Ingredient Spotlight: Coconuts/Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is another indispensable item in Asian cuisines, particularly those in Southeast Asia. Here in the West, it is easy enough to find coconut milk canned, as in the picture. Grated coconut meat can also be found in the frozen section of Asian stores. Even young coconut meat (called buko/buco in the Philippines) is available frozen. Though these items make it convenient to prepare Asian foods in American kitchens, the increasing awareness about Asian cuisine has now also brought fresh coconuts into our stores. If you live in the coastal regions where turnover rate in the groceries and markets is quicker, I would highly recommend you try to make your own coconut milk and grate coconut meat in your kitchen. It is a highly satisfying endeavor that should be experienced at least once.

In the past what I’ve done is get the meat out the “American way” (or at least according to the method I saw in my mom’s old Betty Crocker cookbook when I was little) and that is to put your coconut in a 350°F oven for about 15 minutes. Then crack it in half down the middle using a hammer or other heavy object such as the blunt side of a cleaver (position a bowl underneath first to catch the juice — if the coconut is really fresh this should not smell or taste rancid at all, and is fine for drinking — try it chilled!). Pry the meat off with a spatula or a knife (be careful and point away from you) and grate with a hand-grater or in your food processor.

There *is* a better way to do it, in my opinion, and that is to use a hand-held coconut grater meant for the task. However, I have not found one here or that would be my implement of choice. I am off to St. Louis this weekend, where there is an abundance of Asian food stores, so my mission is to find one of those and bring it home so I can show you how it’s done. It’s great fun for the kids.

Even better than that, though, is doing it on a coconut grater “stool”. This is how it’s still done in parts of Southeast Asia to this day, though machine-grating at markets has been available for years. You’d sit at the stool and grate away, holding the coconut half with two hands and scraping it against the teeth of the grater, a bowl or platter set up underneath to catch the meat. What I would give to have my kids experience this! Alas. It’s one of those things that the younger generations will think of as “something the old folks used to do in ancient times”, unless I’m able to bring one of those contraptions here.

Aha! I just found one available online. Maybe I’ll have my handy 15-yo make me a stool so we can attach this. It won’t be the same but close enough. In that same site you can find pictures of coconut graters and shredders too.

And another find: Santos of The Scent of Green Bananas takes you on her coconut-shopping trip and even shows you one of those coconut-grating machines I mentioned earlier.

For now, I’ll leave you with some great suggestions from Cooking Light Magazine.

Next week, I’ll show you what I do with the coconut. Wish me luck finding that grater!