Dewi, Germany: about coconut mlik

Dewi,

you asked me about use of coconut milk and i finally gathered the information for you. Words in () are of my own. Others are from the following book.==================================================
Extracted from “The Complete Asian Cookbook” (New Revised Edition) by Charmaine Solomom, p 11, 12 & 15

Coconut Milk

“…’coconut milk’ is the milky liquid extracted from the grated flesh of mature fresh coconuts or reconstituted from desiccated coconut (dried shredded coconut).

…Before I start to cook I make all the coconut milk I am going to need. I strongly recommend this routine so that you’re not stopped in your tracks in the middle of a recipe.

Coconut milk is extracted in two stages. The first yield being the ‘thick milk’, the second ‘thin milk’. Use a mixture of first and second extracts when a recipe calls for coconut milk unless thick milk or thin milk is specified. Sometimes they are added at different stages of the recipe. In some recipes you use ‘coconut cream’. This is the rich layer that rise to the top of the thick milk (or first extract after it has been left to stand for a while.)

Using desiccated coconut:
Many cooks use desiccated coconut for making milk. …It is much easier and quicker to prepare than grating fresh coconut, and in curries you cannot tell the difference.
Put 2 cups desiccated coconut in a large bowl and pour over 2 cups hot water. Allow to cool to lukewarm, then knead firmly with the hand for a few minutes and strain through a fine strainer or a piece of muslin, squeezing out as much liquid as possible. This should produce approximately 1 cup thick coconut milk.
Repeat the process using the same coconut and 2 cups more hot water. This extract will yield approximately 2 cup thin coconut milk. (because of the moisture retained in the coconut the first time, the second extract usually yield more milk.)

Using a blender:
With an electric blender you save time and a lot of hard work. Put 2 cups desiccated coconut and 2 cups hot water in blender container, cover and blend for 30 seconds. Strain through a fine sieve or piece of muslin, squeezing out all the moisture. Repeat process, using the same coconut and 2 cups more hot water.
Sometimes a richer milk is required. For this, hot milk replaces the water and only the first extract is used. However, a second extract will yield a flavorful and reasonably rich grade of coconut milk that can be used in soups, curries or other dishes.

Using fresh coconut:
…, if you are able to get fresh coconuts and do not have this sort of implement (referring to special graters for coconuts), use the electric blender both to pulverise the coconut and to extract the milk. First crack the nut in two by hitting it with the back of a heavy kitchen chopper on the middle of the nut. Once a crack has appeared, insert the thin edge of the blade and prise it open. Save the sweet liquid inside for drinking. (Note: In Southeast Asian countries, the liquid from matured coconuts is thrown away. People only drink coconut water from young fresh coconuts.) Put the two haves of the nut into a low oven and in 15 or 20 minutes the flesh will start to come away from the shell. Lift it out with the point of a knife, and peel away the thin dark brown skin that clings to the white portion. Cut into chunks, put into container of electric blender with 2 cups milk or water and blend at high spend until coconut is completely pulverized. Strain out liquid, repeat using more water and the same coconut.
To extract fresh coconut milk by hand, grate the pieces of white meat finely and to each cup of grated coconut add a cup of hot water, knead thoroughly and strain out the liquid. Repeat process a second and even a third time, adding hot water.

…Nowadays, however almost every supermarket in major cities carries coconut milk in cans, and using canned coconut milk certainly saves time and effort.
Make sure the coconut milk you buy is the unsweetened variety. Read the ingredients listing – these should be only coconut and water. It is better to avoid those brands which contain a stabilizer and preservatives. My method of choosing a good brand is to buy a few different cans, open them all at the same time and assess them. Some contain milk that is thick, rich and white. Other kinds of milk are thinner but still very good. They should all smell and taste fresh and pleasant and naturally sweet, Occasionally you will find a can which has grayish oily contents and smells somewhat rancid. These I would avoid. ….Stir with a spoon to disperse the rich ness evenly, and pour the contents of each can into an ice-cube tray. Freeze. When frozen slid. Pop the cubes out of the trays and into freezer bags and use as required. …I suggest that only when ‘coconut cream’ is required should canned coconut milk be used undiluted. Where ‘thick coconut milk’ is called for, dilute the bought product with half its volume of water, that is, one cup of canned coconut milk to half cup of water. Where ‘coconut milk’ is called for, dilute with an equal amount of water. Where ‘thin coconut milk’ is specified, dilute canned coconut milk with two parts by volume of water. …Use two or three (of the cubes of frozen coconut milk) to a cup of water to make up the amount of liquid called for in the dish. The sauce won’t be as rich and smooth.