fresh coconut for curries, alternatives?

real_484

I was watching some old cooking programs flavors of India with Madhur Jaffrey and she was using lots of fresh coconut peel or pieces in her curries and for curry pastes. The recipes look great but was wonder whether desicated coconut could be used instead?

CJhaughey

I use tinned coconut cream and sometimes the bars of coconut cream that look like soap.
Dessicated coconut is not very flavoursome in curries IMHO.
The quality of "fresh" coconuts here isn't very good and I have had many that were rotten when I drilled the eyes out to get the water out.

olaola

Dessicated coconut will not work! Unless you figure a way to get the liquid back into it!
You'll be picking pieces of coconut out of your teeth all night afterwards!

The cans of coconut milk are very effective.
You can get them in most supermarkets - Tesco and the like.

CJhaughey

I nearly forgot, a handy form of coconut is dried coconut cream powder, most asian stores sell it, it's very tasty in curries and dissolves easily unlike the bar type.

Supercell

CJhaughey wrote:

I use tinned coconut cream and sometimes the bars of coconut cream that look like soap.
Dessicated coconut is not very flavoursome in curries IMHO.
The quality of "fresh" coconuts here isn't very good and I have had many that were rotten when I drilled the eyes out to get the water out.

Where are you getting these coconut soap bars?

I used to use them many years ago but haven't seen them in ages, these days just use tins coconut cram but its just not the same flavour burst..
I remember these in cardboard wrapping with a slinky plasticy wrapping, where can I find this good stuff these days?

jos28

Any of the asian markets is your best bet. I use the bars an sometimes grate them into milk. Leave it to sit for a while and you get a rich coconut milk.

dakan

Hi Folks

regarding coconut cream and milk out of the tin of carton. When you leave it for a while in the fridge, I notice it congeals into a type of mousse. Especially the coconut milk out of the tin. Does anyone know how to store it so that it stays as a liquid?

Thanks
Dakan

Alun

dakan wrote:

regarding coconut cream and milk out of the tin of carton. When you leave it for a while in the fridge, I notice it congeals into a type of mousse. Especially the coconut milk out of the tin. Does anyone know how to store it so that it stays as a liquid?

It just goes like that because it's cold, a bit like many oils do when cooled, except more extreme. Bring it back up to room temperature, or just put it into something you're cooking and it will turn back to a liquid just fine.