Coconut Milk: Nectar of the Gods

Now, I'm not about to suggest pouring a can of coconut milk over your cereal. Not only would that taste weird and get expensive, but you'd soon be very fat. No, when I say coconut milk should have a place in your kitchen, I mean that it has great potential to give you creamy dishes without the stomach pain.

I've had more than one person say to me, "Does coconut milk have lactose?" These are usually the same people who think eggs are a dairy product. No, coconut milk (and eggs, unless scrambled with milk) definitely does not have lactose or dairy of any kind. Have you ever cracked open a real coconut? Go ahead-- throw it up against a wall for fun. I dare ya. That creamy substance leaking all over someone's property is what you find in a can of unsweetened coconut milk.

Coconut milk is popular in a lot of Thai cooking, and that is just what I used for the other night. Stir fry up some vegetables-- I used baby corn, bean sprouts, broccoli, green pepper and green onion-- add in some bottled Thai garlic chili sauce, a bit of dried cilantro and black pepper, a pinch of yellow curry and pour in a can of coconut milk. I served it over rice and it was delicious and it only took as long as the rice needed to cook.

To me though, there's nothing better than the combination of coconut milk, red curry and chicken. One of my favorite soups uses this combination:

Spicy Chicken Curry Soup
(Adapted from this recipe on allrecipes.com)

2 tablespoon peanut oil
2 clove garlic, minced
2 carrot, peeled and diced
2 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
2 tablespoon red curry paste
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
3 cups chicken stock
2 limes, juiced or 1/2 cup pre-made lime juice
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 cup basmati or white rice

Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and carrot, and cook 5 minutes. Mix in 1/2 of one can of the coconut milk. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Mix in curry paste. Place the chicken in the pot, and toss to coat. Cook chicken until no longer pink.

Reduce heat to low, and pour in the chicken stock. Stir in remaining coconut milk, lime juice, and green onions. Mix in the rice. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked thoroughly.

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You may remember the recipe from my list of Things Cooked in a Big Pot and Eaten with Spoon List.

Other good coconut milk recipes I've tried:
Spicy Polynesian Wrap
Thai Coconut Chicken
African Curry (Just don't be like me and cut your hand open on the can of coconut milk while you're making this like I did! Long story...)


allrecipes.com full list of recipes using coconut milk. Keep in mind that not all of these are stomach-friendly, but there are some rather tasty recipes on there that I would like to try.

While in the store, you may see that light coconut milk is available and you may wonder if it affects the taste. I really think it depends on the dish. When I make the Curry Soup, I usually use one can of light and one can of regular coconut milk. Regular coconut milk is considerably thicker, using more of the "meat" of the coconut itself to make up a creamier consistency. If the fat content is important to you, I'd experiment and see what you prefer. The stir fry dish I made the other night was with a can of light coconut milk and it was fine.

Sure, eating a coconut milk dish is not like eating a dish with actual cream, but I find that expanding your culinary options is much better than lamenting the loss of Alfredo sauce.

Although, if you want a decent cheat for that, you can find one here. Use lactose-free milk and the Kraft Parmesan (lactose-free, as always), you'll be set. It's not quite as good as the real thing, but if you really want Alfredo, it's better than none.

Happy eating.