# What should I do with this coconut milk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [June 28, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734 "2010-06-28T01:09:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/1 "2010-06-28T01:09:36Z")
We got a coconut and opened it. We made coconut milk out of the innards, and now I have about 2-3 cups of it in my fridge. What should I do with it? The recipe has to be kid friendly, as I have oddles of those. And it has to not be too fancy or gourmet. I is a simple peasant girl. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/2 "2010-06-28T01:35:54Z")
Is it actual coconut milk, which is made, or is it just the water from inside the coconut? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/3 "2010-06-28T01:38:10Z")
Put some rum in it! What? It’s kid-friendly. Ish. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/4 "2010-06-28T01:42:55Z")
No? OK, how about [haupia](http://www.bigisland-bigisland.com/hawaiian-dessert-recipes.html)? > [@](#): > > · 2 cups coconut milk > · 1 cup whole milk > · 6 tablespoons sugar > · 5 tablespoons cornstarch > · 1/4 tsp vanilla (if desired) > > Preparation:Pour one cup of coconut milk into a saucepan. Combine sugar and cornstarch stirring into coconut milk. (Add vanilla is desired) Heat over low stirring consistently until thickened. > > Add remainder of coconut milk and whole milk and continue to heat until thickened. Pour into 8 inch square pan and chill until firm. > > A good tip for being able to tell if the haupia is ready to pour into pan is this: dip your stirring spoon into the mixture, and then place it onto a small plate. If after a couple of minutes it has formed a thick skin, then it is ready. It is always wise to allow haupia to cool in pan, on your coutertop without placing a cover on it as to not allow sweating, which can make the top of the haupia smeary. When the haupia has cooled enough, then cover it and refrigerate. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/5 "2010-06-28T01:45:56Z")
Simplest recipe ever: put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/6 "2010-06-28T01:47:16Z")
Chicken skewers, aka, [Chicken Satay](http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Chicken-Satay-33644)! Coconut milk makes a great marinade for chicken, making it tender and juicy even when grilled. I’d also use some of it to make my [Tanzanian Spinach Peanut Curry](http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Mchicha-Tanzanian-Spinach-Peanut-Curry-310341), which just happens to go fabulously with Chicken Satay. (When I make the curry, I don’t bother with a separate dipping sauce for the chicken. We just dip it in the Peanut Curry sauce.) ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/7 "2010-06-28T01:53:35Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > No? OK, how about [haupia](http://www.bigisland-bigisland.com/hawaiian-dessert-recipes.html)? That’s tembleque! You could try non-alcoholic cheap coquito. Since I don’t have authentic coconut milk, I usually do 1 can of coconut milk, one can of evaporated milk, and one can condensated milk. Blend them together, add cinnamon to taste. Yummy… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/8 "2010-06-28T02:02:26Z")
Feed it to an orphaned baby coconut! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/9 "2010-06-28T02:09:34Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Feed it to an orphaned baby coconut! Miss Freneau: Coconut milk? Mr. Eckland: Baby coconuts love it! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/10 "2010-06-28T06:15:19Z")
There are recipes for coconut cake, made with coconut milk. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/11 "2010-06-28T10:04:55Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Is it actual coconut milk, which is made, or is it just the water from inside the coconut? This needs to be stressed. The watery stuff inside the coconut is NOT coconut milk, and if you try to make just about every recipe mentioned in this thread so far with it, it’s going to turn out watery and not very coconut-y. Coconut milk, as called for in any recipe out there, is made by soaking fresh coconut meat in a little bit of water, then squeezing out the resulting thick liquid. It’s much thicker and stronger tasting than the stuff inside the coconut. Coconut water - the stuff inside the coconut - is tasty and can be drunk as-is, or mixed with juice for a coconut-y drink. But it’s not used for much else besides that. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/12 "2010-06-28T11:39:24Z")
> [@](#): > > Alice The Goon > Is it actual coconut milk, which is made, or is it just the water from inside the coconut? > [@Athena](#): > > This needs to be stressed. The watery stuff inside the coconut is NOT coconut milk, and if you try to make just about every recipe mentioned in this thread so far with it, it’s going to turn out watery and not very coconut-y. The OP says they “made coconut milk out of the innards”. That seems pretty clear that they expended some effort changing the innards into something else, not just tapped and poured. I think we can assume the vocabulary is correct. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/13 "2010-06-28T11:44:32Z")
I used to know a woman from Panama who poured it into rice as it was frying in oil. For my part, I’d use it instead of milk for rice pudding. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/14 "2010-06-28T11:53:26Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > The OP says they “made coconut milk out of the innards”. That seems pretty clear that they expended some effort changing the innards into something else, not just tapped and poured. I think we can assume the vocabulary is correct. :smack: You’re exactly right. Once again, I broke my own rule - “Never post before coffee.” Ignore my post, please, and hand me another cup o’ joe. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/15 "2010-06-28T11:55:16Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Ignore my post, please, and hand me another cup o’ joe. Want some coconut milk in it? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/16 "2010-06-28T20:47:55Z")
One of the most recent food chats on the Washington Post had a link to a grilled corn recipe - one of the writers there called it the best corn she’d ever had. [Cambodian Grilled Corn](http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2008/06/18/cambodian-grilled-corn/) Basically, you cook coconut milk with some brown sugar, a bay leaf, and a pinch of salt, then baste corn with the mixture several times as it’s cooking, and then again when you pull it off the grill. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-coconut-milk/544734/17 "2010-06-29T00:30:01Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > I used to know a woman from Panama who poured it into rice as it was frying in oil. For my part, I’d use it instead of milk for rice pudding. I vote for this. I like to use palm sugar as the sweetener and a good squeeze of lime juice to stop it being too cloying. I have been known to eat this for breakfast.