cook the pilaf for 10 - 15 minutes until all the water has cooked the rice and dissipated.

Take the pan off the heat but do not take the lid off for another 7 minutes. After that, the pilaf will be ready to serve just after you have stirred in the dry-roasted coconut, cilantro, vindaloo powder into the rice.

A perfect date dish that can made in not more than 15 minutes. However, this dish contains 674 kcalories/serving, so indulge in it once in a while.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, 1 400-gm. tin
• Spring onions, 2 (shredded)
• Red chili, 1 (sliced)
• Chicken stock, 300 ml.
• Prawns, 200 gms. (peeled, cooked)
• Rice noodles, 125 gms. (medium)
• Baby sweet corn, 100 gms.
• Mangetout, 100 gms. (preferably sugarsnap peas)
• Indian curry paste, 1 tbsp.

Procedure:

Get some water boiling and add the noodles to it. Cook for 4 minutes, transfer to a colander, drain, rinse in cold water, and then let the strands sit in the colander until all the water has run out.

Now in a medium pan, add the Indian curry paste and stir until it emits a rather spicy aroma and then pour in the coconut milk and chicken stock bit by bit, stirring all the while. Allow a simmer to set in and then add in the mangetout and corn.

Cook these for 3 minutes and then add in both the noodles and the prawns. Cook until all of it has been warmed through. Garnish with spring onions and the chili and serve hot.

To make 4 servings in under an hour, you have to first make the spice mixture.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, ½ cup (canned, unsweetened)
• Cilantro, ¼ cup (chopped)
• Coriander, 6 tsp. (ground)
• Salt, 1¼ tsp.
• Cumin, 1 tsp. (ground)
• Fennel seeds, ½ tsp. (coarsely ground with mortar and pestle)

• Black pepper, ¼ tsp. (ground)
• Red pepper, ¼ tsp. (ground)
• Turmeric, ¼ tsp. (ground)

Procedure:

Commingle all the ingredients well.

And now, baking the fish.

Ingredients:

• Halibut fillets, 2 lbs. (thick, cut crosswise into 2"-wide pieces)
• Tomatoes, 1 cup (fresh, chopped)
• Onion, 2 cups (finely chopped)
• Vegetable oil, ¼ cup + 2 tbsp.

• Lemon juice, 4 tsp. (fresh)
• Garlic, 2 tsp. (ground)
• Ginger, 2 tsp. (ground)
• Thai chili, 1 tsp. (ground)
• Spice mixture

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Marinade the fillets 2 tablespoons of oil and the lemon juice for 60 minutes, covered and stored in the fridge. Prepare the sauce in the meanwhile by heating ¼ cup oil in a pan and stir-frying onion bits over medium-high heat.

Once the edges become brown and crisp, add in the garlic, ginger and Thai chili and sauté for 2 minutes before throwing the tomatoes and the spice mixture into the pan. Stir and cook until the tomatoes soften and become pulpy. Pour in the coconut milk at this juncture and cook until the sauce thickens reaches the consistency you want.

Grease 9" x 13" x 2" baking tray and arrange the marinated fish on it in a single layer. Bake the fish for 10 minutes and then take the tray out, pour the sauce evenly on the fillets, cover the tray with aluminum foil, and bake again for 17 - 20 minutes. Once cooked through, the fish will have turned opaque. Garnish with tomato wedges and cilantro.

Make 4 servings in just 45 minutes.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, 1 14-oz. can (light)
• Chicken breast halves, 4 (skinless, boneless)
• Tomatoes, 3 (seeded and chopped)
• Garlic cloves, 2 (ground)
• Jalapeño peppers, 2 (seeded and chopped)
• Onion, 1 (chopped)
• Parsley, 1 bunch (fresh, chopped)

• Olive oil, 2 tbsp.
• Ginger, 1 tbsp. (fresh, ground)
• Cayenne pepper, 1 tsp. (ground)
• Coriander, 1 tsp. (ground)
• Cumin, 1 tsp. (ground)
• Turmeric, 1 tsp. (ground)
• Pepper, to taste
• Salt, to taste

Procedure:

Commingle the cayenne pepper, coriander, cumin, and turmeric and rub it evenly on the chicken breasts. Season with pepper and salt and let the pieces stand unperturbed for a while.

