Appetite. This vegetable drink contributes
to making you feel full, and has a high calorie-content – approximately 200
kcal per 100 g.
Beauty. Coconut milk is an invaluable
beauty aid: it is added to moisturizing creams, mixed with olive oil to make an
effective makeup remover, used alone as an excellent hair conditioner.
Chanel. The French fashion house signed a
bag called “lait de coco”, a fun chic
shoulder bag in silvery leather recalling the traditional tetra pack packaging
used for milk, and which sounds like “coconut milk” thanks to the play on words
with the name of the famous fashion designer.
DIY. So what if you do not live in the
Tropics? You can still learn to make your own home-made coconut milk starting
from dried coconut: the method is quite simple.
Eggs. Would you like to make a creamier
omelette without having to use dairy products? Add coconut milk to your eggs
and try them with various types of flour to make some delicious and nutritious
dishes.
Fat. Coconut pulp contains a fatty
substance – oil – and according to the quantity of water added it is possible
to obtain a milk that is more or less thick or runny. When the percentage of
water is low, the resulting mixture is “coconut cream”.
Coconut flour.
Grating. Coconut milk is made by grating
the coconut pulp (coconut flour), to which the boiling water of the same
coconut and/or water (or sometimes milk) is added, and subsequently strained.
Healthy. This is some very healthy food
rich in beneficial saturated fat and many other nutrients.
Ice-cream. Coconut milk is ideal for making
vegan coconut ice-cream.
Jelly drink. Iced coconut milk and green jelly
balls made from rice flour add up to “cendol”, a popular beverage in south-east
Asia.
Kalamay. This is the Philippine word for
“sugar” as well as being the name of a typical dessert made from coconut milk,
brown sugar and ground glutinous rice. It is sold in coconut shells; this
sticky dessert appears in many other versions in the cuisines of the same
region, from Brunei to Singapore and Malaysia.
Lauric acid. One of the fatty acids contained
in coconut milk which contributes to raising the level of “good” HDL
cholesterol.
Marinate. Coconut milk is usually eaten
cooked but it is just as good when uncooked. Try using it for example to
marinate fish or meat and enjoy the delicious results.
Nasi Lemak. The Malay national dish is just
one of many varieties of coconut rice to be found in the world. In this recipe
fragrant rice is cooked in coconut milk with pandan leaves.
Nasi Lemak.
Ohn no kha swè. A Burmese dish of wheat flour
noodles and curried chicken dropped into a coconut milk broth.
Piñacolada. This cocktail, which was invented
in Porto Rico in the 50’s where it became the national drink, is prepared with
coconut cream, instead of milk, and mixed with pineapple juice and rum. It is
not hard to believe that a glass of this drink has the same number of calories
as a cheeseburger.
Quiche. A delicious variation of this
savoury French tart is made in some Latin American countries using coconut
milk/cream instead of cow’s milk cream, together with other ingredients such as
prawns and vegetables like courgettes, leeks or chard.
Red curry. Hot and spicy Thai red curry,
which is popular all over the world, is just one of the hundreds of “curries”
prepared in India (try the “Meen Molee” for instance!) and in South East Asia
of which coconut milk is an essential ingredient.
Serabi. Probably originating from the
Island of Java “serabi” are Indonesian pancakes – which are also consumed in
Thailand – made from coconut milk and rice flour.
Thick&Thin. Fresh coconut milk is either thick
(with a 17-27% fat content), suitable for desserts and rich consistent sauces,
or thin (5-7% fat), normally used for savoury dishes.
Uha'ari. Consisting of Ū (milk) and ha'ari
(coconut), this is the term used for pure coconut milk in French Polynesia.
When mixed with lemon juice and seawater or coconut water, it becomes another
condiment called miti ha'ari.
Vatapa.
Vatapá. A typical dish of north and
north-east Brazil is a paste made from bread, shrimps, coconut milk, chopped
peanuts and palm oil. In Bahia State it is a ritual offering in the
Afro-American religion of Candomblé.
Water. Coconut water is the white milky
substance contained in a fresh coconut, (that is to say less than 5-7 months
old). When the coconut ripens, this water turns into pulp so an older coconut
is therefore more suitable for the production of coconut milk.
Xanthosoma
sagittifolium. A
tropical plant with elephant ears used in the preparation of “callaloo”, a typical Caribbean dish of
African origin which in many countries is stewed in coconut milk.
Yummy. Coconut milk works like magic
when it comes to adding a delicious twist to your recipes!
Zulia. In the Venezuelan state of Zulia,
the most characteristic dish is “Mojito
en coco”, made from the firm white flesh of fish, such as corb, spices and
coconut milk. Not to be confused with the alcoholic cocktail of the same name!
By FDL