Next, heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan and cook the chicken breasts in it until the juices run clear in about 13 - 15 minutes. The pink flesh of the chicken will have changed color and become brownish. Take the pan off the stove. Transfer the chicken pieces to a plate and use the pan to heat the remaining oil.

Once heated, add the onion, ginger, jalapeño peppers, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Throw in the tomato bits and sauté for 8 more minutes. Pour the coconut milk, stir, and cook till the concoction is warmed through. Transfer the curry to a bowl, add the chicken breast halves to the bowl, and garnish with parsley.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, 2 cups (fresh)
• Eggs, 4
• Whipping cream, 2 cups
• Sugar, 1 cup
• Coconut essence, 2 tsp.
• Vanilla essence, 1 tsp.

Procedure:

In a blender, blend the eggs and sugar for a couple of minutes or until the sugar dissolves in the egg. Double-boil this mixture over medium heat. Stir continuously until the mixture thickens. When thick, it will resemble custard. Remove it from heat. Once cool, refrigerate it for sometime.

Whip the whipping cream in a blender until stiff and thick. Pour this into a large mixing bowl. Slowly fold in the coconut milk and mix well. To this mixture add the cooked egg-sugar mixture. Mix well using a spoon. The entire mixture should have a thick milky-white appearance.

In an ice cream tray, pour the mixture and freeze it for eight hours. Remember not to cover the mixture while freezing. Once frozen, cover the ice cream tray and serve anytime after that.

Make 3 servings of delicious mousse in just 45 minutes. This dessert is dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, peanut-free, soy-free, and sugar-free and vegan.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, 1 cup (full fat)
• Liquid stevia, 20 drops (depending on taste)
• Beet, 1 (medium, peeled, diced, boiled for 30 minutes until very soft, drained)
• Cashews, ⅓ cup (raw)
• Chia seeds, 2 tbsp. (ground)
• Lime juice, 1 tbsp. (freshly squeezed)
• Pure vanilla extract, 1 tsp.
• Pure almond extract, ¼ tsp.

• Coconut extract, ¼ tsp.
• Sea salt, a pinch (fine grain)
• Strawberries, for garnishing (whole)

Procedure:

Pour the coconut milk, stevia, cashews, lime juice, vanilla, almond, and coconut extracts, and sea salt into a food processor and blend on high. Once you have a smooth, even concoction, add in the ground chia and softened beets and blend again.

Once uniformly commingled, transfer the mixture into 3 clean, small glass bowls, stir once to mix, cover, and refrigerate for 8 hours. When serving, invert the bowls on individual plates, and place strawberries to garnish. You can also place a scoop of coconut whipped cream on top of the strawberries.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, 3½ fl. oz.
• Mint sprig, 1
• Milk, 3½ fl. oz.
• Mango, 3½ oz. (peeled and chopped)
• Greek yogurt, 1¾ oz.
• Honey, 2 tbsp. (runny)
• Lime juice, yield of ½ a lime
• Ice, 1 small handful

Procedure:

Put the coconut milk, milk, mango, yogurt, honey, lime juice, and ice in a food processor and blend until smooth. Serve in a Collins glass garnished with mint sprig.

Here's a cocktail you must absolutely give a try.

Ingredients:

• Coconut milk, 1 oz.
• Pineapple juice, 3 oz.
• White rum, 1 oz.
• Ice, 1 small handful
• Pineapple spear
• Maraschino cherry

Procedure:

Put the coconut milk, pineapple juice, rum, and crushed ice in a food processor and blend until smooth. Serve in a hurricane glass garnished with a maraschino cherry, pineapple spear, cocktail umbrella, and a twirly, colorful straw.

Coconut milk is indeed a good substitute of dairy; however, the fat in it is saturated. So, using it judiciously is extremely important. Also, use home-extracted coconut milk as far as possible and avoid canned ones (primarily to avoid Bisphenol-A exposure from can linings). Do try these recipes out in any case and let me know how it went. Until next time, cheerio!